Is this the exciting future of Live Rock? Must See!!!

[sirreal63]

You will be amazed at how things get into your tank that you did not want there. Even inverts can bring them in, and many spores can remain dormant for a long period of time before conditions are favorable then spring into life. Unfortunately you cannot dip for everything and the only advice I would want to give you is if you strive to keep stuff out of your tank, do not ever put a frag plug into your tank. It is amazing how much stuff can hide and survive on a frag plug. Remove all corals from their plugs.

 

[liverock]

Trust me I know...my first dive was Point Arena in the winter time....climb down the cliff...and I forgot my booties...can you say purple ankles....second was Mo bay right off the beach...was certified in 1968..in Sacto....and trust me I wait all year for summer diving in jeans...as the water here can get to 51 in the winter time..full 6mil suit...40 pounds weight...winter is the pits....but the water is 88 right now!

Richard TBS
www.tbsaltwater.com:lolspin::lolspin::lolspin:

Regarding post #113 / dive pictures. That must be like diving in bath water...

Out here in Cali its cold. Monterey diving is some of the best (opinion) in the world that I've seen to date but boy is it cold compared to what you guys have. 60'ish in the summer at surface but still 49 - 54 at depth. Better visibility of course is in the winter months so surface temp is colder

You guys are in shorts / t-shirt and I'm in 7 mil body + 3 mil chest heater + 3 mil hood, gloves, and boots Oh, forgot to add the extra weight due to layers of neoprene which is about 28 - 32 lbs. depending on how good I am on my body weight

Have to say just a wee bit jelly of your day job (although I can't say kudo's enough for what you do and risk from a small business point of view - and that is what living in the U.S. is all about).

 

[Patchmty]

Don't feed the troll

 

[BigJohnny]

You will be amazed at how things get into your tank that you did not want there. Even inverts can bring them in, and many spores can remain dormant for a long period of time before conditions are favorable then spring into life. Unfortunately you cannot dip for everything and the only advice I would want to give you is if you strive to keep stuff out of your tank, do not ever put a frag plug into your tank. It is amazing how much stuff can hide and survive on a frag plug. Remove all corals from their plugs.

I QT everything including inverts. And yes I remove frag plugs. You can dip/medicate/isolate and die out anything im concerned with. I am familiar with all stages of parasites/pests etc and how to eradicate them. Thanks for the tip though [emoji6]

 

[BigJohnny]

Don't feed the troll

You are clearly of a different generation and confused as to what a troll actually is. I thought it was funny however [emoji106]. I am not a troll, however this has now gotten too far away from the main discussion so I now digress. Enjoy!

BTW, very cool live rock OP! I too am jealous of your gig. Good luck to you.

 

[billsreef]

The benefit of truly live rock like this is just lost on some people and there is no point in trying to convince them otherwise.
It's just one of those things were until you experience it, you just won't get it.

X 2

I remember the days before live rock. I also remember collecting my first LR in the Keys on vacation back in the 80's when it was legal. Ever since, I have been a die hard LR fan, the more the merrier. Quite frankly the most stable and successful tanks I've ever run have been all LR for the structure. Whether it comes from the LFS, another hobbyist, a wholesaler, or direct from someone like Richard, it all came from the ocean originally. Can undesirable hitchhikers come from LR? Of course. They also come from fish and corals, basically anything wet you add. There are easy ways to deal with those hitchhikers, especially when starting with just the LR when setting up a new tank... the prime time for using LR.

 

[billsreef]

Regarding post #113 / dive pictures. That must be like diving in bath water...

Out here in Cali its cold. Monterey diving is some of the best (opinion) in the world that I've seen to date but boy is it cold compared to what you guys have. 60'ish in the summer at surface but still 49 - 54 at depth. Better visibility of course is in the winter months so surface temp is colder

You guys are in shorts / t-shirt and I'm in 7 mil body + 3 mil chest heater + 3 mil hood, gloves, and boots Oh, forgot to add the extra weight due to layers of neoprene which is about 28 - 32 lbs. depending on how good I am on my body weight

Have to say just a wee bit jelly of your day job (although I can't say kudo's enough for what you do and risk from a small business point of view - and that is what living in the U.S. is all about).

I started out diving in the NE, I joke about how much weight I lost moving to Miami... don't need nearly as much lead here

 

[Patchmty]

@BigJohnny here is the definition of troll as applied in my comment.

In*Internet slang, a*troll*(/ˈtroʊl/,*/ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,*extraneous, or*off-topic*messages in an online community (such as a*newsgroup, forum,*chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an*emotional*response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.

And I'll leave at that or I might be considered a troll myself.

