Live sand and live rock

[NotSoFat2U]

So my new Biocube 14 should be arriving sometime this week, and I am collecting the other materials I'll need (test kits, refractometer, Instant Ocean, etc.). After everything gets here and I confirm the operation I will need to go about stocking the tank with live sand and rock: which brings me to these questions:

 

Where should I go to buy the stuff? Since I only need about 15 pounds of rock, mail-order is probably not cost-effective. I live in Arlington, and would rather not travel too far. I have been to Wally's World once, though the LR there didn't seem like such a good deal.

 

What am I looking for with regard to LS? I was figuring on a 1/2" to 3/4" bed, which I gather will be about 10-15 pounds. Are there different options when buying LS? My understanding is that I want fine particles to minimize detreus buildup. Are there any other things to be looking for?

 

In what order should the LR and LS be put in the tank? I have seen some recommendations of LS a few days before the LR. It seems to me that putting the LR in first would be advantageous because it would be sitting on the tank floor, and thus be less likely to shift and have rock slides.

 

With the depth of sand bed that I will use, would Nerius snails be good, bad, or irrelevant?

[Brian Ward]

So my new Biocube 14 should be arriving sometime this week, and I am collecting the other materials I'll need (test kits, refractometer, Instant Ocean, etc.). After everything gets here and I confirm the operation I will need to go about stocking the tank with live sand and rock: which brings me to these questions:

 

Where should I go to buy the stuff? Since I only need about 15 pounds of rock, mail-order is probably not cost-effective. I live in Arlington, and would rather not travel too far. I have been to Wally's World once, though the LR there didn't seem like such a good deal.

 

What am I looking for with regard to LS? I was figuring on a 1/2" to 3/4" bed, which I gather will be about 10-15 pounds. Are there different options when buying LS? My understanding is that I want fine particles to minimize detreus buildup. Are there any other things to be looking for?

 

In what order should the LR and LS be put in the tank? I have seen some recommendations of LS a few days before the LR. It seems to me that putting the LR in first would be advantageous because it would be sitting on the tank floor, and thus be less likely to shift and have rock slides.

 

With the depth of sand bed that I will use, would Nerius snails be good, bad, or irrelevant?

 

Wally's isn't bad for rock. I actually found their rock to be very well cured with lots of corraline. It's about $6/lb no matter what lfs you go to - unless you want to drive out to Dr. Mac (www.pacificaquaculture.com) he's out in MD and you can get a better deal. But at only 15-20 lbs you'll spend more in gas. Other option is to troll the boards and pick up some LR from a tank breakdown.

 

For sand, you can buy the bags of Carrib-Sea. That comes packages either wet or dry. The wet stuff is already live. Since you don't need much, I'd pick up 1 bag of the wet. It comes in 3 or 4 different sizes, just look for the size and color you want. Any of the sizes will be fine - none of them are big enough to trap the detritus, you just want to stay away from crushed coral as that tends to be the size of pebbles and will trap stuff.

 

You can add in either order. I would actually recommend sand first. Pour the sand into the tank, then place a bowl on the sand. Add the rest of the water by pouring into the bowl so you minimize the amount of sand you stir up. If you end up stirring the sand up significantly, let the tank sit at least overnight to let the sand settle and then add your rock.

[Guest webshout]

You could also just get non-live sand, which will be a bit cheaper. Then ask one of the WAMAS communuity for a cup of LS to seed your tank.

 

Trolling the boards is also a great way to gte LS or LR. I got rid of my crusshed coral and replaced it with LS from a tank break down.

 

Good luck!

 

W.

[amay121]

I have the biocube 8 and I have 2 astrea and one nassaurius snail and they're doing a great job cleaning. I'm not too sure about the hermits that I have because they're always clipping anything they can away. But good luck and what the others said. Just look at the posts to see if there's anything on sale from the other members or ask, everyone here is extremely helpful and wouldn't mind helping you out if you only ask.

 

Are you going to turn your 2nd chamber into a fuge? If so, don't forget to scrape the back paint off (from the back exterior side) to house your fuge light. Hope you enjoy the tank because I think it's a nice setup, even though I keep on wanting to upgrade the PC lights to a 70W MH, but that's why I got a 90g so I won't have to do the upgrade and I'll be able to keep some of the hardier corals and more fish in my new tank.

[yauger]

DON'T GO TO WALLY'S... they have the most expensive rocks in the area charging $10 for 1 lbs of cultured Fiji live rock, not a good deal for man made rocks.. and I think they have tonga going for $12 per pound... go to BRK good reasonable prices...

[NotSoFat2U]

Thanks for all the advice.

