Live rock from the… Baltic Sea?

[kolius]

There’s a lot of talk about adding ‘wild’ rocks from the ocean into reef tanks, but what about rocks from a sea?

I don’t live near an ocean, but I’m heading to the Baltic Sea this weekend, and it got me thinking—could live rock from the sea help cycle my tank? While most cold-water algae will probably die off at the warmer temperatures of my tank, what about the beneficial bacteria? I assume the basic nitrogen cycle biology would be similar between the ocean and the sea, right?

For context, I’m not planning to add corals—just macro-algae, and possibly some fish and invertebrates. I’m also interested in experimenting with a cold-water (no heater) setup. Haven’t found much info on such tank setups either

 

[Tamberav]

There is a facebook group dedicated to cold water marine called "Coldwater Marine Aquarium Owners"

Not sure if it would really help the cycle considering the die off at tropical temps. Bottled bacteria is probably faster.

It will help greatly with a cold water set up though which otherwise can take literal months to cycle.

 

[kolius]

Coldwater Marine Aquarium Owners

Thank you, will check it out! Yes, I'm using bacteria, just wanted to experiment and see if I can get of the hitchhikers from the sea