Live rock, Florida aquacultured or Fiji/Tonga is best

[newreefer03]

I will be starting a 72 gallon bowfront tank with live sand and live rock. After doing a lot of research, I still have not decided which kind of live rock to get. I've heard a lot of good things about the live rock aquacultured from TBS and gulfview but I've also heard that a lot of life on their rocks die off within months and the rocks themselves are dense and more plain and rounded than Fiji/Tonga. Also that you are more prone to get pests like mantis shrimp and stone crabs. I've heard that the Fiji/Tonga live rock from Harbor Aquatics is also very good, although I'm not sure you would get as much of the life as Florida rock. I would like to hear from both sides before I make my decision. Right now I'm leaning more towards the Fiji/Tonga, only because of the more porosity and interesting shapes. Thanks.

 

[FrankB1]

I think it depends on your vision for your reef. Alot of life on the rock (both good and bad) and little room to display show piece corals or a rock with less life (also less undesirable life hopfully) with plenty of room to attach coral etc.

Here are some threads you may have already read. The two below are about some aquacultured rock and experiences.

http://reefcentral.com/vbulletin/showth ... ight=tampa

http://www.reefaquariumguide.com/forums ... ight=tampa

Those two talk alot about the Tampabay saltwater rock. Look at some sites such as these for pacific rock.

http://www.drmaccorals.com/sys-tmpl/fij ... _all.nhtml

http://www.harboraquatics.com/oldindex.html
http://www.paragonsales.com/
http://www.palmettoreefs.com/rocknsand.htm

Hope this helps.

 

[teeljay]

I don't have an old reef tank setup, it is only about 7-8 weeks old. I got about 350lbs of LR for tampa bay salt and have been very happy with it!

I had a disaster a few months ago after having the tank set up for about a month and lost everything in it. So I have ordered the same amount of LR from them twice now, and was satisfied both times. Not a day goes bye that my family doesn't look in the tank and find something new!

The first time we got LR from them we ended up with 2 or three mantis shrimp and they stayed in the tank without problems, just another neat thing to watch. On the second shipment the man that I talked to there told me to let the rock sit out for a few minutes on the floor and the mantis shrimp would abandon the rock looking for better lodgings....
but on the second shipment we found no mantis shrimp. Lots of other things though.

Now my question to the experienced reefers here is: Does the fact that we got one shipment in the summer and the second in the winter have anything to do with the mantis population in live rock, or were we just lucky?

In any case the service, help, and quality of the live rock from TBS was very satisfying to us.

 

[newreefer03]

Thanks Frank and Teeljay for your input. I'm still a little undecided at this point though now I'm leaning more towards the TBS rock. The life on those rocks seem incredible. I may even get a little of both although it really adds up in shipping costs. Any other opinions?

 

[naesco]

Dennis if I had to do it all over again I would do the aquacultured rock.
But don't fill your tank with it leave yourself lots of room.
Than, from time to time when you see an outstanding live rock with neat stuff on it, you have room in your tank and can buy it.

 

[SPC]

I also purchase only Fla aquacultured rock. The density is definately more than the South Pacific rocks, but the life on it is what I am after.
I also like the fact that when this rock is harvested it is placed in holding vats (with water) aboard the boat. It is then unloaded at the facility and placed in vats again. Then when I order the rock, the shipping only takes 6 hours to reach my front door, thats pretty fresh rock IMO.
Steve

 

[Anonymous]

I have fiji in both my tanks. I got it all at paragon, in CT. I drove up from nyc and picked it up. it was out of the water less than two hours, both time I have bought from them.

I did get a mantis, but I got him out of my main display tank and set him up in his own love hut. RIP, I lost him when my roommate was SUPPOSED TO WATCH THE EVAPORATION. I came home from vacation with a 1/2 full tank. lost the few mushrooms I had in there. I digress.

go with whatever you like. I hand picked all my rock because I was putting the rock in a 15 gal, and a 7 gal, so I didn't have much room.