 

[BigJohnny]

@BigJohnny here is the definition of troll as applied in my comment.

In*Internet slang, a*troll*(/ˈtroʊl/,*/ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,*extraneous, or*off-topic*messages in an online community (such as a*newsgroup, forum,*chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an*emotional*response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.

And I'll leave at that or I might be considered a troll myself.

Yea exactly, I never posted

"inflammatory,*extraneous, or*off-topic*messages"

and certainly not

"with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an*emotional*response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion."

Don't know how you interpreted it that way. Have a nice day!

 

[CuzzA]

Back to the topic. Can anyone explain why life is attracted to this rock so much faster than harvested reef rock? I mean literally 10x as fast.

My understanding is Walt's rock is made of volcanic pumice and then held together buy some sort of epoxy/cement with an oxide coloring. I'm baffled why life would choose that surface over dead coral.

???

 

[taricha]

Back to the topic. Can anyone explain why life is attracted to this rock so much faster than harvested reef rock? I mean literally 10x as fast.

My understanding is Walt's rock is made of volcanic pumice and then held together buy some sort of epoxy/cement with an oxide coloring. I'm baffled why life would choose that surface over dead coral.

???

Never owned it, so just guessing. If it is indeed faster, it doesn't seem likely it's due to the composition being "better" than reef rock but more likely the rock shape/structure being more inviting.

Guess #1 that the mechanism behind it is that more porous rock allows faster diffusion of nutrients from the exterior water to some depth within the rock. Lots of organisms should find that beneficial.

Guess #2 that the rock surface might be "rougher" on a small scale than reef rock which would provide more surface area interface between rock and water, and therefore more area for microscopic life to congregate, and therefore jumpstart the colonization process.

People who have experience with the rock can comment on whether either of those are plausibly true.

 

[smatter]

High quality live rock is my favorite part of a reef tank because it is so "chock-full" of life. Using dry rock is like riding a fixed gear bike... no coasting. Or shaving with an electric razor. Or using a gas grill.

 

[liverock]

OK...thread back on track .... LOL

OK...thread back on track .... LOL

Here we go...some rock going down to support the Atlantic hard coral project Permit #FKNMS-2014-181 at Florida International University.

This rock in conjunction with the corals supplied by CRF will result in the first all aqua cultured totally Eco-friendly reef tank with Walt Smiths 2.1 rock cultured in the Gulf of Mexico from my aquaculture site. Seems apropos that it will be at a Universities Marine Science center for students and the public to see.







Richard TBS
www.tbsaltwater.com :lolspin::lolspin::lolspin:

 

[CuzzA]

Only a reefer would find those images gorgeous. :lmao:

 

[d2mini]

Those pics make me rock...... ummm.... never mind.

 

[KingTriton1]

I think many people on here become skeptical when they hear about this rock because most of the comments are from either locals or others that have a relationship with Richard.

Well from someone who has no direct ties with Richard all I can say is.... Wow. You guys weren't kidding this new rock really is that awesome. I just picked up my shipment from the airport (which I hate doing... The people at my airport are so lazy) and right when I opened the box I was amazed by how nice this rock was. Richard definitely exceeds all other suppliers when it comes to live rock. Glad he has allowed people in this industry to get true live rock and not just dead rock that has been cured at your LFS.

 

[KingTriton1]

Please stop, im begging you. This is ridiculous. I stated from the get go and several times throughout that I didn't want debate.

It has nothing to do with disagreeing with me, you can disagree all you want, you've made that abundantly clear. So why are you still talking?

The purpose of this thread is for everyone to post their QT set ups and procedures. I said the same thing to someone who agreed with me.

You've posted your qt procedures, now sit back and observe for the benefit of everyone!

Why don't you start your own thread called "debating ich transfer on corals/inverts" if you want to continue? This is not the place for it yet you almost have the majority of posts on this thread.

BigJohnny why don't you follow your own advice and start your own thread called "dry vs live rock" if you want to continue? This is not the place for it yet you almost have the majority of post on this thread.

 

[dingodan87]

I agree. People like you ruin forums! Why are you even on this thread if u don't use live rock??? I subscribed to this thread cuz I'm interested in the subject matter but am see nothing but flooding pointless and annoying posts

 

[Devaji108]

Only a reefer would find those images gorgeous. :lmao:

HAHAHAHA I was kinda thinking the same!
us reefing nerds. can look at some rock and go ohhhh uoooooo ahhhhhh

 

[billsreef]

Only a reefer would find those images gorgeous. :lmao:

Too true

Looking forward to seeing the rock in person tomorrow.

Thanks again Richard :wavehand:

BTW, if he gives me any more ideas, I'm going to need a bigger lab :lol: