Well isnt this great :mad: :mad: :mad:

[fish_NEMO]

I just found out that you cant buy Live rock as such like you can in america, MAF stops any LR and LS into NZ and if you import it you have to wait three weeks (let it dry out) and makeing it dead.... so how do i do it cus this is what ive bean told...

1) go buy some dead rock from the LFS or some from directly from the ocean... and put it in my tank along with some sand
2) then add a cup of LS from someones tank or from the ocean
3) wait and should slowly populate the tank

would this work? also could i just go get some rock from the ocean would that be good? and if so what would i be looking for? how do i know that is LR and not just rock?

 

[bertoni]

I would just buy some base rock and put it into the tank. It'll have enough organic material on it to get the tank going, most likely. Seeding the rock with some saltwater might help speed the process, might not. Live sand or a piece of live rock from someone's tank might be more useful. Collecting live rock might be illegal, so I'd check on that first.

 

[kingtoad]

Ouch!

 

[fish_NEMO]

i woudnt take 50kg i mean mayby a kg just to sead it but one problem NZ waters are colder alot, and if i took some live rock and stuck it in a 28 degree celcius aquarium would i kill of all the organisms of the rock??

 

[Swanwillow]

I'd also be worried about your collection laws...

go ahead and get the dead rock... seriously, its cheaper, its just as good long term, and you can pick out REALLY interesting peices without harming any inverts/etc

then go get a cup or two of sand... from in the water, probably at least a few feet out. that'll get EVERYTHING going.
if you ARE allowed to collect a little bit of rock, I'd get the one most covered in life, but not inverts...
if you slowly acclimate the rock over, nothing would die, but check laws!!!!

 

[Witchdoctor_h]

Does your LFS have a holding tank for the LR they receive?

 

[cfarrow2]

I'd hold off on using sand that close to shore. I've heard a lot of contanimants are washed up onto that stuff. I'd go with some seeding sand from your lfs or another tank. Good luck!

 

[bertoni]

I agree that anything from colder water is pretty likely to die in your tank. Bacteria will come for free; it might just take a while. A nearby reef-keeper might be able to help speed the process with a bit of live sand or live rock.

 

[fish_NEMO]

ok my LFS dosnt have anything to do with marine fish only fresh but they said they would order me stuff in when needed...