Live Rock $2.00 a pound!

[ocean]

I have been checking out craigslist and came across someone tearing down their saltwater tank and selling live rock for 2 bucks a pound! She says she has fifty pounds, going to buy it if it is ok. Still has the rock and fish in her tank, so not worried about buying dead rock. How should I transport it home? It's a good half hour drive, will using my fish buckets be ok, water no water? She also wanted me to take the 2 pj cardinals...would love to but I have three that get along fine, plus a watchman goby and a coral beauty angel and almost forgot a little clown goby in a 20 gal. long.

 

[scottayy]

Very interesting question. I'll be following along for the answer.

My guess would just be bring a rubbermaid container and have her put the rock in there with some of the existing tank water.

 

[ocean]

Can't wait to get it tomarrow! Never thought I would be excited over live rock! The one and only LFS here sells it for $8.99 a pound plus more dead than alive. Hope it has some interesting on it.

 

[uscamaro]

Put the LR in a bucket/foam bin and cover with wet newspaper soaked with the tank's water; this is how my LFS and Liveaquaria.com does it.

 

[ocean]

Got my rock home, thank you for the wet newspaper tip uscamaro! For now 33 pounds are in a ten gal. With heater, filter and of course saltwater. The other 7 pounds wasn't so great, will use that for base when I upgrade to a bigger tank in the very near future. Do I leave the lights on or off, dumb question I suppose.

 

[uscamaro]

I left mine on so the coralline algae would grow.

 

[Hinds04]

They do the newpaper becuase it costs less to ship. I would have used buckets and her existing water so there was no dieoff. I always seem to get newspaper in my tank when I get rock that way. Either way, you'll be fine.

 

[Henry405]

I got my LR from macrorocks today, it came with some a super damp trash bag? Im amazed at how they packaged the thing, was only 10lbs.

This is from inside out:

LR> soaked trashbag> trashbag> bubble wrap + an ice pack> styrofoam box taped shut> cardboard box.

 

[ocean]

Makes sense... using trash bags and bubble wrap would keep the LR wet/damp and less die off I should think.