Confused about Live Rock

[travisurfer]

For live rock for my 20H, should I:
buy 20# from the doctors
get 30lbs from HIrocks and seed it w/high quality live rock
buy nice rock little by little until i have enough

Id rather not deal with shipping because im rather busy and dont want it sitting on the porch for a day.

 

[Anonymous]

First of all

:welcome:

For a small tank I would get all good quality live rock. Mail order would probably be the way to go unless you have a good LFS. As far as shipping, live rock will more than likely be shipped over night. You can arrange to have arrive on a day you know you will be home. Most mail order places work with you on when to ship.

Good luck with the tank

 

[travisurfer]

ok thanks, the only problem is that i cant spend too much on live rock. i have around $90. the live rock at my lfs is really nice but its $6 a lb(if you buy 10+ lbs). that would only get me 15lbs. should i go with that to start the tank off? its fully cured so i guess i could add some more later.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi travissurfer, and :welcome:

Since your 20 is fairly small, I'd go ahead and get good quality live rock. If none of your local fish stores have any good rock, then ordering on-line is the next best thing.

I have never bought from the the two place you listed, but I have bought from Premium Aquatics. Their rock is awesome. I bought their cured Marshall Island live rock and think it is terrific.

You can call them and describe what sizes and shapes you are looking for and they will try and accommodate your request.

Good luck!

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

ok thanks, the only problem is that i cant spend too much on live rock. i have around $90. the live rock at my lfs is really nice but its $6 a lb(if you buy 10+ lbs). that would only get me 15lbs. should i go with that to start the tank off? its fully cured so i guess i could add some more later.

You could go that route if you like. Just make sure that any additional live rock you add is already cured. Louey suggested PA for live rock. I have not bought LR from them but every other order I have placed with them whent great.

 

[Anonymous]

Since your lfs has good cured rock, I'd go ahead and get what you can afford now and add more later.

Just make sure that the rock you get later is completely cured if you are adding it to your tank after you have other livestock. If there is any die off it would be harmful to your livestock..

Louey

 

[travisurfer]

ok, i guess that sounds like the best option
(their rock is cured)

 

[travisurfer]

would 15# of rock make an alright aquascape and filtration to start out with. or should i buy some of the carribean rock from the doctors.

sorry for all the questions, i just dont want to screw up my first sw tank(and im one of those perfectionists :roll: )

 

[Anonymous]

15 pounds is plenty for filtration. Hard to say about the aquascape. It really depends on what type of rock your LFS sells. If it is very porous, 15# may be all you ever need.

Don't forget to leave plenty of room for your corals to grow. A lot of folks start out with too much rock.

Some corals come mounted to a small rock too. So you need to account for that.

Louey

 

[travisurfer]

ok, i found a place called www.ecoreefaquatics.com

would 25lbs of their rock include shipping?

 

[Anonymous]

The free shipping is for 100 #'s or more.

Louey

 

[travisurfer]

ok, it was kinda misleading

 

[fungia]

i have bought lr from oceanpro and love it. good selection and good rock: http://oceanproaquatics.com/about.htm

for a small tank i recommend the buna branch rock, it is great nano rock!

 

[travisurfer]

i would only be able to afford the ground shipping b/c im on the east coast. i think that would be took long, right?

the rock looks awesome though

 

[Rob Top]

I bought from the docs, tong branch and some other type, can't remember what. The branch was more like twigs, they jumpped through hoops to fix it. Good place to buy from.

 

[Mcg180]

Where at on the east coast? Sea Trade Marine is an excellent source for live rock. Bernie, the owner, is very helpful and is located in southern New Jersey. Great selection of rock and very reasonable. His web site is www.seatrademarine.com.

 

[travisurfer]

would this work?
http://www.seatrademarine.com/Merchant2 ... ry_Code=LR

 

[travisurfer]

^^^btw i am on the east coast in north carolina

 

[Mcg180]

Should work for filtration, but I thought you were looking to use the rock in the aquascape. If so, you should look at some the other rock. I think he sells 50lb minimum quantities, which will be too much for your tank so maybe you can hook up with someone local looking for additional rock and do a combined purchase. I have seen him do group sales to folks in NJ.

 

[travisurfer]

i found someone that will sell me 15lbs, if it falls through i guess ill do a gropu buy. www.reefscience.com also looks really nice. hes also 2 hrs away from my house. :lol:

im not sure what is prices are though