why buy live rock

[bolton reefer 1]

can somebody tell me why you would buy live rock when you can buy corals which are on live rock sometimes cheaper.
dont tell me the rocks differant its not, iv had hitchhickers [sponges,feather dusters,crabs,starfish,nasteis you name it all transported on corals which were on live rock.
so way would i go pay hundreds for live rock than,start buying corals please convince me [i dont think so]

 

[Jeremy Blaze]

Well, most use the liverock as the foundation of their artificial reef. You need something to place those corals on, it would look silly with just a few corals sitting on the bottom of the tank.


It also provides a lot or biofiltration.

Gives fish and inverts 'safe places', hiding places, makes them feel more at ease.

 

[bolton reefer 1]

ocean rock becomes live over a time the corals aint sitting on nothing and all the live rock you get corals on is free your paying for the corals which would you site and look at a pile of rock or a tank full of coral on live rock

 

[gofish]

You really don't need to buy LR. I know plenty of people who have bought dry rock, placed in in a tank, with sand (seeded with at least a cup of live sand) and the rock becomes LR after it's been in the tank for a while. The LR gives a foundation for life in your tank, can look pretty cool when you get it, but it is not absolutely necessary, when you can get dry rock instead.

Also, the people I know who have used dry rock aquascaped the rock before it was in the water, making really interesting structures. They've drilled them and used plastic pipes to hold them together in whatever formation they want.

Just my thoughts on that.

 

[Jeremy Blaze]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7039612#post7039612 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bolton reefer 1
ocean rock becomes live over a time the corals aint sitting on nothing and all the live rock you get corals on is free your paying for the corals which would you site and look at a pile of rock or a tank full of coral on live rock

I don't understand what you are trying to say.

 

[bolton reefer 1]

when at the lfs look for corals on a nice 5lb peice of rock i do

 

[Jeremy Blaze]

I'd like to see some pics of your tank.

 

[bolton reefer 1]

all im saying is when i see people paying hundreds for live rock i cant get my head round why thay would so i thought i would ask not saying anything just wondering thats all

 

[gofish]

Jeremy, I just noticed you occupation. You have a pretty cool job.. How long have you been doing that? What type of aquarium do they have there?

 

[bolton reefer 1]

yes sure i,ll post tomoz just put lights out [if i can work out how to post them

 

[old salty]

I bought it because they refused to give it to me for free (greedy bas.......)

Many folks (me included) use live rock and base rock. LR provides the base foundation of a reef. Sure, base rock will eventually look very similar to LR, but the LR itself provides the reef with a variety of life; certainly much more than live sand could ever provide.

 

[nc2tarheels]

^LS is a rip.

 

[gofish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7040664#post7040664 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nc2tarheels
^LS is a rip.

I agree!

It is good if you know someone with an established tank...just get a little from them to seed the sand in your tank. Much more economical, with the same effect.

 

[XeniaMania]

Pros of buying live rock:
1) Faster cycling
2) Pre-covered with life
3) Higher diversity of organisms/plants

You can start of with base rock/dry rock, and have a few pieces of corals that come attached to live rock and seed it that way. Some of us just aren't that patient and would like to get the basic things out of the way so we can move on to getting more fish and such. I personally like the bio-diversity I get with live rock, although there are bad hitch-hikers as well. It really just boils down to personal preference. Just like how live sand doesn't mean much to me since I run bare bottom and have a system that's nitrate free even with daily feedings..