Very mature rock

[Dearth]

So my current system has been up and running for close to 3 years and my rock is quite encrusted with all sorts of material from algae to coral to everything in between and I figure I have maybe 2 more good years out of the rock currently in my tank before the holes get covered by coral, detritus and algae. I have blown the rock I can reach with a turkey Baster but as I have a deep tank and way too much rock I cannot reach about half my rock without destroying the current habitat I have which I don't want to do at this time

My question is how do those of you with mature reef systems prolong the life of your rock?

[Bblinks]

Originally Posted by Dearth

So my current system has been up and running for close to 3 years and my rock is quite encrusted with all sorts of material from algae to coral to everything in between and I figure I have maybe 2 more good years out of the rock currently in my tank before the holes get covered by coral, detritus and algae. I have blown the rock I can reach with a turkey Baster but as I have a deep tank and way too much rock I cannot reach about half my rock without destroying the current habitat I have which I don't want to do at this time

My question is how do those of you with mature reef systems prolong the life of your rock?

I just blow it out with a turkey baster to the best of my abilities and keep the water quality up so it will not foul up the LR. I am currently servicing a tank that's close to 5 years old, when I first started the tank had crazy nutrient levels, I did just that to bring everything to normal range and now the LR is getting covered with coraline algae again and water parameter is good, IMO, I don't think the LR ever goes "bad".

[whatcaneyedo]

The average age of my rock is about 10 years so I think you've got a ways to go. About once a year or so I try to pick up a new piece and sell an old one to reintroduce some biodiversity or clean things up a bit if a rock is thoroughly covered in coral. I don't believe that rock goes bad either but I do wonder about what is going on at the microscopic scale in a closed system as the years go by. My worry is that our tanks lose biodiversity as certain organisms and bacteria dominate.