newbie live rock question

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CoJo

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
2
After much research i have decided to convert my 55gal into a salt water. The main question i have is on live rock. I live in kansas and the live rock in the lfs are rather pricy and the peices dont look the greatest. my question is whether or not i should attempt to make my own, or find some suitable rock to seed. if i were to use preexisting rock what would all the "little critters" in the prefer? any suggestions here will be greatly appriciated,
 
I don't know if this would be of interest but I thought I saw somewhere that you could buy the 'critter' package after your rock cycled (if you use base rock). I think it was just like what would happen if you took your cured rock and dunked it in water with a lower (or was it higher) saline content with a fine mesh screen/sock material at the bottom and filtered out all the critters that came out.

I know one place (I'll find the link) that sends the rock and 'critters' apart in different shipments weeks apart.

I'm just not sure if this is the place I was thinking of or if you could buy them individually.

Here it is.. never used it but....

: : : : Indo-Pacific Sea Farms : : : :
 
You want to cure your LR and cycle your tank before you add any critters. BTW the critters that come with real LR is only an added feature. The main purpose is to have the nitrifying bacteria that grows on and in your LR. Many places sell base rock that can be cured and become real LR.

Also welcome to AA. Welcome aboard.
 
There are tons of options for rock. Anything from buying it "live" to making your own to mixing some LR with faom to make your own structures...

Reef Central Online Community - Foam & Live Rock commbo

The "curing" process only deals with a cycling affect new rock can have on the tank due to die off. As stated before, the advantage of LR is that you get some hitchickers, sometimes not desireable, but most of the time good, that add to the tank. What do they prefer you ask...IMO (And from what I have read) places to hide and to thrive in similar conditions as they had in the wild. It makes little difference for the most part if its rock, PVC, plastic, foam, whatever. Some materials people choose for filtration reasons, some for purely asthetics.

GL
 
I used base reef rock from thatpetplace and mail order rock from a couple of different sources. Drs. Foster and Smith sells some very nice rock through their Aquarium Fish: Tropical Freshwater Fish and Saltwater Fish for Home Aquariums site. There are many other online retailers too.

Base rock will become LR during the cycle. It will look like purchased LR within a year. LR will sprout all kinds of criters over time. It is amazing what survives the curing process.

Detrivore kits from Inland Aquatics, IPSF and others are also available to seed the sand bed or fuge.

Good luck with your adventure into SW.
 
I'm having that same problem! I live in Missouri, but do all my shopping in Kansas, and yah LR is very hard to come by...actually any rock is kinda hard, i finally got a little base rock from Petland:
2008 E. Santa Fe
Olathe, KS 66062
(Olathe Landings Shopping Center)
Phone 913-254-1900 :: Fax 913-254-1905

They get a decent amount of base rock in very often, and they also have some LR for a decent price. I've gone to just about every store i can find in MO and KS, and this one, although fairly small, is about my favorite! Not sure where you live in Kansas, but if you haven't been there and it's not too far you should go, the people are very friendly and knowledgeable, i'm a complete newbie and they've been helping me out!!

 
tyvm all, everything has really helped out! i think im goin got have to do alittle more shoppings around and figure out my best options, tertle, i live near wichita, but if i remember right there is a petland somewhere near here. As far as local rocks go, is there any type of rock that will seed and porous enough to be used, even if it is just going to be a base? i know tufa is the best, but im not sure if i can find it anywhere, thx again :)
 
ok...i seriously found the absolute most amazingly beautiful place earlier this evening!!! i read some reviews about this place and decided to make a trip...omg...as soon as i walked in the door my jaw dropped!!! I stocked up on base rock(Tufa and others) and got some beautiful live rock as well! I also stumbled across a 72gal. bowfront for $200 including stand, they have some others not priced as well...just if you're ever in that area! sorry such a long reply, i'll stop now!! oh yah, and i've been using the tufa, and i got some petrified coral...not too sure about that stuff...once again i'm a newbie!
PARADISE AQUATICS
7512 W 119TH St
Shawnee Mission, KS 66213-1108
Phone: (913) 339-9060
this is one of the reviews i read:

"I was recently in Kansas City, KS visiting relatives over Christmas. One day we decided to go for a drive and ck out some LFS. We came upon Paradise Aquatics and wow! I've been to plenty of LFS in the Dallas area, but none come close to the selection in livestock that I saw there. They have some killer tanks! I have never seen so many zoo's in one store in my life. The employee that I spoke to was very nice and knowledgeable.
If I lived up there, that's who would get my money.

Just another reason to live there. That and I discovered that Walmart sells liquor (rum, whiskey, vodka, etc.) :joy: :joy:"

YOU MUST GO, if you get a chance, not sure how far that is from Wichita....thinkin' it's extremely far, but if it was me...i'd plan a trip! :p
 
I bought 150Lbs of base rock from marcorocks.com and was amazed at the quality. You can save lost of money buy using mostly base rock and seeding is with some LR.
 
i will second the quality of rock from Marcorocks.com plus an added feature is that they will hand select rock for you by your specifications. I wanted a nice slab of rock to make a shelf out of and they send you emails with attached pictures of the rock and you can reject their picks untill you find one you like. Their service is excellent and very fast.
 
Jimbo, thanks for the info, that must be a newer feature they have at marco's.
 
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