Base rock question

[xixi]

Hi, I’m a newbie and try to set up my first 38G reef tank.
Can I use base rock only to set it up with live sand? Or should I have to mix them with live rock?
Does base rock will become live rock finally? and how long take them to there?
Thanks in advance for any advises.

 

[ErinCahir]

Hi and welcome!

Live sand is a waste of money, in my opinion. You should start with dry sand. It will become live eventually.

And you can use all base rock and then a small piece of live rock, it will all become live after a while. As far as how long it takes... I really don't know. Hopefully someone else will chime in on that.

 

[wontonflip]

+1 erin....if I had known better when first starting, I'd have just used dry sand.

Just test your water. When I first started my 125g, I only put in dry sand. I "fed" the empty tank mysis shrimp everyday. I'd say, around the end of week 1, I started to get ammonia...my cycle was done after maybe 3 weeks...But it will vary with from tank to tank and depending on how much food you put in to rot to start the cycle.

Do you have a liquid test kit? If not, get one.

 

[little_fish]

Hello and Welcome!

When your cycle is done your base rock will now be live rock. How long the cycle takes depends on each tank, but having a more live rock to base rock ratio will speed it up a bit.

+1 on the dry sand stuff

 

[Smitty]

Welcome to the site...glad to have you.

 

[Northstar24]

Looks like everyone has you covered. I would also stay away from live sand, there are better places to spend the money. When I started my tank last fall, I added one pound of live rock for every 10 pounds of base rock, and I had a pretty quick cycle