What to look for in buying used LR?

[miserkris]

Hi
For my 55g fowlr...
I might get 55lb used, cured LR & 30lb LS from an established tank. I am new to saltw and this what I am gonna do:

Look for good things:
Coralline algae, brown color, polyps, corals, pink colors,anemones.

Look for bad undesired things(dont buy):
HA, brown algae, see if rock is white,apistia,Red Slime Algae (Cyanobacteria),worms,check if tank is good in general: clean, with fish ,lights,filter,temp. etc

What else do I look for in used cured LR and also in LS ? :worried2:
What colors shouldnt be on a LR? Pls advice
Thanks!
Kris

 

[juniorjose]

one thing i learned from my lfs is to smell the rock. if it smells like its rotten is because its not cured yet.

 

[miserkris]

But from a normal establised tank it *has* to be cured right??!

 

[juniorjose]

im no expert at this but i learned alot in this site. if the tank has been up and running for a while i would suspect it had enough time to cure already and should be good to use with a small to no cycle in ur new tank ur moving it to. are u planning on getting live rock from an established tank? that should be good to go, just dont let it sit out of water for too long

 

[miserkris]

Thanks.
Yes its cured established LR , there was fish just few days ago, now he sold it. Now he added the copepods stuff with heater,light,filters running .

Can you guys take a look and tell me if the pink color here and there is actually coralline and not bad bacteria?

Thanks again!:thumbsup:

 

[Hartdude]

Looks like good rock to me. Whenever I put new LR in my system, I give it a "bath" in a 5g bucket with SW, and use a brush to knock off any remaining detritus that may be on the surface.

 

[miserkris]

Looks like good rock to me. Whenever I put new LR in my system, I give it a "bath" in a 5g bucket with SW, and use a brush to knock off any remaining detritus that may be on the surface.

Hi there!
Thanks! Since I am gonna get the cured/used LR and LS, using a brush will also remove good anemones /polyps etc right? Should I also wash the LS? Wont I loose some good microbes?

I am gonna get this LR and LS, mix saltw for my new tank (mixing saltw for the 1st time!) and put them in the tank.
Sand first, LR next, saltw next. With heater at 76F, lights , HOB (2 filters) running. 2 Powerheads flowing water near LR.

Is this enough to keep the system stable and to cycle slowly?Pls advice!
Thanks!
kris

 

[miserkris]

This is another person who sent me pics: Is this good LR too? He said there is lil' HA but no pests. Its a 4y.o tank. 55lbLR/30lbLS:$150

There are some white patches not sure if its dead or some coral thingy...
Since am a newbie....
Can some one tell me does this look like good LR to buy?:bounce3:

THANKS A LOT :love1:
Kris

 

[mthomp]

polyps will grow back easy enough, i wouldnt concern myself about anenomes, as from what i have read here most of what you find as hitchikers on your rock are bad. plus with what im seeing in those pics you got some hair algae you may want to get rid of before putting it in your tank.

 

[iap]

Put rock first then the sand and you are good to go

 

[icechimpee]

When I buy rock I tend to know pretty quickly weather or not its good quality. Just some random questions I ask my self or think to my self:

1) How porous is it?
2) Does it look like its going to be a problem later? (HA,ect)
3) Does it compare to other rock you've either purchased or seen online?
4) How well does the person thats trying to sell me the live rock know about the rock they have?
5) How does you gut feel?

 

[travis32]

i bought all My LR "used'.. that's kinda silly isn't it?? Is rock ever "brand new".

I think 30lbs for $150 is a tad high.. I may have just gotten lucky. i got one guy 80 miles away to deliver 16 pounds to me for $40 for all 16 pounds. I bought another 70-90 pounds for $150 (included a powerhead, and some corals and stuff too at that price).

so, i got most of my stuff for between $1.50 and $3.00 / lb. No shipping charges. and one set was from a 2 year old tank, and the other was from a quarantine tank, because he couldn't fit it in his DT... He had it curing in the Qt for 2 months.

So, in short. $5.00 / lb seems high to me. The LFS sells their rock for $4.89 a pound. ....

 

[miserkris]

Put rock first then the sand and you are good to go

Hi
Why rock first?

And , do I scrub off the HA? With a tooth brush? Should I wear gloves?
Seller is 90mins away , should I transport em in s/w?
Thx!

 

[miserkris]

Hi Guys,
Please compare Pics of used LR in posts #5 and #8.
Let me know which is better LR. Help me in getting the best LR.

THANKS FOR HELPING
Kris

 

[kluivertfan2]

Hi
Why rock first?

And , do I scrub off the HA? With a tooth brush? Should I wear gloves?
Seller is 90mins away , should I transport em in s/w?
Thx!

Rock first so it sits directly on the floor of the tank. If you put the sand in first then set the rock on top it it, the rock could topple if something burrows beneath it.

 

[miserkris]

If I buy used LR with lots of life in it(like corals ,polyps etc) and put em in my new tank which hasnt cycled , do I stand the risk that the corals,polyps growths would die off soon even in good 76F water and light?
Then if they decay , that would upset the tank balance right?

On otherhand ,If nitrifying/nitro [beneficial bacteria] is my only need then can I just
get uncured LR and with a biological additive start curing and in a month I can add fish right?

Also , pls advice if I stand the risk of getting harmful algae,hitchhikers,fire worms,pests etc from used LR&LS from established tanks(4 ,6 yr old) . Is that risk lesser in uncured LR from a lfs?

My only need is not the hitchhikers/corals but the beneficial bacteria , pls advice - I am as confused as ever and cant even sleep
Thanks!!

 

[Frick-n-Frags]

ok fowlr..then water quality may not be such an issue

 

[sassyfrassy]

One thing I didn't hear mentioned is the water quality from the tank you are getting the LR from. I got mine from a neglected tank - did not check their water quality. Mine has been leaching phosphate and nitrates ever since - a problem I must now spend $$ dealing with. Of course I might have had these problems anyway, but my phosphate was 2.0 and nitrate 15 with nothing but LR & new live sand in the tank. Just thought I'd mention it.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

One thing I didn't hear mentioned is the water quality from the tank you are getting the LR from. I got mine from a neglected tank - did not check their water quality. Mine has been leaching phosphate and nitrates ever since - a problem I must now spend $$ dealing with. Of course I might have had these problems anyway, but my phosphate was 2.0 and nitrate 15 with nothing but LR & new live sand in the tank. Just thought I'd mention it.

+1. This can cause tons of long term problems. Eric Borneman did a talk at one of our club meeting discussing "old tank syndrome" and leaching phosphates can be an underlying cause.

Also, I would definitley steer clear of the rock with the hair alge on it. You don't want to take on HA when you are just starting out. You'll be giving up within months if not weeks trying to get rid of it.

If you are looking for a more budget friendly approach to setting up your tank, consider buying dry base rock and dry aragonite and seeding the sand bed with a cup or two of live sand from a fellow reefer, and placing 10 pounds or so of LR in the tank to seed the dry rock.

 

[miserkris]

+1. This can cause tons of long term problems. Eric Borneman did a talk at one of our club meeting discussing "old tank syndrome" and leaching phosphates can be an underlying cause.

Also, I would definitley steer clear of the rock with the hair alge on it. You don't want to take on HA when you are just starting out. You'll be giving up within months if not weeks trying to get rid of it.

If you are looking for a more budget friendly approach to setting up your tank, consider buying dry base rock and dry aragonite and seeding the sand bed with a cup or two of live sand from a fellow reefer, and placing 10 pounds or so of LR in the tank to seed the dry rock.

With your budget friendly approach how long will it take for the base rock to be cured /live ?