why live rock...?

[CARM]

I was at the beach today and had an epiphany...lol
why do u have to buy LR for $8/lb, if you live on a coast, can't you just collect rocks from the ocean????

 

[RYANLAWRENCE]

well considering you live in canada...NO! haha tropical fish would not be good to add to a tank of rock collected of the coast of canada. Most likely canadian rocks would be of different chemical composition and have different organisms living on them that would die in a tropical tank. My LFS has base rock, which is basically live rock just not as pretty, for $2 a pound. thats what i started my tank with and now that base rock has turned into pretty live rock

 

[BallinCrew10]

Taking anything from the ocean and putting it in your tank is a bad idea. There are a million variables that could be catasprophic to your tank. Cough up the money now and you won't have to buy it all over again later when contaminates wipe out your tank.

 

[RYANLAWRENCE]

Excellent point. If you live in tropical places, I still think that it is illegal to harvest live rock. Look into base rock. It'll soon look like live rock if maintained well

 

[BallinCrew10]

Base rock would be a good idea if money is a concern. My lfs had some for $3/lb.

 

[Hinds04]

You don't have to do anything outside the norm of caring for a tank to "maintain rock" so that it becomes live. As long as the bacteria is introduced and has an ammonia source for food it will become "live"

 

[Hinds04]

and yes harvesting rock from the ocean is illegal

 

[thincat]

+1 on illegal. check with the DL&R for More on what is legal and illegal in your area.

 

[CARM]

lmfao ok thanks everyone hahaha

 

[LordJay]

I don't get it; if its illegal then how come they are for sale on LFS. Somebody gotta do the dirty job right?

 

[CARM]

well I'm sure the people that lfs get their lr from are licensed lol just like the people who collect fish and such

 

[ezy33]

Live rock brings live animals you won't find on base rock. I would recommend buying a few live rocks to seed the base rock.

 

[LordJay]

Im sure they are licensed, but do I really need to get a licence to... collect rocks? Its kindda silly; if its illegal then it should be illegal any possible way. A licensed person could hurt any coral or mess some fishy buddy's home.
Im not complainig at all- thanx to them we got our LR system and whatnot.

 

[CARM]

hmm so does this mean I'm committing a crime when I collect "pretty" pebbles off the shore?uh oh.....I hope no one saw and called the cops on me

haha ok THAT sounds pretty silly but I guess the licensing makes sense considering those people collect mass volumes of lr, imagine if you didn't need a license and anybody could go tax pounds of lr that would have a pretty negative toll on ocean reefs

Sooo how about driftwood can I collect driftwood for my freshwater tank or is collecting sticks illegal too LOL

 

[CARM]

Live rock brings live animals you won't find on base rock. I would recommend buying a few live rocks to seed the base rock.

I have LR already I was just wondering lol

 

[LordJay]

Thats kind of my point. Collecting is collecting any way u can see it, specially live things. Then ur taking sumthing and putting it to an environment they're not used to. But thats a good reason for licensing, large amount of rock. Collecting sticks? Well, ur not cutting trees, are u? But again, thanx for those who do the dirty, yet fascinating job of going underwater and get those things for us. Would love to see how it really is under there- and get a piece of sumthing, or two.

 

[CARM]

Same. Life goal: see a real live coral reef, up close and personal.

 

[thincat]

Most live rock comes from areas like Fiji and those south pacific Islands. Fiji has started to ban collect of live rock in many places. This is due to the damage LR collecting does to the reefs. They are starting to make base rock out of cement and seeding that in and around the reefs to give the rock time to get all the bennies of the corals and inhabitants.

 

[uscamaro]

I've read that the LR collectors are licensed to take limited amounts of rock at a time from specified areas. This way they are monitored so reefs don't end up disappearing in a matter of a few years.

 

[cmor1701d]

It all depends on the area. The Gulf coast of Florida had areas that were 'leased' to companies for LR farming. They would put base rock in the ocean for a year or longer and harvest it as LR for sale. In Fiji and other pacific islands they are cutting back on harvesting LR to only that rock is broken off a reef naturally via storm action. Again, some companies are leased areas to harvest from and it is tightly controlled. Other islands that are farther, or less traveled have become the new places to collect LR from (Vaantu, Tukani, Bali, etc.). LR from these places may cost more due to increased transpiration costs, but you can get some pretty nice LR.