 

My girlfriend would rather get "new" LR. She is intrigued by the prospect of seeing what shows up as it cures/cycles. I'm of a similar disposition, but would just as soon save ~$50 and have a shorter cycle time. Availability is likely the biggest factor.

 

The reports on Wally's rock seem to be conflicting, although when I was there a few weeks ago the rock seemed on the high end price-wise. The only thing that bothers me about BRK is how far out they are. I have a car and all so it's not a real problem, but I'm averse to driving out to the suburbs. I guess Wally's isn't all that much closer.

 

@ amay121: I was in fact planning on doing a 'fuge in chamber 2. Still haven't decided whether to put a light on the back (and scrape some of the black off) or to find a submersible light. The latter seems more attractive (both aestetically and ease-wise), but most of the people who've posted on the matter have gone with the former. I'll likely do a tank thread once I actually get started, and I'll post there the mods I wind up doing.

[Brian Ward]

Thanks for all the advice.

 

My girlfriend would rather get "new" LR. She is intrigued by the prospect of seeing what shows up as it cures/cycles. I'm of a similar disposition, but would just as soon save ~$50 and have a shorter cycle time. Availability is likely the biggest factor.

 

The reports on Wally's rock seem to be conflicting, although when I was there a few weeks ago the rock seemed on the high end price-wise. The only thing that bothers me about BRK is how far out they are. I have a car and all so it's not a real problem, but I'm averse to driving out to the suburbs. I guess Wally's isn't all that much closer.

 

@ amay121: I was in fact planning on doing a 'fuge in chamber 2. Still haven't decided whether to put a light on the back (and scrape some of the black off) or to find a submersible light. The latter seems more attractive (both aestetically and ease-wise), but most of the people who've posted on the matter have gone with the former. I'll likely do a tank thread once I actually get started, and I'll post there the mods I wind up doing.

 

 

 

all the stores are in the suburbs. no way around it. wally's may have gone up from the last time i was there. scales and aquarium one are also good choices in md - about the same distance as brk. your g/f thinks she wants to cure the rock herself right now. trust me, she'll change her mind. your house will smell of rotten eggs for about 3 mos. buy cured rock.

[Guest webshout]

Jason the filter freak had a post about LR. Check with him to see if some is still available.

 

W.

[Brian Ward]

Jason the filter freak had a post about LR. Check with him to see if some is still available.

 

W.

 

 

 

nope, i bought it all

[gmubeach]

For whats its worth if you can make it out to DR Mac's place his live rock is about 3-4$ a pound for some of the best I've seen at any local place... he even lets you pick the shapes you want! and its pretty well cured in his vats or atleast it was when I purchased it 3 years ago... I've been told diffrent things, but noone seems to complain one guy got 2 manjanos, but thats not a terrible thing... as for the drive he runs a top notch coral facility if you want to help pay for gas you can do a group buy and you can drive out there and pick it up and just have the ppl pay you for the gas costs .... That way you get to see the place:) which is nothing short of amazing... Oh and if you get his live sand its a great way to seed a tank, but I have to admit some ppl on wamas have better seed sand:) not mentioning any names don't want him to get a ton of requests ... anyway I recomend getting it from him or another person on wamas... local fish stores always have the dead looking stuff....dr macs has minor coraline growth star fish... copods and all sorts of snails and things:) Very pretty stuff too....

[magnetic1]

I have free LiveSand until friday. Look in the For Sale section.

[Hilary]

I bought "used" LR from a couple of different tank breakdowns, and I'm so glad that I did! It came complete with coralline, polyps, zoas, mushrooms, sponge, critters..... So my tank was "alive" from day one, and there really was no discernable cycle at all.

[Vader]

For whats its worth if you can make it out to DR Mac's place his live rock is about 3-4$ a pound for some of the best I've seen at any local place... he even lets you pick the shapes you want! and its pretty well cured in his vats or atleast it was when I purchased it 3 years ago... I've been told diffrent things, but noone seems to complain one guy got 2 manjanos, but thats not a terrible thing... as for the drive he runs a top notch coral facility if you want to help pay for gas you can do a group buy and you can drive out there and pick it up and just have the ppl pay you for the gas costs .... That way you get to see the place:) which is nothing short of amazing... Oh and if you get his live sand its a great way to seed a tank, but I have to admit some ppl on wamas have better seed sand:) not mentioning any names don't want him to get a ton of requests ... anyway I recomend getting it from him or another person on wamas... local fish stores always have the dead looking stuff....dr macs has minor coraline growth star fish... copods and all sorts of snails and things:) Very pretty stuff too....

 

I was just ther 3 weeks agoand it is still that way, plus Dr. Mac is very helpful.

[Vader]

I was just ther 3 weeks agoand it is still that way, plus Dr. Mac is very helpful.

I've beter stop drunking su mush