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Nabob89
04/20/2006, 08:41 PM
on a trip to the cayman islands recently, I found some nice looking rock in shallow water (white....most pieces fairly porous), so I decided to take a few pieces home to use as base rock....they still have a rather unpleasant "sea" smell, so I will hose them down and let them dry in the sun for a few days.....could these be my base rock?

NEEDMONEYFORMORESALT
04/20/2006, 08:50 PM
They will work for base rock but you might want to boil them before you let them dry to get rid of all the bacteria.

Nabob89
04/20/2006, 08:52 PM
ok ill boil them......i have about 55lbs of the rock in about 9 pieces (various shapes and sizes)......my tank is 55 gallons.....so how many lbs of the base rock should I use....and how many lbs of LR shoudl I get to put on top of it.....i want about 80-90 lbs of total rock in the tank....thanks
Matt

bertoni
04/20/2006, 09:56 PM
I wouldn't boil them. Sometimes that releases various types of chemicals. Just cure them in a tub.

Nabob89
04/20/2006, 10:20 PM
well my tank isnt ready for the rocks yet.....so if i throw them in a small tub of salt water with a powerhead and let it sit for a week or two, when theyre done curing, could I just leave them outside until the tank is ready for them?

bertoni
04/20/2006, 11:59 PM
I would just leave them alone until the tank is ready, and cure them then. If you want to rot off some of the debris now, a tub, a powerhead, and some water would work. You don't need to use saltwater, really, since you're just trying to clean up the rock.