any live rock?

[Shaar]

i'm ready to start my tank up and i'm wondering if anyone wants to go in on an order of live rock or maybe knows of a way i can get some for a great price locally. i was just about to drive to NE arkansas to pick up some from a person that was tearing down there tank, but after the gas there and back it would cost the same to pick it up from C&S. i'm probably going to go to C&S tomorrow and talk to john and see what hes got in and see if theres any nice shapes.

let me know if you have better ideas! i dont want to drive far fyi.

 

[John Kelly]

Hi Shaar,

Here is my personal take on "Live" rock.

When I do it all over again, I am going to use ALL base rock (dead rock) like what John sells at C & S for cheap, and also use some DIY rock, then I'm going to pick out a small single nice piece of live rock with a species of coralline algae that I prefer (there are different species) or maybe even use shavings of coraline. If I use a "live" rock, I'm going to isolate that rock for long enough to make sure there are no unwanted algaes or creatures on it, then I will stick it in my tank to seed the rest of the base rock. After that, I will NEVER buy or trade any coral or fish that comes from a tank that has:
Cyano
Vermitid Snails
Bubble Algae:Valonia (Impossible to get rid of)
Hydriods
Hair Algae (or any other visible nusiance algae)
Aptasia Anemones
Majano Anemones
or
Small Feather dusters (the calcareous and the soft tube kinds)
and I'm sure there is more to list.

Most of the "benefits" of introducing live rock into my tanks have been dwarfed by the introduction of unwanted "crap" from live rock that cause more problems than benefits.
The only benefit of live rock that I can contemplate, is the coralline algae and the bacteria that live in the interstitial spaces of the rock. The coralline can be isolated and introduced separately into the tank and so can the bacteria...........without paying $$$ for a bunch of rock. Without the coralline and the bacteria, the rock is "dead" anyway.

Just my opinion .

 

[je1683]

Not only that, but last time I checked, John charges around 9.00/pound for "live"rock.

 

[SoupySteve]

i get along with john well - but i think that may have something to do with the fact he gets about $75-100 a month from me i got all my LR from him at like $6 a LB when i assured him i'd be getting over 50lbs from him over a month...

i think a good option to get LR like you're wanting is to order a package appropriate for your tank from a reputable place like fosters&smith. if you don't want to pay $100 on an order, get somone in here like myself who would be "in" on a livegoods order or whatever. several of us seas folk have gone in on group orders and gotten GREAT deals... just a thought.

 

[Shaar]

yea i was up last night contemplating what to do exactly and i did decide that i would get a lot of base rock in the shapes i want, then add a few pounds of live rock to the tank to seed the base rock. it seems this would be the most efficient and controllable way to start my tank. i think i'm actually going to do that today. i'll swing up to C&S this afternoon. his "live" rock is 5.50/lb if you get 25 or more lbs and 7/lb if you get less than that. base rock i believe is 2/lb. is there anywhere else i town that has base rock for sale? i'm looking for hopefully some flat peices along with tall ones for arch structures and more variety in my tank.

 

[SoupySteve]

no one else that i know of sells live rock - some of us in here may have a few chunks here and there we could spare you.
the DIY LR that we did months ago really is every bit as cool (if not cooler) than the real thing. obviously though, you get no cool hitchhikers like you would on the real deal. you can however, make some wicked shapes (needle's eye, arches, etc).
by the way, i do have MSN messenger installed - not too familiar with it - but i am soupysteve@mchsi.com on there..;

 

[aquaconnect]

I bought several 'dead' rocks from John at CS, and built my foundation with that. Then I ordered bigger 'live' pieces from reefermadness when I set up my tank for seed. I let it cycle for about 6mts when I first set up my tank with only 2 damsels. Then, if something came up, I just pulled the rock or whatever and scrubbed it. This way, I didn't have expensive rock on the bottom that you wouldn't see anyway, that would turn 'live'. I just made sure the 'dead' rock was porus so that it was live and so 'bugs' and stuff would have a place to hide. A reefer just has to take the time to set it up right, and if you're willing to wait and cycle it slowly, you can save some cash in the long run. That's my 2cents.

 

[Shaar]

i made a foam wall out of eggcrate and foam. i'm planning on putting that in there, building up everything with the $2/# rock from john then put a small piece or two of live rock in there to seed it. i'm in no rush since my budget just lowered a bit. i can wait as long as it takes now i guess and i'm going to cycle it naturally, then when my water is safe, i will put a few damsels in there then someday replace them with something else. thanks for the help guys.

 

[noapollono]

I have so much live rock it hurts I will sell you a couple pieces for cheap.

 

[Shaar]

what kind of rock? what kinda deal can ya cut me

 

[noapollono]

I have some large shelf peices but I would rather sell you small nicely covered rocks to seed your tank. Come look and we can make a deal.

 

[Shaar]

i have tests all week long and a wedding to go to today. i will see if i can come halfway through the week or maybe towards the end (maybe friday). PM me your number and i will give you a call around then. thanks

PS pm me your name as well so its not awkard when i give you a call i'm steve btw