Noob Q regarding LIve Rock as opposed to Ocean Rock.

[nanolutionary]

So I went along to my LFS earlier and I wanna know whether I can add in a mixture of LR and this:

 

 

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From what I understand so far Live Rock will need to cycle properly and the beneficial bacteria will spread onto my sand (if I choose not to buy livesand) does this mean it will also spread onto the Ocean Rock which won't be live?

[reefone]

yes u can mix that rock with live rock. it may be live rock that is dried out. if so its not very live anymore. i wouldnt bother with live sand. get the regular dry sand its cheaper and will become live. yes, the good bacteria you want will spread to eveything in the tank.

[nanolutionary]

I've seen some talk of people creating fabulous aquascapes by drilling LR and sticking them together with a material as a subsititue for screws, i gather this is the process that went into the jaw dropping July TOTM live rock configuration either that or the owner of that tank got extremely lucky finding that LR!

 

What materials do I need to do this I know superglue works for sticking frags of corals (even though this seemed crazy to me at first due to the sensitivity of these reef tanks I guess it's waterproof!) but what about the material to use as a screw to hold the two drilled rocks in place?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Thomas

[iDerek]

Yes you can use krazy glue but only the gel version is reef safe. Also, zip ties, epoxy, and plastic screws work well too.

[reefone]

i drilled and ziptied all my lr together then i used hydrolic cement to fill in any gaps and make it more stable.

[Enigma]

You can use acrylic rods to hold your scope together: drill holes in the rocks, insert the rods, and (if needed) use a bit of epoxy.

 

Everything capable of supporting the bacteria will become populated with out over time. This includes dry rock and sand. I only use dry rock and sand, now.