Brett

 

[fishfarmer]

I really liked the Gulf-view I got this year. I bought the coralline 30 lbs special. I requested certain sized pieces and got exactly what I wanted. The shapes were better than the Tampa Bay rock a friend had bought. He had purchased the 55 gallon package deal. His rock has ABUNDANT coral coverage. He even gave me a frag. He still has a bunch of life on his rock and it is over a year old. Most of the life on my rock died from a heat wave/tank crash , BUT a lot of things did live like tunicates, sponges, corals, and fanworms.

I also have bought Fiji rock from Paragon Aquatics. I hand pick what I want. I found a nice rock with a Porites colony that is doing well in my tank.

 

[oimate84]

I have a mixed combo of both in my tank, it adds to the biodiversity in the system...

 

[beerbaron]

i also have a combo and here are my views

best shape for looks:

• 1 tonga
  2 figi (this varies though)
  3 florida (looks like big chunks with no crevices)

funcionality for filtering

• 1 figi
  2 tonga
  3 florida

amounts of live is a little clouded by other things. the more life that comes on a rock, the larger chance of getting undesirables(so its a trade off) also, alot of life thats on the fla aqua. dies from what ive seen. this increaces the cycle time. however, from what i can gather florida rock is better for the environment due to usa's strict regulations.

that said my favorite is the tonga for its attractive look, and either way you go, i would save some $$ and the reefs, and use >50% dead base rock which life will spread to within 6 months anyways.
HTH
IMO
FYI
FWIW
BB

 

[tpro]

newreefer03,
I personally prefer the fiji CURED live rock. The Florida aquacultured rock has lots of life on it but most of it dies and in your tank wich in turn fouls the water. Also the fiji rock is a lot lighter, more bang for the buck.Finally it's not the weight of the rock but the surface area for biological filtration and guess what the more porous,crevice filled fiji wins again.

 

[FrankB1]

I love all the life on the TBS/Gulfview but have decided to go with the deep water Tonga (Kaelini), Elkhorn island and a little figi due to the better shapes and porosity.

 

[newreefer03]

Thanks for everyone's input. I have decided to go with a mix. I am starting out with 50lb of LR from TBS and will add another 40lbs of fiji/tonga later. I hope I don't have problems with mantis shrimps.

 

[newreefer03]

Well I just want to update you on what happened. I ended up getting 50lbs of LR from Tampa Bay Saltwater. The rocks were nicer than I expected as they had some caves and crevices and were really loaded with life. There were many clams, sponges, feather dusters, christmas tree worms, corals, sea squirts, small anemones, 2 small red crabs (decorators?), and 1 med. hairy stone crab. I thought I lucked out, but on the 4th day I saw a mantis shrimp and have been trying to catch it or kill it. Anyone have any suggestions? I have located the rock hole it has been hiding in and tried to spear him with a skewer in the hole, but he waits till I stop then scoots out of the hole and hides somewhere else. Of course the rock he is hiding in is the largest rock with lots of sponges and corals so I am reluctant to take it out of the tank. Luckily as I am just starting my tank, I have no fish in the tank yet. Anyone with a good idea for a trap. The one I am using is homemade from a plastic coke bottle with the top cut off and inverted and baited with shrimp.
Of note, I also added a week after the florida LR, 18 lbs of Marshall island LR and 5lbs of Tonga LR from a LFS because I liked the shapes and couldn't resist. These rocks were not as interesting in terms of life on them. Just some coralline and a couple of hermits that I've seen so far.

 

[newreefer03]

Hooray, I finally caught the little bugger! This morning I poked at his hole with a skewer then stopped to see if he would come out. He came out within a few seconds and I chased him with a net. By blind luck he swam right into the trap and I scooped him and the trap out of the tank. If anyone is interested in mantis shrimps and live near Boston. They are welcome to him.

 

[TuffGong]

newreefer03, how bout some pics of the rock? Which type of rock did you get from them? (Coraline, deco, etc.)

 

[newreefer03]

Here are some pictures of my tank as some people have asked to see it. I hope the pictures come out ok.[/img]

 

[newreefer03]

Sorry the picture files were too big. I'll have to manipulate them. Or if you want email me your email address and I'll email them to you.