Live rock rubble

Today my lr arrived. I purchased uncured rock as I am going to use it to cycle my tank. I have it in the tank now, and mostly the way I like it. I might end up moving a piece or two in a few days. Do you think that would create a problem?

My real question, however, is what to do with the bit and pieces of lr that are really too small for anything? If I had a sump or 'fuge, I could imagine them in there. I do have a HOB filter that I was wondering if I could put a small handful of rubble in the final chamber. The first chamber contains a skimmer, it overflows into a chamber with a foam block and ceramic rings. The final chamber has nothing in it but an outlet back into the tank. This is where I was wondering if I could put the rubble. Good idea, bad idea?

I don't know what i would gain, or if I would be creating a problem for myself. It just seems like a waste to dispose of the rubble.

 

get rid of the rings and add the lr. Then keep some of the larger pieces in the bottom of your tank for frags later on, trust me you will want them.

 

First, if you move the rock in a couple of days it won't really matter, second, I used the rubble to fill in holes and help to solidify my rock work. I would just put it between the joints and gaps, just an idea

 

Small pieces of live rock afford you a great way of fragging!

 

Especially if you get a frag of xenia and want to control its growth. Fix it to a LR rubble piece, and place that in the sand. It won't spread unless you move it to more rock.

 

when your tank matures a bit. I've heard of making "pod mounds" w/ LR rubble. to increase the amount of pods in your tank. make a 2-3" base w/ the rubble, add a piece of feeder shrimp, then cover it quickly w/ more LR rubble. check it every couple weeks, and supposedly in a couple months you'll have many pods.

I've never tried it, but i've been entertaining the thought.

 

The frags have so many uses all of mine wind up in my sump and when I want to trade a frag of coral or something I grab one of the pieces and use some epoxy or a rubber band to attach a frag to it. I also rubberband my Algae srips to a piece of LR rubble when I feed the Tangs. And finally I would throw the frags of LR in your filter if you have room it could only be a good thing IMO8)

 

I have like two cups of LR rubble that is quite small, maybe the size of average freshwater gravel. It has been sitting in a small tank with saltwater and water circulation for about 7 weeks now. Is this too small to put in my HOB filter? And would I then be able to remove the ceramic rings that I currently have?

As I do not yet have a sump, I put the rest of the larger chunks (1-2 inches) in my tank.

 

Yes I would remove the ceramic rings and replace it with excluseivly the live rock rubble. It provides such an excellent biological filter.

 

When I see people saying to remove the Bio balls or ceramic rings from the filters and wet/dries then replace them with rocks I really don't feel they totally understand the way these bio filters work or the total surface areas of eachother when compaired side by side I'd never swap a Bio balls for rocks