cheap base rock solutions

[ektorgt]

i have a 74 gal tank and i can only afford about 40 lbs of live rock...
ive been reading alot and ive seen alot of people say that anything can become live so any kind of rock would become live if i seed it with live rock and live sand right??????

ill be using playground sand from home depot and seed it with live sand but i need a solution like that for rock...

i heard someone mention texas holy rock but i have no idea what is that...
i also heard about lava rock....

any suggestions will help lotz

thankzzzzzzz

 

[malkore]

hirocks.com is what a lot people use for dead rock. I've never seen it up close, so I can't comment beyond that.

 

[stradt03]

i have 60 lbs of hirock.com it is decent quality and once the coraline starts growing it should look real good.

hth

Jason

 

[ironmanxl1]

hirocks.com or reeferrocks.com. reeferocks will cost more but the rock looks better

 

[Fluff]

Also, if your lfs sells lace rock, that's normally cheaper and works. http://liverocks.com/ also sells a live base rock that's reasonably priced.

 

[bigsky]

make your own out of portland cement and aragonite sand or crush oystershell or coral just be sure to cure it first. also tuffa rock is good too.

 

[indy]

Check your lfs (sw fish store anyway) for base rock. Around here it sells for $1.50/lb.

 

[mykpoz]

i have a 74 gal tank and i can only afford about 40 lbs of live rock...
ive been reading alot and ive seen alot of people say that anything can become live so any kind of rock would become live if i seed it with live rock and live sand right??????

ill be using playground sand from home depot and seed it with live sand but i need a solution like that for rock...

i heard someone mention texas holy rock but i have no idea what is that...
i also heard about lava rock....

any suggestions will help lotz

thankzzzzzzz

Just make sure you find out if the sand at your HD is the RIGHT sand.

 

[ektorgt]

how would i know it its the right sandd?????????

 

[mykpoz]

go to the top and do a search for *vinegar test*

In short if you take some of the sand and dump it into a glass/container of vinegar, it will fiz. It is a simple reaction that takes place of the slightly acidic make up from the vinegar reacting to the base makeup of the argonite. Most southern states have a pickle of a time finding the correct play sand.

Using a silica based play sand can actually be counter productive to the small inverts/critters that will call your sand bed home.

 

[saltwatersmac]

Reefer Rocks premium base rock
Usually around $100 for 55lbs. is only $65 on ebay
http://stores.ebay.com/Reefer-Rocks

 

[coolchinchilla]

Check out www.garf.org

They sell something called "garf grunge" which has a bunch of coraline algae and other positive stuff in it.

It also gives directions on how to make your own rock or buy some of their created rocks.

HTH
coolchinchilla

 

[ektorgt]

why would silica based play sand be counter productive for them?????
anyways,, would it be harmful????