live rock - Aquarium Advice

ojmenard · 07-04-2009, 09:18 PM

I am jus starting with a SW tank and have been reading alot of posts here to figure out what i need to do and such. I have a 55g tank and am going for a reef setup. I was thinking about getting some dry rock and then seeding with some live rock. I looked at the basic equipment list and went to the sites that have the live rock and was reading one that said i could get some things with the rock that i dont want to have in my tank. Is this somethign I should worry about or is it ok to get the LR from an online store. LFS has live rock but i am always leary about lfs since u dont know how long its been there and most of the places online are considerably cheaper.

spikey · 07-04-2009, 10:22 PM

I would say that both your LFS and the online shop get the live rock from the same place. I have got my LR from both sources. I would suggest that if you can get the LR shipped fresh (you are home whrn it is delivered, and the tank is eady to recieve it), then go for it.

If you would like to learn from 1 mistake that I made; I would suggest that you give it a fresh (RO) water bath before you place i into the tank. The most unwanted thing in your tank I would say is a mantis shrimp (look up Google). These little buggers eat your fish DEAD!!! A 1 minute dip of your rock will see them scurry out of there homes and into the water. I had 2 with my online purchase; 0 with my LSF. Hope this helps. Dipping in RO water will not cause any other problems (it does not have to be warm). Remember as part of the cycling process there are a lot of organisms/creachers that will naturally die off and help increase the ammonia levels for that all important bacteria growth.

ojmenard · 07-04-2009, 10:54 PM

thx for the info. the next question is what kind of LR do I get. I see different kinds (fiji, tonga,vanuatu) what are the differences in the rock.

rive1404 · 07-05-2009, 12:03 AM

You get whichever kind appeals to you most.

Innovator · 07-05-2009, 12:17 AM

Stick with either Fiji Premium, Fiji Branch, or Vanuatu. Other live rock types feature Pocillopora skeletals that become very brittle over months' time. Much of your Atlantic rock is an exception due to the shear overall mass. As far as I know Tonga rock is no longer available (illegal to collect).