Live rock?

[Jenni8675309]

Well, I have been lurking for about a year.

After about 5 yrs of our fresh water tank, I am finally going saltwater!
Will be getting a 41gallon fluval 155

I am looking for live rock... Have been checking locally & online.
Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations?

Can you mix different types of rock? Do I need 100% live rock, or can I do a small portion of dry rock?
Any Info would be appreciated

 

[AquaRick]

Hi there, and welcome to the salty side of life!

Live rock online isn't really worth it. It's pricey, and you're going to get a lot of dieoff in transport. You don't need any live rock. Base rock will all become live while your tank cycles etc. Ideally, a few pounds of live rock from your LFS will help to seed your tank and speed up your cycle. Or you can do 100% base rock. It's really not that big an issue.

I like setting up a tank with mostly base rock and a bit of live rock.

 

[Jenni8675309]

Thanks for the input.
Hmm, ok, we'll, I do want to jump start it and go full reef, some of the fish we have chosen need lots of hiding spaces, so I don't want to add rock later & disrupt anything.
Bummer on the die off
Locally live rock is $7 per lb. & up. I found Live rock ranch & it would be half the cost than local. & shipping is free FedEx.
It is Florida keys rock... Just wondered about getting some of it, possibly some nice fiji rock too, if I can mix?

I have also heard mixed info on the amount of rock. 1lb per gallon? Some have said that's not necassary?

 

[AquaRick]

You can do 1lb-1.5lb per gallon. This is for wet rock. If dry, i'd get a bit less. you can mix the rock no problem...it doesn't matter. Ouch, local live rock for $7/lb. Either way, it's still going to be better than getting is shipped. A lot of BB will dieoff in the shipment.

 

[joy13]

You can also check local forums and craigslist for people downsizing or getting out of the hobby. I try to go for about a 1 or 2 per gallon depending on the rock.

 

[Jenni8675309]

Yeah, been checking on CL...not much luck, mostly people wanting to sell whole tanks...or tanks that have already been apart awhile. Did find one guy, but he is so far & the price of gas... Would be easier to get the $7 from the LFS
Good to know on the lbs per gallon... Thanks for the confirmation on that guys

 

[Greenpillow]

I am a cheap gal! The local pet store might come down on price! Live rock was 5.99 everywhere else so they price matched . Might try that.

 

[AquaRick]

Just figured out your user name...Jenni8675309. Nice!

 

[Jenni8675309]

Lol Rick!
I used to work with a guy that would always sing it to me when my food order was ready to pick up

 

[redsea]

I bought 45 lbs of live rock from Liveaquaria on sale for $99.99 (not including shipping, which was about $60).

 

[Jenni8675309]

Did you have much die off?

 

[AquaRick]

Lol Rick!
I used to work with a guy that would always sing it to me when my food order was ready to pick up

Haha, that's funny. Thanks for the chuckle.

 

[Jenni8675309]

By chance, I got on CL & got 25 lbs live rock.... FREE!!!

 

[AquaRick]

By chance, I got on CL & got 25 lbs live rock.... FREE!!!

That's the best type of rock! That should be more than enough to seed your tank.

 

[Jenni8675309]

Yeah, I am thinking this way I can get some different types locally & make it my own

 

[mr_X]

Hi there, and welcome to the salty side of life!

Live rock online isn't really worth it. It's pricey, and you're going to get a lot of dieoff in transport.

I disagree completely with this statement because the LFS gets their live rock from the same place, and is transported the same way that the online folks are.
I think you can find some deals out there if you know where to look.

 

[AquaRick]

I disagree completely with this statement because the LFS gets their live rock from the same place, and is transported the same way that the online folks are.
I think you can find some deals out there if you know where to look.

Agreed that live rock is coming from the same wholesalers. It's been my experience that live rock from the LFS hasn't been sitting on my doorstep or in transit for hours. The rock from the LFS has been siting in tubs with heaters and circulation right before someone decides to pick it up.

Obviously not all LFS' are created equal and your mileage may vary. I would rather see what i'm getting and take it home instantly than hope for the best when it gets delivered. It just depends on what you feel is "fresher". I'd rather buy from my LFS than online.

 

[mr_X]

It's not the sitting on the doorstep that you have to worry about. It's how long the rock is sitting in barges and airplanes before it gets to the stores and/or you. In many cases rock sits for anywhere from 3 days to a week or more in a boat, not in anything but wet newspaper.
I do agree that hand picking the rock is nice, but you aren't doing that with the base/dry rock so, why with the live?

 

[Sniperhank]

+1. I've seen some great LR come from online for other people. Mine was only slightly negative because Fedex beat up my box...just a localized incident though.

 

[AquaRick]

It just comes down to preference. I'd just rather have the stuff I can see and I know won't have to pay for additional shipping.