LIve Rock Questions

[LeslieS]

OK, now that I have a definite delivery date for my tank, I am back in planning mode.

-can I add live rock and live sand after I have already added the water? I would prefer to do this if possible.

-Is all LR aquacultured? My LFS says that it is. Including Kaelini. I am trying to do an aquacultured/tank bred tank. At least for now.

-Reefer420 bought his rock from Tampa Bay Saltwater which was my original plan. Here is a pic of his 1st rock shipment. Sorry for stealing pics!!! Does it look like it is worth the expense and trouble of having it shipped in water? Reefer420, now that it has been a while, was it worth the trouble? With a 120 tank (240 lbs of rock) will it be harder to aquascape with this type of rock than it would be with barren base rock?

Thanks, Leslie

 

[simike]

hey Leslie.
you can fill your tank with water first if you want, but you have to account for water being displaced by the rock and your arms, so dont fill all the way. when you add sand and rock to the filled tank it will get very cloudy, kinda hard to see where you are puting stuff. having water in the tank with out LR or sand would not help you cycle sooner, you need the bacteria from the rocks to grow.
I think most rock is aquacultured, some exotic might not be. aq rock is just eaiser to collect and legal.

A 125 gallon is a huge tank, and 240 is a very generous amount of rock, not to mention you might be talking well over $1000 for LR. Tampa bay SW rock is very live. lots of algae, sponges, pests, etc, ive even heard a person got a octopus with a box, some people love it, some hate it. The reason they ship it in water is to try to keep all this life alive, thus reducing your cycle time. do some searches on it, see if you like it. IMO for a 125 you could use some base rock and cover it with nice LR, you just need some LR to seed your tank. I have only a nano and am pretty new to this, so ask some of the people with the larger tanks.
good luck

 

[prattreef]

Hi Leslie,
1) while you could proceed this way, adding sand after the tank is full is very messy. Far better to add the sand first. It really doesn't matter when the rock goes in as long as you firmly seat it on the bottom. Ideally, you would put down the base rock, add sand, then water and the rest of the rocks.

2) The VAST majority of live rock is NOT aquacultured and whoever told you that is just trying to make a sale. The only cultured rock I know of is TBS ( perhaps a few other FL. sites) and Walt Smith does culture some rock in Fiji that is not widely avaiible. The sustainability of wild rock collection is an issue of some debate, but if it is done responsibly ( is it ?) this should not be a problem. Up to you to decide how much this matters to you.

Randy

 

[aaron23]

The rock looks terrific, i've heard nothing but A+ reviews from past customers of tampa bay saltwater rock but its quite expensive IMO and I would go with cheaper rock such as Dr foster smith fiji rock etc..

 

[nanoreefer22]

I'd go with Randy and simike. Get some base rock where the rocks will be in contact with the sand and place LR over it. It'll save you money and will be just as good in no time at all.

With a nano I'll be setting up it will be mostly base rock with just a few pounds of live rock, however, I plan on taking a lot of time stocking it.

There are some places online where you can get base rock relatively cheap, something like $1 per pound.
-Kris

 

[LeslieS]

Thanks guys! I pretty much knew the answer to the "is all rock aquacultured" ? but wanted to double check.

I definitely am all for the economics of base rock! But, will all LR cut down on my tank cycle time. Reefer420 had barely any cycle, but he has a nano. Could the same apply on my 120 scale?

 

[Falco]

The amount of "live" rock you put in the tank will affect the cycle time. If you put say 200lbs of fiji uncured rock into your tank it should take about 3 weeks to fully cure inside your tank. If you put 100lbs of fiji rock and 100lbs of base rock then the amount of die-off should not be as much as the 200lbs and should cure faster (~2 weeks).

As for what to get I am not a big fan of the TBS rock due to the amount of bad hitchhikers you can get. In a 200lb order I am sure you will get a few unwanted crabs and maybe even a mantis :skull: Save yourself the headache and go with some fiji rock.

Also you sound like you want to get the ball rolling and cut the cycle time down, with TBS they give you 2 different shipments and a break in between so it almost evens the playing field in that respect.

