Shopping for live rock?

[dandux]

Hi everyone. I'm new to RC and before i start i wanted to thank everyone for the great information i have gotten from this sight. A little about me before my question. I bought a house 5 years ago and it came with a fully stocked, built in 125 gallon fresh water tank. I knew nothing about keeping an aquarium, but was forced to learn quickly and was hooked immediately. Well i have finally decided to take the plunge and convert my tank to a reef tank. I have been reading and researching for months and finally given my fish to a friend. I have purchased new lights and filtritration. I am going to be adding live rock in a week or two which brings me to my questions. From what i've read it seems better to purchase live rock in person rather than online, but my LFS charge so much more than online sites. Since I am establishing a new tank, do i have to be overly concerned with the quality of the rock if i let it cure for a couple weeks after i add it. Can anyone recommend a good website to order rock from? Has anyone ordered from Aquatictech.com or Walt Smith Aloha Aquariums?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Jocephus]

I highly recommend pacificeastaquaculture.com they are a sponsor, and have good prices. Hard to beat for livestock too.

 

[pimpinitup6969]

you could always buy base rock and just seed it with a couple pieces of live rock? where in ny are you located?

 

[Johnny U]

Re: Shopping for live rock?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14731732#post14731732 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dandux
From what i've read it seems better to purchase live rock in person rather than online, but my LFS charge so much more than online sites.

I feel your pain. $5.95 per pound multiplied over 125 gallons = $750-1000. Who'da thunk it...

Sorry I don't have any advice. I have the same questions you do. I'll be keeping my eye on this thread!

 

[dandux]

I live in central Long Island. I thought about seeding it myself, but when i looked at sites like aquatictech.com their Fiji live rock started at $2.45. I was thinking that even if it shipped and came to me half dead that if i cured it for a few weeks it would be alright. My LFS is charging $10 - $15 / lb. If i need around 125 lbs, it can get pricey quick.

 

[Fazulka]

LR is expensive... The LFS near me is $11.99 / LB i think. Try looking for a local reef club, I'm sure there is more that one in your area. People in my area often post LR for $2-3 a pound.

 

[Fizz71]

Who told you it's better to buy in person? I've done both and the only thing "better" about local is faster up times since there is little or no cycle time. Quality wise I actully got better stuff from an online vendor.

One other option for you is to get involved with local clubs. You are in New York so you have some seriously good options. You can often find used live rock from club members getting out of the hobby! My current system is composed of LR from 3+ separate people, only about 10lbs (of over 300) were from an LFS. That LFS BTW was That Fish Place in PA...depending where you are in NY you may want to make a day drive of it 2 weeks from now...they have a big event and LOT of Live Rock. Pricey though!

Also...There is a small club in Fairport having a swap in May:
http://www.fragswapper.com/setmeeting.asp?MeetingKey=47

And URS holds a few swaps a year:
http://www.upstatereef.com
..they have a forum here on RC.

I'm a big fan of clubs...as much as I learned a LOT from RC, the people I know from the clubs have been MUCH more helpful. Mind you..they are all on RC and RC is how I MET them..so I'm not downing RC at all. But when you start to know people PERSONALLY it can be a huge advantage.

Good Luck.

And before you ask..I don't remember where I got the live rock online from because it was a LONG time ago. Back when it was still legal to get it from Australia. ..man that was nice rock.

 

[dandux]

Thanks for the replies. I'll look for some local clubs. Is there anything in particular i should be looking for when purchasing the rock online?

 

[Fizz71]

I prefer rock that is less dense. You'll have to do your research and it will probably be more expensive, but the lower the denisty the better the filtration per pound.

However looks are very important too..some rock is more branching (like Tonga), some will be more plating and some will just be rocks. I have a mix of everything in my system that I just aquascaped:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v.../2009_03_27/?action=view&current=IMG_4947.jpg

I have the branching stuff in the middle because I think it's a great place to attach SPS and still have a lot of flow through.

And if you're patient in your stocking at 125 gallons you could probably do 30% (or more) of base or dry rock to save youself some money. You could even buy some man-made stuff (check out aragocrete on garf.org). All of it will become live in 6 months or so if it's seed with other live rock. I'd say I'm at about 20% base/dry rock, but at 3 years of soaking with other live rock it's all live now. Some of it I bought "live" but I was told by the previous owner it started dry.

One warning on agarocrete and man-made stuff..if you don't buy it from somebody who cured it you need to cure it yourself which can be very time consuming. But there are places that sell cured man-made rocks too (not all use the agarocrete name but it's the same basic principal).

Good luck.

 

[s.filipowski]

man made (aquacultured) I was told don't buy it has no places for things to hide, hard to stack, too solid or dense..... ALL wrong from what I got from Dr. F and S, It is some of the best rock that I have looked at. bought 45lbs and would do it again. Lets face it folks if you can't spend the $$ on the rock better stick with the fresh water scene. Most everything takes some extra coin in this hobby like everything else you get what you pay for. Aquacultured SAVE the Reefs!

 

[KarlBob]

Another good, though unfortunate, source is people leaving the hobby. I've seen people in my local area selling their rock for $2.95/lb.