Live Rock with Life?

dgphelps

dgphelps

New member
Just coming back into the hobby after a long break. I picked up some "live" rock at Caesar's and it looks great and seemed reasonably priced. I wondered a bit about the fact it was outside (didn't seem heated) and covered from the light but saw some macro algae growth and thought all was well.

Then when at home I noticed the coralline was really painted on. Now, I have seen some tiny pods but other than that no life to speak of in 2 weeks. I got more life from dragon's cheat trimmings though sadly my salinity was a bit high (meter was off!) so none of the big pods made it. I do still see the tiny spec ones moving about.

One of the thrills of the hobby for me is setting up the tank and letting the live rock make magic - seeing without stocking what the tank becomes. I actually tend to stay that way adding little for a long time and that was my plan this time with maybe just a small soft coral frag for a focal point as it all does it's thing.

Is this standard now for live rock? I saw some more bland pieces of rubble in the tanks inside at caesars with bristle worms poking out, tempted to see if I can buy one of those since I am doing a nano and don't need much rock.
 
Thanks man. I have some dry live rock I could swap you from an old reef tank setup.

I am curious though, is this just the way of things now? I remember stinky shipments of live rock bought in group buys or from and LFS when they had a delivery. Not sure what to think about this new fake stuff. Is it really alive or partially cured?
 
dgphelps said:
I am curious though, is this just the way of things now? I remember stinky shipments of live rock bought in group buys or from and LFS when they had a delivery. Not sure what to think about this new fake stuff. Is it really alive or partially cured?
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I just took a look at the Walt Smith site. He used to be one of the premium Fiji LR exporters. All there is at his site is cultured LR. Since it is ocean cultured there should be similar life on it as there was on the natural rock.

I wonder if it still has the hitchhiker pest problems from days of old? :eek2:
 
I actually liked the hitchhikers! That said I never got a mantis shrimp and only rarely had aptasia. I think the other part about cultured rock is that there is an easy way to impact weight. The tiny bit of rock I picked up (seriously rubble sized fits in a mason jar) was 1.5 pounds which felt off.

I completely get saving the reefs and stopping importing - but I wonder how it is impacting the hobby. Ocean cultured LR sounds good but do they culture it in reef conditions or off the pier easy to pull up to ship out. :P I could take some rock and toss it out off Bodega bay and reel it up, but if the conditions aren't reef like (similar to what it felt like at the LFS) I wonder what good it does.

FWIW, I am not complaining, just wondering aloud about this shift. The rock I got at Caesar's looks really nice in a small tank. And it should get more life over time at any rate - it seems porous enough to do good and will provide a stable foundation at any rate.
 
I don't think anyone is answering your question.

I also got some rock from the same place, and they told me it was manmade, meaning some kind of rock/cement-like foundation followed by painting so that the rock looks nicer until things actually grow on it. They do it so it isn't pulled from the ocean, which in many ways is good.

How effective their technique of curing is I'm unsure, I think no light is one important aspect, so is flow, both of which they have there, but the one big missing piece is heat, the temp is supposed to be natural temp which it sounds like they are not doing. When I got rock from them I do feel like I paid too much for what I received.
 
Thank you all. Frost0fractal - that's what I am starting to think - $8 a pound for this rock was steep now that I watch it and learn more. Definitely not what we used to get in the hobby back in the day, but we are saving the oceans being more responsible. Live and learn I guess.

I think if I want to have actual life (not just a small tank with pretty painted rock and decent, maybe, bacteria load) I will need to take a few of you up on offers for some actually live rock from a tank with more reef like conditions. Heck, I'd be happy with a few bristle worms or maybe a micro star.

I'm going to keep an eye on it for a bit longer and then decide what to do. I will definitely need to inoculate with some type of life regardless. I'm just doing a nano tank so what rock I do have I'd like to be alive.
 
I believe their rock is called 'real reef' rock if you want to google it. It doesn't seem very porous, so not sure if it is as affective. I have some of it and after a while it looks like regular live rock.
 
Thanks. I did end up finding that and searching it last night after posting this. Quite a lot of folks like me out there who didn't have the whole picture, lucky I am setting up a nano and not a 100 gallon reef! Overall, it is made with similar calcium carbonate like true ocean found rock, but there is question over the binder and porosity. That and many places sell it dry, which honestly I might have preferred (along with a disclaimer at the LFS) about what it was. It can be cured and seeded, though as discussed earlier it should be done so in reef conditions. Some is even left in the ocean long enough to build up nice worm tubes and such. Sadly, not the pieces I got. Just a few bits of sad looking macro algae that I will watch to see signs of perking up. I think all the pod life I got was from chaeto Jason gave me.