Check out http://reefermadness.us/RM-LiveRock.htm they have top notch rock for a great price. Shipping is included in the price and the stuff is very fresh!

-Chris

 

[jhale]

Leslie, check with Deepwater/Ronen, he gets some good live rock for people here.

 

[masterswimmer]

Leslie, another point to ponder is that TBS rock is very dense. There is less surface area on 1 lb of TBS rock than there is on 1 lb of Fiji, Marshall Island, Kaelini, etc. IMO it makes TBS rock less effective, and, you need to buy more of it to fill the same volume.

 

[druluv]

Leslie, another point to ponder is that TBS rock is very dense. There is less surface area on 1 lb of TBS rock than there is on 1 lb of Fiji, Marshall Island, Kaelini, etc. IMO it makes TBS rock less effective, and, you need to buy more of it to fill the same volume.

Good Point on the tampa bay concrete rock.

Newbies, becareful of the hype, some of these companies will sell you a dream. My Homework for newbies: Read This Book Before you purchase anything:

The Reef Aquarium Vol 3 by JC Delbeek & J Sprung HC
The long-awaited next book in this popular series. This book discusses the science, art and technology of building reef aquariums. Covers new ideas in filtration, lighting, and system design, plumbing, pumping, and electrical design, foods and feeding, new aquascaping techniques and future trends in the hobby. It holds many surprises and spectacular photographs. 680 pages.

 

[LeslieS]

OK, How about Reefer Rocks? They also aquaculture, but it is still Florida rock. I am guessing that it is the same kind of rock as TBS?

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

The TBS gimmick is that they ship in actual bags of water so there is less of a curing time with their rocks. As with all rock you are gonna get HH's both good and bad. Ronen can get you some really decent stuff at a good price and it has alot of surface area for good bacteria to colonize. It is also good to remember that you are going to cycle a new tank and but putting pre cured rock in the tank that is going to take a while. But if you have a little die-off on those rocks you will add to the amonia level quickly and also help the spikes to happen sooner. This is just my opinion.

I think the only way you should buy fully cured rock is if you have an established tank. New tanks need that dead stuff to help the bacteria multiply and complete your cycle.

 

[aaron23]

if its florida rock its still the dense concretish type rock.

 

[masterswimmer]

-Is all LR aquacultured? My LFS says that it is. Including Kaelini. I am trying to do an aquacultured/tank bred tank. At least for now.

Leslie, if your intent is to go with an aquacultured tank, then the odds are that you'll get the concretish type rock. Why are you looking to go this route? Is it for the environmentalist approach?

R

 

[cali_reef]

FYI, Walt Smith Aquacultured rocks are made from concrete and crushed corals, it is then submerged in the bays around Fiji to grow, you are not saving the environment that much by using it. The natural rocks being shipped out of these island are not making much impact on nature, they are mostly dead coral washed up in storms, the collection process some uses are eroding the local beaches and that is the major impact.

Go with the shapes you like, if you like lime stone with very little holes and shapes than TB or any Florida rock is for you, I personally think they suck. Tonga branches, Kailonii, Marshall Island or premium Fiji are some I like.

For dry base rock, check out www.marcorocks.com . I got about 60 pounds of this stuff few months ago and they are pretty nice.

 

[cali_reef]

BTW, no short cuts in this hobby, you will experience a cycle when you have 100+ gallons of fresh water and a bunch of "live" rocks that WILL have dead stuff on it.
You'll need to wait for this to finish before adding live fish in the tank.

 

[joseney21]

I agree with the above post 100%. just wait out the extra three-six weeks. very short wait time when compared to the amount of time spent when cutting corners.

 

[aaron23]

when you cut corners there will be headaches. Take your time dont think about going the short route and wanting to quickly add fish... its tempting but gota wait. gl w/ ur choice.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

I am not saying that anyone is cutting corners here at all. Just that there is a gimmick with companies like TBS and that is less curing time because the rocks are shipped in water that's all. The rocks come with alot of life on them I will say that, just ask reefer420, he now has to fish out a mantis that has been causing havoc in his tank LOL.

 

[aaron23]

ouch ;\