# How long till dead rock becomes live rock?



## planderos

I have a fish tank with dead rock (because I moved and had to put the tank away for about a year). I am wondering how long it will take for it to become live rock? Should I go buy at least some live rock to help in the process? 
Adios
Pablo

46g Bowl Front
1 yellow assessor
1 anthia
1 diamond goby
1 cleaner shrimp
1 fire shrimp :roll:


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## jesus villaseño

first af all, we must be sure that the rock you have is teh right one, it must be light in weight, have a lot of holes and crevices, nsot contaminate your tank, it will be colonized by aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in about l5-30 days. to become a real live rock will take years. you should get some authentic live rock sto hel in the sprocess, hope this helps. saludos desde mexico.


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## SeaSerpant

I'm never going to buy live rock and put it away.


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## GThiele113

So. I was at the LFS and I was asking about live rock and evrything. He showedme fiji branchs, live Hatian, and we went outside where he keeps his other spare or overloaded things. He was selling completely dead Hatian rock. Turns out he didn't have the room for it and it was way to hard to keep outside. So I told him when I start my 24G up I want to use dead Hatian becuase its only $3 a pound. I asked how long it would take to grow Coraline algae becuase that's when I think Live rock truley becomes live. He said it would just start to begin growin in about 7 months!!! So that's what I think is how long it will take your dead rock to become live.


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## SKAustin

GThiele113 said:


> So. I was at the LFS and I was asking about live rock and evrything. He showedme fiji branchs, live Hatian, and we went outside where he keeps his other spare or overloaded things. He was selling completely dead Hatian rock. Turns out he didn't have the room for it and it was way to hard to keep outside. So I told him when I start my 24G up I want to use dead Hatian becuase its only $3 a pound. I asked how long it would take to grow Coraline algae becuase that's when I think Live rock truley becomes live. He said it would just start to begin growin in about 7 months!!! So that's what I think is how long it will take your dead rock to become live.


Coraline can start to grow within a month if the conditions are right.

HOWEVER, Coraline growth has nothing to do with the status of the "live rock". The "live" in live rock refers to living bacterias and other living organisms that inhabit the pores and crevices within the rock. If you plan to stock your tank with dead rock, I would plan to add a few good quality live rocks to seed it. Also remember, the LR is the cornerstone of your filtration. It would behoove you not to skimp on the rock.


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