Fiji needed!

[Trex420]

I have to ask... What you all got against sponges? I think they look pretty cool and I haven't read anything bad about them.

 

[Rodness]

So has anyone found any good rock in town recently? I'm pushing Reef and Pond to order some.. they used to get the funky purple rock, and it was well cured too. Now all I see are coral heads (usually Tonga) all over.

 

[Rodness]

Those sponges pop up in the worst spots.. competing with my most colorful zoas.. dying off and makin my water nasty. I hate green sponges the most! ;/

 

[Trex420]

I ended up ordering some from a place I found online. I am waiting for 60# of Caribbean for $135. I'll let you know how it is. Total cost with shipping $212 or $3.53/ # including shipping. I plan on picking up another 45-50 # box soon most likely @ a LFS. Just couldn't spend $$$ all that at once. I'll most likely pick up some Fiji or Tonga.

 

[bmb527]

One thing to keep in mind, the Carrib., Hatian and Fl. Aquaculture rock is usually quite a bit more dense than Fiji, Tonga or others from the south seas. Makes for a huge rock wall and flow problems. Go with Tonga, Fiji or others from the Pacific. It will still have hitch hikers, give your tank a more open look and more room to grow. Just my opinion.
Bill

 

[Trex420]

bmb527
I don't think it is aquacultured. Although if it turns out to be I won't be that disappointed being a tree hugger. I have a tough time with some parts of the aquarist hobby. LR "harvesting" is one of them. Fortunately I've been able to get almost all my corals here on RC in the form of frags.

http://www.etropicals.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=44&pCatId=1359

 

[Rodness]

I agree with you Trex420. Especially with all the coral bleaching going on with high sea surface temps.

I'd pay more for aquacultured corals.. I miss Kie's Fragshop.. all those aquacultured corals made me giddy!

 

[Trex420]

Interesting article on Fiji LR and a great site for Freshwater fish. They also explain what Walt Smith LR is. Thanks for the tip Castor. I'll have to ask Shermans about that, it would explain a lot.

http://news.mongabay.com/2005/0726-geogia-fiji.html

 

[Rodness]

All this talk of Walt Smith rock makes me yearn for some Fiji!!

I'd be willing to buy a box of this aquacultured, fake rock.. it looks just as nice as the regular Fiji. We should convince Yale at Quality Aqua to buy some.. his live rock tanks are empty.

 

[bmb527]

Although the aquacultured rock is a great idea, most of the time it is much more dense than the L/R that is more common. Some of the more ethical suppliers collect rock from hurricane or tsunami areas. Quite a bit of it has already been broken off of the reef. I have had L/R from Fiji, Tonga, as well as some of the Carib./Florida rock, Tonga area seems to be the lightest, most porous, which means you don't need as much of it as it has a larger surface area for bacteria to colonize.