live rock costs...

[AquaMANNN]

So, I bought some new rock for my 29g today after getting rid of all of the bubble algae covered rock that was in the tank. Completely cleaned all the equiptment etc. so there is a smaller chance of it growing back...

There is only one marine store in Evansville where I live, and they are a good store, just the only one. They had some very nice coraline algae covered pieces, some somewhat airy and light. The price was $9 per pound. I bought 10.5 pounds, THREE medium pieces and it totaled $105. This seemed pretty darn high to me for only three small to medium rocks, but hey they were niece pieces. I am probably going to do a lighter airy-er look to the tank that is better looking for fish rather than corals.. I still have another $100 to spend for the other 3 or 4 pieces unless I want to buy their base rock which is $6 a pound. It is submerged however, not dry base rock.

Do you think I payed way to much? If I ordered the pieces online I would not have been able to hand pick them, and would had to pay $40 or so shipping.

None of these pieces are "bad" by any means. They still have some super nice stuff, and I plan on going back next tues to pick up a few more pieces..they came out of a old aquarium that was torn down so they had a pretty good amount of life, etc.

If you guys could buy nice but expensive fully cured pieces at $9 a pound, or took a chance and bought it online, which would you choose?

 

[VacavilleFC3S]

yes you did over pay, i refuse to pay over 4lb a pound for rock. check craigslist

 

[noahm]

If I had to buy a bunch, I would do it online from premium aquatics (I think they are close to you. maybe could do better on shipping) or someplace with similar reputation. They will help you sort of pick your pieces. For smaller amounts, it is just easier to buy local, or look for a deal on a tank break-down because of shipping. $9 is a bit high, but not way out of line by any means. If you like the rock, then it should be considered a good purchase. I've seen dead lumps of nothing go for more.

 

[rbnice1]

Live rock is over rated.

Get good dry rock from marco rocks, or bulk reef for about 3 bucks a pound. Then find some one with a really nice mature tank and buy or borrow a small rock and sand to seed your tank.

Then you get no pest's like bubble algae.

 

[Fig]

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=393

 

[andrewk529]

it goes for 8-10$ a pound around here for "premium" LR ..base rock here is 3$ pe pound, which is what i used to set up my tank. i only added about 10lbs of fiji/tonga to seed..i agree there isn't a reason to spend 400+ on live rock when in reality you only need a few pounds

 

[ethank77]

the pucani echo rock is realt nice stuff just got a bathch from brs it is so light when you put in the tank it almost wants to float

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

liverock is underrated IMO

back in the early 90's it was common to see Marshall Island rock for $10- $13 /lb.

Rock prices have dropped as quality has increased- but that's not always the case.

Caveat emptor!

 

[AquaMANNN]

Well I am starting to think that its worth it even tho its gonna cost me between $150-$200 for my 29 gallon, at least it is covered (mostly) in corraline algae, interesting shapes, and fully cured. I don't have to wait to add fish or nything since the tank was previously set up for over a year... I kept about 25% of the original water and my 2 remaining fish and corals survived the whole event.

It still gets me tho that I only got 3 small to medium pieces for $100. Probably at least one or 2 of the other pieces I am going to get will be base rock which they are charging $6/ a pound.

 

[jayk198030]

it depends.. i have some beautiful tonga fusion rock.. its again beautiful.. i got for a deal (bought some ones complete setup real cheap and all i wanted was the rock) he paid $9-10per pound. its so nice i broke down my exsiting 120g setup to redo with this tonga rock. if i had the money and was doing a real fancy nice setup.. i would spend it. everything that looks good cost money (tanks,women,cars,etc.)

 

[iFisch]

The problem is dry rock looks ugly. And it looks ugly for a darn long time until it's covered in life.

If you have the money, go for it.

$9/lb for hand-picked LR isn't bad. Often reef club members that are selling tanks sell locally for about $3-$4/lb.


If you needed it, and none was available from a reef club member, you did a good job. If you like it - buy more.


I just can't stand to look at white rock. Purple/pink rock is much cooler to look at.

 

[Aberrix]

BRS eco (dry) rocks are like $2/lb and last month they had FREE shipping!

 

[teog]

Check craiglist. You can find LR for $2 per pound. It common to even finder it cheaper on there too.

 

[clownaround2]

Buy less expensive rock and try purple-up, that should get it going. Fellow club member took his system down and started from scratch a couple of months later. His rocks where in trash cans all that time. He used purple-up and some scrapped off coralline algae from another tank. Work fast and looks great.

 

[patsfan1130]

If there is a reef club in your area - join. members in my club sell it for $2/lb all day long

 

[pIankton]

I see LR going for all kinds of different prices around here. Usually in the $8 / lb range now for the regular old stuff. The cost of rock is going up - I payed right over $6 / lb for Marshall Island from a LFS here (bought 110 lbs so I got it cheap). It's $13 / lb now in a LFS and it doesn't look anything like the stuff I bought about 3-1/2 years ago.

 

[chort55]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15647905#post15647905 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by patsfan1130
If there is a reef club in your area - join. members in my club sell it for $2/lb all day long

+1... I have seen as low as $1.50/lb for good LR, and 50 cents a lb for dry rock Hardly ever more then $2-4/lb for the good stuff.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Yeah I don't pay more than 3 or 4 dollars per lb, get it from other reefers downsizing or getting out.

 

[Frogmanx82]

You can't compare dead live rock to live rock that's covered in coraline algae, a host of pods and other inverts. I have paid $7 a pound and thought I was getting a real deal since it is seeding the other rock I have. I don't think you need to fill your tank with that unless you just have extra money. A balance of $4 rock that is cured but dead and $9 rock that is teeming with life is a good way to go.