I need some advice with ordering Live Rock.

[Beckmola24]

Ok, I have a ton of live rock already, but it needs to be seeded. I have around 150 lbs of fiji that will need seeding, so I have several questions. First, How much live rock should I buy to do the seeding??? Second Where should I get the Live Rock from??? Third, If I'm seeding, should I get cured or uncured rock??? I want high quality live rock with a lot of coralline (that's important). There are many sites that carry live rock, but I've never ordered live rock before so I don't know who has the best rep. I don't want to order a bunch of rock and have it arrive as rubble. Let me know your opinions! Thanks in Advance!!!

 

[Beeba]

Becky... i'm no expert but I bought some good live rock from Live Aquaria and it was about $3.50/lb with shipping. you have to cure it for a few weeks to make sure you won't have an amonia spike but it is good. I bought 45lbs. online and another 15 to 20lbs in the LFS. I bought the other 50lbs of rock that had to be seeded and it is going well.

 

[CarlaW]

I'd give Dr. Mac a look. I have never ordered rock from him before, but I have heard some good things about it.

 

[bc_slc]

I don't think you need that much to seed it. Basically your goal is just to diversify your many rock-dwelling creatures. I wouldn't even order it online. I would buy 3 moderate sized rocks from 3 different local fish stores, or similar. This will allow you to diversify greatly, hand pick the pieces, and purchase less rock (unless you need a bunch more rock).

On the other hand, One of the main problems with getting rock from a local fish store or online is that some of the rock will have die off from shipping. I would look to get a couple pieces from established tanks. Then it is fully cured, with no die off, should not cause any sort of spike, and will add diversity to your tank.

Just my opinion, but I have purchased all of my live rock from other reefers. It is less expensive than in the store, and if the tank has been up and through its "cycle" already, then it will be very stable rock.

Mat

 

[Beckmola24]

I never thought of it that way Mat. Diversity is what I am looking for. Thanks for the brain jump start I know Premium Aquatics lets you order any amount of rock even if it's only 2 pounds and they carry 3 different types (Kaelini, Marshall and Fiji). I really don't care much for the rock at my LFS.... Charlie, who's Dr Mac?? Nevermind.... I put Dr Mac's live rock into Google and found my answer Awww the joy of Google....

 

[NaH2O]

Becky - are you planning on using the rock to cycle the tank? If so, I'd buy uncured rock. Its cheaper that way. With my tank I wasn't concerned about the coralline algae present on the rock when I received it....my tank was going to be dark during the cycle. Amazing how much life survives off the chart ammonia.....and the coralline grows when your tank becomes stable/matures. I had a small shipment of rock from Premium Aquatics sent to Chicago, and even specified a particular rock size on the order. The pieces arrived without a lot of rubble. There isn't really a right or wrong answer here....eventually the old rock will become seeded, and a few new pieces would do that for you. Like everything in the hobby....it takes patience.

 

[Jiddy]

I agree with the others when they say you should get from a local (LFS or Friend) tank if you can, that you can see what pieces you are payin for, and in my opinion what type of rock you want depends on what site to get from too, i am goin to be buyin from Jeffs Exotic because i have heard really good reviews about his MI LR, just my 2 cents!

 

[Beckmola24]

So how much should I seed 150 lbs with??? Also, has anyone had more/less success with rock from a specific area?? Nikki, it's twofold why I need the rock. I need it to help jumpstart a cycle and I need it to jump start the coralline growth and animal growth. I've had my other rock in tubs of water for about 2.5 months or longer so the rock itself is good to go.... I really like Mat's idea of getting diversity into my tank. I know that Premium Aquatics claims they don't let their uncured rock sit for very long so technically it could only have a few days interim between the ocean and my tank allowing quite a few things to live through my cycle. To add to the diversity on the rocks, I think I will buy a vile of pods to also seed the tank before I put any fish in. having wrasses I think that's something I should consider also. I will post on my local site and see if anyone with an established tank could spare me a piece or 2. Any other input on my "rock hunting"??

As an afterthought, wouldn't getting a few pounds or so of live sand help to seed my current rock also??

 

[wrightme43]

It in my opinion is a time vs. cost thing. In my mind if I were in your situation, I would think the more rock I got the faster it would seed the older rock. I get my from Dave at www.vividaquariums.com. I have tonga branch in my tank. Here is one thing I want to mention. Lots of live rock places online show you coraline covered live rock. During shipping it dies off. For me I would rather have someone be upfront and tell me. Steve this rock will show up with color. It will lose its color, and it will grow back. I hope this helped you in some way. Steve

 

[NaH2O]

It will lose its color, and it will grow back.

Absolutely. It just takes time and patience. You could buy some snails that have coralline on their shells and scrape it in the tank. That should spore it out also.

The amount of rock you add to seed your rock is really a personal choice. I would only be guessing at an amount because you could do it with one piece, especially if you are going to order pods. The life will come. Maybe add 30 pounds??? You also don't want to have too much rock in the tank because you don't want to hinder flow at all....creating dead space.

 

[Beckmola24]

I am thrilled!!! I've had my live rock in rubbermaid containers for a few months now and I did a water change today and switched it to a larger bin with more powerheads. Anyways while switching over the rock I noticed a TON of mint and lime green coralline on many of the pieces!!! It's not algae... Coralline for sure....!!! The rock must not be as dead as I thought it to be. I added calcium and DKH buffer to the water and am hoping the rock will color up nicely. Now all I need to do is reinhabit it with little "critters". I have a question though, there are literally thousands of empty calcium shells from Feather duster worms all over the rock. Will these ever come back or stay empty??

 

[wrightme43]

The worms will come back from the seeded rock if they are on the seeded rock or if a few survived. Its all going to be ok.

 

[Beckmola24]

One more question. Would getting some live sand from a mature tank and placing it in the live rock bin do any good???

 

[wrightme43]

Maybe a little. If your local fish store has live rock bins maybe ask and see what they want for a bunch of the sandy slimey chunky mess at the bottom of the bin. Lots of stuff in that. My lfs will save the boxs of live rock after they come and give me the rubble and gunk in them after they take the salable pieces if I ask for it. Otherwise it goes in the trash. Steve

 

[Jiddy]

Sounds like a tasty KY snack you get Steve!