If we divide the ocean according to floor substrate, we will find that (by far) most of the ocean floor is covered with soft-sediments (mud and sand) and only a tiny fraction is covered by Live Rock. If you have been snorkeling, you know that most of "the action" is on and around the rocks, while the sandy areas have less plants and animals and are a bit boring (unless you are a microbiologist). Well... the reason of the increased abundance and diversity of animals and plants around rocky areas is, precisely, the Live Rock!

Both, in "the wild" and in the marine aquarium, Live Rock provides several essential ecosystem services. We explain each benefit (or ecosystem service) in detail in the pages from the links below, but in essence, we can summarize all the benefits by stating that "Live Rock provides complexity... it provides physical, chemical and ecological complexity that results in a resilient, robust and well meshed fabric of processes that bring stability to the marine aquarium (and to coral reefs)".

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Live Rock benefits or ecosystem services:

• Habitat
• Refuge
• Substrate
• Food source
  
• Waste cycling
• Alkalinity enhancing and pH buffering
• Landscaping aesthetics