My reef bones

[grendl]

As judgement day draws inexorably closer, I finally bought some bones to start my tank off with. When I actually get water (RO/DI should be here this week) I am going to have to buy a couple giant chunks of LR to seed the tank with, as well as buying some more bones to fill the tank out, but I wanted to get a good portion of nice rock to start with. I dealt with "Captain Jer" at reefrocks.com, who seems like a really good guy. I am anxious to get my rocks from him, so I can post my review in the vendors area, as dealing with RR has been a real treat so far. It looks like his premium rock is shaped really well, & the man photos what he collects before he ships it & asks if it is good enough for you. Thats what I call service!!!

 

[WVfishguy]

Looks like great rock - BUT, If you don't soak those bones in a separate container of salt water for at least two weeks before adding to your display, you will be singing the blues bigtime. Just see how dark it turns the water, and you'll see what I mean.

 

[grendl]

Really??? My understanding was with dead rock, it just needed to be cleaned & dropped in.... Why would I need to let it soak? It is reef rock, from the ocean, & its not coming with stuff crusted on it to die off, it is dead dead dead. hehe

PLEASE NOTE!!! I am not doubting your expertise, just wanting to know why I would need to give a long soak in SW to something that I thought would be neutral to begin with.

 

[LowCel]

I received some of that from them in the past, I actually won two of their monthly drawings. I just rinsed it off and put it in my tank both times and never had a problem. Maybe I just got lucky.

 

[firefish2020]

I don't know, but if Fish Guy says it, I personally tend to listen to him

Im also no big fan of reef rock pulled right from the sea unless it is confirmed it was collected with a valid permit or better still mined in an ocean friendly manner (nothing against this vendor I don't know anything about his rock). That's why I use and recommend Caribseas "Reef Bone", and I will until I find out it's collected in a non-appropriate manner.

 

[coralreefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7148567#post7148567 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by grendl
Really??? My understanding was with dead rock, it just needed to be cleaned & dropped in.... Why would I need to let it soak? It is reef rock, from the ocean, & its not coming with stuff crusted on it to die off, it is dead dead dead. hehe

Don't know if this is where fishguy is headed or not but everything that is dead dead dead is now bound up in the rock.

When the rock is re-introduced to salt water it will shed all that dead bacteria, detritus, phosphates etc either in your tank or in the soaking/curing/cooking container beforehand.

 

[grendl]

Ha Bruce!!! I saw your name listed as a winner, & pics of your tank as well on the site! I meant to mention it in my original post.

I am not sure of their collection methods Ron, licenses or whatever. I just know that I read good reviews for them in the vendor experiences forum, & got amazing customer service from them. I kinda assumed that a practice that is public like that, with an obviously broad customer base would be legit by the reef watchdogs.... But I didnt give it much thought either, or I would have asked.

 

[MattG]

I would soak the rock for the exact reason coralreefer mentioned.

 

[WVfishguy]

My experience is considerable, but only with Reef Bonesâ„¢ like Ron mentioned. This stuff has all the same stuff on it that live rock has - it's just dehydrated. When all that dried black sponge, dead crustacea, algae, bits of gorgonia, etc., gets wet, it rots. That's just common sense. And I was surprised by the shear volume of detritus on the bottom of the curing buckets.
I cure Reef Bonesâ„¢ in a similar way as live rock - I use a powerehead in buckets of salt water, change the water several times, and never put it in the display until it stops discoloring the water.
BUT - if you are in a hurry, by all means, please ignore me and just toss it in your tank. I'm sure it will make for some interesting posts down the road.

 

[grendl]

BUT - if you are in a hurry, by all means, please ignore me and just toss it in your tank. I'm sure it will make for some interesting posts down the road.

I am not in a hurry, I just wanted to know the reasoning behind your advice. If I ignore you, it will be for more salient reasons.

 

[Reef4Fun]

OMG, I was just typing the same response, but thought I would back off because I had just posted two other comments on other subjects following him. I don't normally comment negatively, but come on, most of your comments WVfishguy are down right rude.

 

[WVfishguy]

Sorry, didn't mean to be rude. Been doin this too long, getting a bad 'tude.

 

[grendl]

Hey, thanks for the apology!

 

[capt. insano]

I just rinsed, rinsed, and re-rinsed my 200 lbs of Reeferrocks rock and added it to an established tank......a year ago and no problems

Isn't their collection inland?

 

[fishmon]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7151352#post7151352 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MattG
I would soak the rock for the exact reason coralreefer mentioned.

Reefbones now has on the side of their boxes that the rock must be cured prior to adding to an established tank.

And Amy you SUCK!! I have been trying to get my kids pic for my avitar on all night and can't make it work and I get on here to post and low and behold, there she is. I need more computer classes! not trying to steal the thread, sorry!

