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Unread 02/19/2018, 11:24 PM   #1
gonereefing654
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What’s the best way to get live rock ready for the tank

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?


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Unread 02/19/2018, 11:44 PM   #2
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Unread 02/20/2018, 03:12 AM   #3
elecbzerk
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There is a live rock thread in the new to hobby section that gives pretty good advice.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2622801


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Unread 02/20/2018, 06:13 PM   #4
gonereefing654
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Thanks. I’ll check it out


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Unread 02/20/2018, 08:42 PM   #5
biecacka
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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


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Unread 02/20/2018, 08:58 PM   #6
sde1500
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Quote:
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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


This results in no longer live rock.


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Unread 02/21/2018, 02:13 AM   #7
hersheyb
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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.


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Unread 02/21/2018, 11:54 AM   #8
MrNurse
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Quote:
Originally Posted by biecacka View Post
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
Why buy live rock?


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Unread 02/21/2018, 12:54 PM   #9
AlSimmons
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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.


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Unread 02/21/2018, 01:35 PM   #10
HBtank
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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.


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80g Aiptasia dominated reef tank.. with fish and now a bunch of berghia!

Current Tank Info: 80g tank, re-starting a reef after a zoanthid nudibranch plauge, followed by months of steady and unstoppable STN/RTN, crashed; stayed FOWLR for a couple years, currently an aiptasia dominated reef tank with fishies and BERGHIA
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Unread 02/21/2018, 01:39 PM   #11
HBtank
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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.


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80g Aiptasia dominated reef tank.. with fish and now a bunch of berghia!

Current Tank Info: 80g tank, re-starting a reef after a zoanthid nudibranch plauge, followed by months of steady and unstoppable STN/RTN, crashed; stayed FOWLR for a couple years, currently an aiptasia dominated reef tank with fishies and BERGHIA
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Unread 02/21/2018, 02:01 PM   #12
d2mini
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Buy it from TampaBaySaltwater, pick it up at the airport, put it in tank.


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Last edited by d2mini; 02/21/2018 at 04:28 PM. Reason: typo
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Unread 02/21/2018, 03:03 PM   #13
smatter
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I second the above sentiment.


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Unread 02/21/2018, 05:06 PM   #14
AlSimmons
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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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Unread 02/21/2018, 07:20 PM   #15
MarkW64
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AlSimmons View Post
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.
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.


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Unread 02/21/2018, 07:26 PM   #16
HBtank
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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.


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80g Aiptasia dominated reef tank.. with fish and now a bunch of berghia!

Current Tank Info: 80g tank, re-starting a reef after a zoanthid nudibranch plauge, followed by months of steady and unstoppable STN/RTN, crashed; stayed FOWLR for a couple years, currently an aiptasia dominated reef tank with fishies and BERGHIA
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Unread 02/21/2018, 07:38 PM   #17
AlSimmons
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkW64 View Post
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.

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)


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Unread 02/21/2018, 07:41 PM   #18
MarkW64
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I think it depends on goals
Exactly, my goal is for my mixed reef to be a miniature model as close to a real reef as possible. Others are more interested in growing an SPS "garden".


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Unread 02/21/2018, 07:47 PM   #19
d2mini
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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.
All of that interests this SPS keeper.
Bring it on.


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Unread 02/21/2018, 07:48 PM   #20
AlSimmons
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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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Unread 02/21/2018, 07:49 PM   #21
d2mini
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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)
No algae, no aiptasia, no invasive stars, none of that junk. The only pests like the crabs and mantis are easily removable over time and not hurting anything in the mean time.


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Unread 02/21/2018, 07:49 PM   #22
MarkW64
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So have you caught all these pests yet?
Like I said, caught the stone crab, and gorilla crabs disappeared without me having to catch them, and I like the Mantises -- won't be hard to catch once I have a dedicated tank for them.


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Unread 02/21/2018, 07:55 PM   #23
AlSimmons
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Sorry, I may have missed this in your above post. (can you highlight it please?/without an edit) For some reason I just don't believe you, (all in all) but keep on trucking... GL.


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Unread 02/21/2018, 08:00 PM   #24
MarkW64
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Any algae problems? You know, the kind of algae that usually accompanies that REAL live rock. (not Diatoms, Cyanobacteria etc) Tell the truth now...
I honestly have no clue what you are talking about. Any small amount of algae that may have been on the rock (don't honestly remember any) was easily controlled by the CUC. My algae problems showed up more than a year after I received my live rock, bryopsis presumably introduced on a frag, and after a broken heater nearly crashed my tank and killed much of my CUC. And that's the truth now...


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Unread 02/21/2018, 08:06 PM   #25
d2mini
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10 months old. Pest free. Nothing but healthy tank goodness.





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