Living Rock

Live, or living rock as it sometimes called, is a light and porous rock which is farmed from the tropical oceans of the world, although it is fair to say that the majority of the live rock that is available in the UK is either from Fiji or Indonesia. When it is farmed from the ocean, it is alive with various life forms from micro organisms to invertebrates and corals. When it is shipped to the UK the rock is kept moist though not in water to save on shipping costs, which means that some of the organisms on the rock die, so when the rock reaches us we have to "cure" it, to remove the dead organisms, which cause a huge nitrite reading in the curing vats, only when the nitrite reading has dropped to zero, do we place the rock on sale.

Live Rock is used for filtration in tropical marine aquariums. A rate of approx 1 Kg to each 2/3 gallons of water is ideal. It should be placed in the aquarium loosely, with gap between the pieces to form a structure that water can pass through, this can be in the shape of a wall or a mountain type structure and depending on the size of the aquarium. Powerheads are placed at various spots around the aquarium to pump water through the rock (it is beneficial for the powerheads to turn the total volume of the aquarium over at a minimum of 20 times plus per hour)

Bacteria grows on the outside of the rock which turns the ammonia and nitrite into nitrate and because the rock is porous a particular type of low oxygen bacteria grows in the pore's of the rock which converts the nitrate to harmless nitrogen gas, thus completing the cycle.

£12.99 per kilo