DIY LR questions

[DewDropPony]

I'm actually thinking about making DIY LR. The problem is I don't have excess to anyone else here that already has an established reef so I'm going to have to seed the DIY LR by buying real LR. How much real LR should I buy to seed the DIY LR? I have a 55gal tank. I plan on making maybe 45 to 55 pound worth of DIY LR. Also, how long with the real LR need to take to spread into the fake LR? The fish should only be added after all the DIY LR is fully "live", right? And how will I know when it's ready?

Also, how long does it take to cure DIY LR? I've everything from 2 days to 6 months.

[squibley2]

If you are setting up your tank you can set everything up with the base rock and then just seed that with a few pieces of LR and let nature do the rest. This will also help establish your DSB if you choose to go that route. As for time it is hard to say I would go with if you set up everything in your tank and then wait a couple months then you should be good to go. You will get several opinions on this though.