Texas Holey Rock

[hoho19]

I have a bunch of Texas holey rock in my yard that i've been wanting to get rid of. I was thinking this evening that my 29 gallon only contains 15 pounds of live rock and could stand to use some more. How would I go about making this holey rock ready to put in my tank. Should I do a water change into a bucket and run a pump with the holey rock for a couple days?

Also is the holey rock a good idea? I think I have a piece there that I bought from a fish store at some point.

http://puddleglum.hohimer.us/reef/05072007/tank1.jpg
Here is my rockwork.

http://puddleglum.hohimer.us/reef/05072007/fullstandrightsideup.jpg
Here is my tank now that i've got it all set up properly (and out of the "nursery"! :P blahblahblah there's a baby coming blahblahblah)

[erikharrison]

I used rock from out of a riverbed. It seems to be ok.

[Bill S]

I doesn't really serve any purpose, except take up space (displace water). Live rock, on the other hand, provides a substrate/home for nitrifying bacteria.

[hoho19]

jc msged me and I wanted to reply to everyone.

He asked me where I got my top off tank and how much it holds. It's a wrapping paper container. It holds 10 gallons almost exactly (without top). Marc Levenson (melev) uses them. THey are awesome. You can get them for around $5 after christmas!

[Hotrod32487]

I have some of that in my tank and it doesnt really look good in there. I use it thought to prop up my other rocks and make them stack higher. It is good for that...

[hoho19]

hotrod I have thought about that :P

[mathias]

I used holy rock for the holes and stuff thought it would look cool... I was fighting red slime until I took it out... and it went away...

[Shark_Bait]

I have some in my tank now and unless I point it out you would never know it was holey rock to start. Fully covered in coraline. So now a cool rock with holes. Don't think it provides much filtration as it is a bit denser, but eventually will blend in.
And I left it in a bucket with RO water and a small pump for about 2 months doing water changes every other week on it. I did have a red slime algae problem but don't remember if that was at the same time.
The clownfish love it as it's a nice smooth surface for them to lay their eggs on.

[prof]

I use holey rock alot. It is a good substitute for live rock since it is limestone/calcium carbonate. It is a sedimentary rock that is made up of dead sea creatures. Live rock is more porous witch gives more surface area. It is not as pretty IMO as live rock so I usually use it in my sumps.

Treat holey rock like you would reef bones/dead live rock. Cure it in a seperate container for at least a couple of weeks with regular water changes before adding it to a tank. As with any new rock you will encounter cyano and algae blooms as it acclimates to your tank.

One word of caution, beware of orange holey rock. The orange is rust that comes from the iron in the rock. A little bit won't hurt anything but some of the Texas holey rock has very high iron content.

Rinse the rock very well before curing it. You want to get as much dirt and debris out of the holes.

[Ram_Puppy]

i would also caution to make sure it's never been sprayed w/ pesticides, fungicides etc... especially the latter which are very toxic to aquatic organisms.

[hoho19]

It was left in the fireplace when we bought our house. I think it was decorative and not functional since the fireplace didn't look like it had been used in a long time.