 

[MattG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7152281#post7152281 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reef4Fun
OMG, I was just typing the same response, but thought I would back off because I had just posted two other comments on other subjects following him. I don't normally comment negatively, but come on, most of your comments WVfishguy are down right rude.

I have said it before but once again, most of the times alot is lost in translation when you read text on a computer screen. Fishguy means no harm. He is just old and grumpy :lolspin:

 

[MattG]

Jim if you want to email me the picture im pretty sure i can get it done for you. george26 at marshall.edu

Plus i havent seen a picture of your girl yet.

 

[coralreefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7154837#post7154837 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MattG
Jim if you want to email me the picture im pretty sure i can get it done for you. george26 at marshall.edu

Plus i havent seen a picture of your girl yet.

Hey Matt check out my current avatar

And Amy you SUCK!! I have been trying to get my kids pic for my avitar on all night and can't make it work and I get on here to post and low and behold, there she is. I need more computer classes! not trying to steal the thread, sorry!

Love you too Darlin' I uploaded the pic to make sure it worked and forgot to change back to mine yesterday. To stop this hijack I'll pm you about it or we can do what you said in your e-mail

I have said it before but once again, most of the times alot is lost in translation when you read text on a computer screen

so true. I'd still rather have a "rude" reply that is correct than a "warm fuzzy" reply that is wrong.
fwiw I've learned a lot from posters that were considered by some to be curt and grumpy.

So Travis what do you plan to do with your rock?

 

[WVfishguy]

Good heavens, telling people they "suck" on a forum? Now I feel tremendously guilty that perhaps I have negatively influenced young James. Come to think of it, I've noticed Matt's language has coarsened over time as well. I'm going to have to reevaluate what I say and write.
(BTW Amy- what an adorable child!)

Back to the thread: I saw so much detritus from soaking Reef Bonesâ„¢ it made me give more credence about "cooking" rock. It really seemed as if bacterial action (or something) was pushing crud out of the pores in the rock. When all that dried organic stuff got wet, it made a stinky mess.
Remember - I'm only talking about Caribseas "Reef Bone" purchased at Jomars. The fact that it was obviously marine rock gave me confidence it would not leach out noxious chemicals at a later date.
I can't vouch for rock acquired from non-marine sources. Frankly, I'd be leery of using it because of "stuff" (like phosphates) which may leach out eventually.

One last thing: No one has the ability to offend you; you must choose to be offended. A sense of humor will prevent this.

 

[grendl]

It wasnt that I tool offense, it just ****ed me off. Read in the original followup to your advice :

PLEASE NOTE!!! I am not doubting your expertise, just wanting to know why I would need to give a long soak in SW to something that I thought would be neutral to begin with.

I put that in for the express purpose of averting the possibility of daring to question anyones expertise.... I am not in fishguys head, so I dont know if he read that, if he ignored that, or if his response about ignoring it at my own peril was tongue in cheek, but I bristled at it. No big deal, its past.

I realize my status in the hobby is rookie at best, & I VERY much appreciate the goldmine of info that fellow hobbyists can supply me with. I just wanted to know specifically what the reason to the rhyme was, so I could know why I was doing it. I think that in itself shows likely more good sense than just doing it "because XXXXX said".


More than the advice of a vet, I appreciate Fishguy apologizing for coming across as brash. I too will apologize for not letting it pass.

But enough of this teenage drama crap!!! Pretty soon I will be wearing a skirt & baking cookies, lets talk man talk! Rocks, & salt & fish!

As far as what I am going to do with the rock, well that depends. I am not sure yet. Keep in mind, the only thing in my tank right now is a rag, some bags of fiji pink, & about $600 of light equipment & bulbs. As it stands, I will get the big box and :

1) set the rock up to see what I can make out of it

2) determine how much more rock I am going to need

3) in the process determine how filthy the rock really is... It seems I read that RR cleans it, but I guess I will judge that myself. If it is really funky, I will clean soak it.

4) Even if the rock appears to be clean, I will likely drop it in some FW with a PH to see how much dirt will come off of it, & I will go from there.

I would likely take more proactive precautions if I had a tank up & running. But I dont. Assuming the stars align, & I get my RO/DI today (I have been waiting on it for a couple weeks now), I would still have to :

plumb the ro/di thru the kitchen & to my fishroom

paint the back of my tank

plumb the bulkheads (which have been drilled now THANKS WAYNE!!!)

Pick up my sumptank from JoMars, measure it out & buy the cut glass for it

paint the stand & canopy

wire the lights

and most imprtantly reinforce the floor

All of the above is of course done when I am not repainting every room in the house 16 different colors, to please my wife & kids, &/or at work.

So in short, I have time to let the rock set in water, & I likely will, just for peace of mind.

I need a beer.