how to take care

[brady816]

we are about to go on vacation and wanted to know if i was to take some rock and some sand from the ocean and fill a cooler up with saltwater how long do i have to get it back to the tank. and do i have to cure it??? and if so how do you go about doing it??? sorry for the questions..

 

[Krish]

Well, if you are planning to add it to your tank (which already began the cycling process) it will prolong the process a bit as you will more than likely experience some die-off in transporting. Most people will recommend curing the rock in a seperate tub/container from the tank (if the tank is already setup) so as to not add/introduce any un wanted pests into the tank that may be inside or on the new rock as well as to not prolong the cycling process which has already begun in the tank, in terms of the live rock you already have. As for how long before you can add it to the tank, all depends on how long it takes to cure. Curing process can vary depending on the condition of the rock and how much die-off it experiences (6-8 weeks sometimes). You'll have to test the water that the rock is in weekly to see when the ammonia and nitrites have dropped off to zero. Once that is accomplished then the rock is said to be pretty much cured. Just a few thoughts...hope that helps

 

[brady816]

do i have to change the water every week for the cure cycle?? and what about the sand

 

[Krish]

I wouldn't think you would have to...IMO, It's basically just the same as cycling a tank. I've never personally cured rock in a seperate container so I couldn't say for sure how most people do it. My rock is usually cured in my tank when cycling from startup, which is why my setup took so long to cycle because I started out with a certain amount of rock and then added more about a month later...Hopefully someone else will chime in soon with some hands on experience

 

[ronj]

your sand is probably going to be pretty dirty....just wondering, where are you going to the beach at?????? the saltwater is going to stink very bad when you get it back home..i have brought kelp from the beach to my house...if you wait hours to put it in, it will stink horribly.... imo, it would probably be better just to buy some salt and mix it yourself

 

[Krish]

Ron...I'm not sure if he means to use the saltwater in his tank. What I got from it was that he was just using it to transport the rock and sand from where he was getting it home, but I could be wrong

 

[ronj]

.if he takes water w/ him, it is going to be nasty, nasty, w/ out adding ocean rock and sand, by the time he leaves the beach to go home.... if you are going to try this, i would say, take a good sized ice chest and mix your own water the day before you leave maybe and add the rock and sand at the last minute....or you could try ocean water....i have never tried it before...sometimes the water is full of seaweed and sometimes it is crystal clear...if it is very clear, you could try it..

 

[Krish]

Ron...I'm not sure if he means to use the saltwater in his tank. What I got from it was that he was just using it to transport the rock and sand from where he was getting it home, but I could be wrong

LOL...I confused myself with my own statement(LOL) What I meant to say, but said it in a confusing way was I'm thinking he means to just use the ocean water to transport the rock and sand home from the beach only, and not to use it in his tank (the ocean water) which IMO is perfectly fine. What's better to transport LR or sand than the water it came out of

 

[ronj]

ooohhh. ok...gotcha.....i don't see why not...i would rinse everything w/ fresh SW before i put it in the tank...i guess this would probably cause it to loose alot of the bacteria on it....where are you going on vacation???....just wondering what type of rock you would be collecting

 

[brady816]

im going to bring it home from the ocean ina cooler with the ocean water and then cure it for a month or so.. how would i cure the sand???? we are going to florida

 

[Krish]

im going to bring it home from the ocean ina cooler with the ocean water and then cure it for a month or so.. how would i cure the sand???? we are going to florida

I would "cure" it the same way as the rock in the same container you plan to use. One thing you need to do is have good flow in with the rock and sand as well

 

[ronj]

where at in florida....i am from Destin,Fl...i will be home in 2 weeks

 

[brady816]

we are going to port st lucie tomorrow. to bad i couldnt catch my lion fish and bring it back lol would save me money

 

[ronj]

oh, your going to East Coast... i used to surf right above there at Sebastian Inlet.........there were tons of baby hammerhead sharks like 20 yards out ...peole were always pulling them up from the pier...there were also rays everywhere jumping out of the water... we had fun there....i don't think you will find any good rocks there.....where i am on the gulf side, the sand is very fine and bright white....down there the sand is going to be really brown, w/ alot of crushed shells in it....most tourists wear sandals to walk in it....

 

[brady816]

so i shouldnt try to bring any home then???

 

[ronj]

it's up to you.....look at the sand when you get there...some parts of the beach may not have as many shells in them...you could stop in pensacola on your way back if you are driving on I-10..the beach is about 5 min from the interstate......the beach there will have fine white sand

 

[zoo_keeper]

I don't know if this is true, but a man where I get my car inspected said it is illegal to take rock from the ocean here in Texas. Just don't want a fine to spoil your vacation.

 

[ronj]

i don't know of any rocks there in Florida...unless there are jetties where you are staying....then it is only going to be just huge boulder rocks, very dense....

 

[ClamLubber]

I thought Florida had laws restricting collection of live rock (which is why we have to fly it in from Fiji and Marshall Islands). Maybe it only applies to commercial collection? You pretty much would have to scuba to collect rock from fringes of reef. After all, "live rock" really is coral pieces broken off from storms and such. The coral dies and the "rock" skeleton is then encrusted and inhabited by the worms and other critters that make it "live". If you did find some I'd treat it like the folks in Fiji do. Wash off everything that is loose, pack it with layers of newspaper wet with saltwater. It will transport better moist than submerged in water that will be anoxic in a short time unless you have battery operated airstones, temp control and such.
Isn't beach sand largely the silica variety? not the type sand we want for tanks.

 

[Curtswearing]

Collection of LR from Florida is definately illegal and they will enforce their Conservation Laws if you get caught.

This link might be useful. http://myfwc.com/marine/recreational/recharvestmls.htm