get my own live rock

[adrian75]

i am planning on collecting my own live rock from a nearby rocky island and putting into my new reef tank. what should i do when getting it straight from the ocean.

cheers, adrian

 

[bertoni]

Well, first of all, collection might be illegal, and unless you're getting tropical coral reef rock, it might not work very well.

If those two tests pass, you should be able to set up a tank first, and then collect the rock.

 

[adrian75]

i have a permit, but i dont think its an actual reef there is only a few corals around. there are some reefs close by though, i dont yet have my dive ticket but i can hold my breathe pretty long. 2 min 10. so u think i should get it from the reef. like should there be broken off pieces that would be easy to colect

 

[bertoni]

Well, real live rock is composed of coral skeletons. They tend to be porous, which is what makes live rock useful for filtration. You could collect a piece or two and see what it's like. You'll want to have your tank set up and ready to go, and get the live rock into it as quickly as possible. Try to keep it in water, too.

Then, you'll have the hitchhikers to handle.

 

[JmLee]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7057893#post7057893 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bertoni
Well, real live rock is composed of coral skeletons. They tend to be porous, which is what makes live rock useful for filtration. You could collect a piece or two and see what it's like. You'll want to have your tank set up and ready to go, and get the live rock into it as quickly as possible. Try to keep it in water, too.

Then, you'll have the hitchhikers to handle.

i kinda disagree on the coral skeleton deal. There alot of Boulder type LR.