I am glad I know more about it now, I honestly thought it was nice corralline growth when I took it home. It wasn't till I started looking at it in the tank I noticed it was pigment.

Macro rock looks to be the best man made stuff, great porosity and the prices aren't bad. they even sell some that is fully seeded with life both bacterial and hitchhiker. They don't sell anything but rubble in quantities that would work for a nano though.
 
I started my tank with all dry. Sources were BRS reefsaver, BRS Pukani and Reef Rocks.

The reefsaver and Reef Rocks seem to be the same stuff. Very similar to Marco. I believe it's mined from dry land. It's a bit on the heavy side.

OTOH, the Pukani is my favorite. Much lighter and full of holes and chambers. It should be cured if you don't want the algae bloom. I just put it right in and had a BIG algae bloom. I'm not complaining, just full disclosure. :) I enjoyed seeing the progression. Since you are doing nano my algae solution, tang and foxface, won't work for you.

I did nothing special to enliven it. I got some coraline from a friends tank and all sorts of life came in on frag plugs.

Let me know if you need any bristle worms or mini brittle stars. I have a few loose rocks that probably have a few! ;)
 
I bought rocks from reefers from established tanks. I also supplemented with some Marco rock and had a breeze cycling my tank. If I ever set up a new tank again from scratch, I will do the exact same thing
 
Great info, thank you. I'll look into the Pukani. I'm thinking of upgrading tanks (already I know!) to a slightly larger version - still a nano. Maybe I will use the real reef I have and supplement with something like the Pukani and seed it. I really like the idea of seeding with a touch of coraline to help it establish (and cover the pigment).

Jason gave me a nice bunch of Chaeto and with it some tiny fragments of some red macro algae. The chaeto seems unchanged but the red stuff is putting off new growth very quickly.

BTW, great group of reefers up here in North Bay. I have only met two of you in person but am looking forward to the March meet. Thank you for the offers of assistance and commentary. It is appreciated.
 
I have Pukani, Tonga, Real Reef, and Fiji rock, I like the Pukani the best, followed by the Fiji, but that is of course, not the most environmentally friendly.

Rock tends to be pricey either way (though it's only about $2-4 bucks per pound online for dry rock).

I would poke around to try to get rock from others, as that's usually your cheapest bet.
 
dgphelps said:
BTW, great group of reefers up here in North Bay. I have only met two of you in person but am looking forward to the March meet. Thank you for the offers of assistance and commentary. It is appreciated.
Click to expand...

This is a good group. Most laid back fish club I've been in. We be :cool:!

Looking forward to meeting you f2f!

How big are your current and proposed tanks?
 
woodnaquanut said:
Is your Fiji actually from the reef (old style, :) ) or manufactured like the current Walt Smith product?
Click to expand...

Honestly don't remember, was the first kind of rock I purchased I think, to tell you the truth I don't even know where it is now...

(unrelated I totally copied you and got a tang and am getting a foxface to keep my hair algae down)
 
woodnaquanut said:
This is a good group. Most laid back fish club I've been in. We be :cool:!

Looking forward to meeting you f2f!

How big are your current and proposed tanks?
Click to expand...

Currently I have a 2.5 gallon and a 1/4 gallon setup. I know, crazy on the small one. I am modeling it after a PJ Reef tank setup - no equipment save the light (LED combo) but also nothing beyond live rock, macro algae, and MAYBE a small hardy soft coral.

For the 2.5 I have a heater, filter, and flow plus LED combo lighting. I am looking at a 5 gallon nano setup which would give a touch more stability but I would basically have the same inhabitants; rock, macro, soft coral, and perhaps micro stars, small feather dusters, etc.

My first reef tank was a 29 gallon setup which I moved to a 75 gallon. I miss that tank. I had some gorgeous corals, an anemone, and a spawning clownfish pair. Stupid job moved me around too much for many years so I moved to planted tanks and freshwater shrimp tanks before stopping those too.

My oldest is waiting to start school in September so no more moving for a while for us. Might as well start small right? I mean, one can ALWAYS upgrade... I should start saving money now I guess.
 
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