elm66 December 8, 2009 Share December 8, 2009 Where do you get your live rock from? I am looking for live rock for a 220Ga tank. Online or local retailer? Price (obviously) is important. Thanks Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds December 8, 2009 Share December 8, 2009 best is if someone is breaking down a tank. you can usually get it for a good price.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happyfeet December 8, 2009 Share December 8, 2009 If you don't mind waiting Bulk Reef Supply sells Eco Rox for $2.50 give or take. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k December 8, 2009 Share December 8, 2009 Do yourself and your future inhabitants a favor and buy fresh live rock to start your tank the right way. The sand bed will be naturally seeded and the rock will provide tons of planktonic life. After you cycle your fresh rock, then you could save some money and buy some used rock from a breakdown. Tampa Bay Saltwater has excellent Carribbean rock often covered with sponge, coral, tunicates, clams, etc. Good Stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind December 8, 2009 Share December 8, 2009 Why would fresh live rock be better then live rock from a tank tear down? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu December 8, 2009 Share December 8, 2009 Why would fresh live rock be better then live rock from a tank tear down? x 2. Driving rock from someone else's tank 1/2 hour to your house will probably be a lot less die-off than rock overnighted in a cooler with wet newspaper. IME, most rock from tank breakdowns is very mature and covered in coralline. Can't beat that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind December 8, 2009 Share December 8, 2009 Not to mention most people will have already removed the crabs and mantis shrimp for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onux20 December 9, 2009 Share December 9, 2009 If you don't mind waiting Bulk Reef Supply sells Eco Rox for $2.50 give or take. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k December 9, 2009 Share December 9, 2009 Why would fresh live rock be better then live rock from a tank tear down? Hmmm- maybe the fact that it is full of life straight from the ocean which allows a greater diversity to occur in your tank. 'Used' rock is usually devoid of life except for some nitrifying bacteria, coralline algae, and the usual pests. x 2. Driving rock from someone else's tank 1/2 hour to your house will probably be a lot less die-off than rock overnighted in a cooler with wet newspaper. IME, most rock from tank breakdowns is very mature and covered in coralline. Can't beat that. If mature means blooming with life like rock fresh from the ocean, then I agree. Not to mention most people will have already removed the crabs and mantis shrimp for you. They substituted the mantis and the crabs for Valonia, Aiptasia, Red Bugs, AEFW, Cyanobacteria, etc. Sounds like a great deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu December 9, 2009 Share December 9, 2009 I think it really depends on the system that the LR is being added to. If it is a new setup, then the rock is in all likelihood going into a fairly sterile environment. Much of the LR that comes in has sponges, tunicates, etc. that rely on filter feeding to survive. The gulf rock in particular is covered in this stuff. The problem is that much of it is not exactly "blooming with life from the ocean." In my experience, there is a lot of initial die-off, particularly in the way of sponges due to air exposure. New tanks often lack the microfauna that would support lots of the life that comes in on this rock. If, on the other hand, the rock is being added to a mature tank that has an abundance of bacteria, pods, and planktonic life, then I think wild rock can be an okay choice. If it's being added to a newer tank, I would rather have coralline-covered and bacteria-colonized rock (often with plenty of pods) that I can pick up locally at what usually amounts to a great price. On the other hand, I could pay twice as much for wild rock, plus shipping, plus scraping the dead sponges off, plus waiting through the cycle. Just doesn't seem worth it to me. An added benefit of getting rock locally is being able to select pieces. Aquascaping is very important to me, so I like to be able to pick out individual pieces based on shape and size, rather than blindly ordering a certain amount online. Eric, not trying to hijack your thread, but I thought I'd give my two cents. I've had Tonga, Fiji, Kaelini, and aquacultured Gulf rock in my tanks before, both shipped wild rock and from other folks' tanks. Whatever you decide, you will probably need a good bit of rock to fill a 220. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amuze December 9, 2009 Share December 9, 2009 Wow, ask a simple question here these days and look what happens. Lol. Anyway, Fins & Feathers has some of the best prices on live rock locally. They usually have some very nice pieces too. Since you're in Mclean, just hop on the toll road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw December 9, 2009 Share December 9, 2009 I'm always partial to starting with dry rock like marcorocks.com has. The rock will liven up in time and you will avoid any bad hitchhikers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 December 10, 2009 Share December 10, 2009 I actually like to mix different kinds of rock from different sources. I think I have rock in my system from 4 or 5 different stores as well as rock from various tank breakdowns. I like the diversity of life I got with that but also ended up with a couple of pest crabs that I can't seem to get rid of. You win some, you lose some, each source of rock has its pros and cons. Overall diversity, though, you can't beat mixing rock from different sources. Funny, though, some of the things I thought I had lost over time in my rock has actually begun to repopulate. Hydroid jellyfish, which I haven't seen in my system in years, are now there again, as are some sort of clear polyp with white bulb ends on them that come out to filter feed at night. There are others that come and go as well, such as the mini-brittles and the colonista snails, definitely an ebb and a flow to when they are present or not visible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefunelement December 10, 2009 Share December 10, 2009 Just do what I did - quit the hobby for 10years and store your live rock in buckets - then start again and presto - base rock for "free". Thought it would take forever to color back up but 6months in it's almost 50% covered in coralline! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sikryd December 10, 2009 Share December 10, 2009 I'm always partial to starting with dry rock like marcorocks.com has. The rock will liven up in time and you will avoid any bad hitchhikers. +1 That is what I am doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now