What's the best way to get live rock ready for the tank

G

gonereefing654

New member
I found a guy on CL (he sounds like he's running a store out of his garage). He says he orders in hundreds of lbs of live rock every month.
He's offering 2 50-55lbs boxes of live rock for $80 each.
My question is if I do buy a few boxes, what's the best way to insure I don't end up with any pests on it? Is it even possible?
Or is dry rock the best route?
 
open
 
I bleached mine for 36 hours, then put it in acid bath for 8 minutes. Then I cycled it in trash cans for 3 months until it read 0's in all tests.

Corey
 
you're going to go through a cycle whether u get those boxes or base rock. The benefit of buying LR is to have a wider range of live organism.. including any pests that comes with it. If your gonig to bleach the LR you might as well buy base rock.
 
When I use live rock I like to keep the tank bare for the first three months or so so I can address any pests that might show up. I will add some snails or perhaps a small fish, but I'll hold off on the sand for awhile and the rock structure itself will be a work in progress. I want to be able to rotate the rocks, move things around, set traps etc. Once I think everything is OK I'll add the sand, secure the rocks with some epoxy and start adding more livestock. Basically taking it slow.
 
Any "live rock", no matter the supplier, will have hitchhikers.

Curious though, I would bet he is aqua-culturing some sort of cheap dry rock in his garage... basically doing what hobbyists due but on a large scale and selling it. Not that is a problem, less than 1.50/lb is not a bad price if it is good. I would be wary of ugly or uninteresting rock though.
 
Just got some dry pukani, and BRS sent some really nice pieces. It reminds you that "pound" can mean very little when it comes to rock that actually looks half decent.
 
Buy it from TampaBaySaltwater, pick it up at the airport, put it in tank. :)
 
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Just out of curiosity why TBS? (as opposed to anything else) If pests are the main concern is this stuff indeed clean? Just one little hitchhiker can do a lot of damage... (and cause a lot of stress) Like mentioned before, why this stuff as opposed to the live rock you might find at a decent LFS? (one with a heart)

FWIW I've always bought live rock from various LFS in my area. (maybe 90 miles out) They might not have a lot of life at first glance, (on the surface) but after awhile I'm seeing pods, worms etc.
 
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AlSimmons said:
Just out of curiosity why TBS? (as opposed to anything else) If pests are the main concern is this stuff indeed clean? Just one little hitchhiker can do a lot of damage... (and cause a lot of stress) Like mentioned before, why this stuff as opposed to the live rock you might find at a decent LFS? (one with a heart)

FWIW I've always bought live rock from various LFS in my area. (maybe 90 miles out) They might not have a lot of life at first glance, (on the surface) but after awhile I'm seeing pods, worms etc.
Click to expand...

Why TBS? Because it is loaded with life! Mine had sponges, tunicates, stony corals, keyhole limpets, porcelain crabs, red mithrax crabs, pistol shrimps, barnacles, urchins, bivalves, and even a fish -- and I'm sure I've forgotten some things. Sure, it also came with some things that some wouldn't want: stone crab, small gorilla crabs, mantis shrimps. Personally, I think my two Mantises are the coolest thing in my tank, the stone crab was easy to move to my sump, and the gorilla crabs have disappeared (killed by the mantises?).

It seems to me there are two basic approaches:
A) start with rock with very little life to be sure to avoid "bad guys."
B) start with rock with as much diversity as possible, and deal with "bad guys" as necessary.

Personally I strongly prefer "B". To me, much of the pleasure of reef keeping is the diversity that can come with live rock. It's not for everyone, but if TBS wasn't available my enjoyment of this hobby would be greatly diminished.
 
At least your mantis’ will kill half your other hitchhikers... lol I think it depends on goals, none of that interests an sps keeper really, been there done that.
 
MarkW64 said:
Why TBS? Because it is loaded with life! Mine had sponges, tunicates, stony corals, keyhole limpets, porcelain crabs, red mithrax crabs, pistol shrimps, barnacles, urchins, bivalves, and even a fish -- and I'm sure I've forgotten some things. Sure, it also came with some things that some wouldn't want: stone crab, small gorilla crabs, mantis shrimps. Personally, I think my two Mantises are the coolest thing in my tank, the stone crab was easy to move to my sump, and the gorilla crabs have disappeared (killed by the mantises?).

It seems to me there are two basic approaches:
A) start with rock with very little life to be sure to avoid "bad guys."
B) start with rock with as much diversity as possible, and deal with "bad guys" as necessary.

Personally I strongly prefer "B". To me, much of the pleasure of reef keeping is the diversity that can come with live rock. It's not for everyone, but if TBS wasn't available my enjoyment of this hobby would be greatly diminished.
Click to expand...


So have you caught all these pests yet? (lots of headaches) Any algae problems? You know, the kind of algae that usually accompanies that REAL live rock. (not Diatoms, Cyanobacteria etc) Tell the truth now... That fascination phase is gone for me. I'd much rather pick and choose for half the price. (less headaches)
 
HBtank said:
At least your mantis' will kill half your other hitchhikers... lol I think it depends on goals, none of that interests an sps keeper really, been there done that.
Click to expand...

All of that interests this SPS keeper. :)
Bring it on.
 
It's all the same IME...

Really the only difference between keeping goldfish in a tank and a reef is the temperature and the salt.
 
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