Live Rock

[Purevil21]

Saltwater Aquarium Live Rock, Base Rock, Reef Rock, Live Sand

Guys,

This guy sells rock for a dollar a pound, and he has permits to collect here in florida, but he sells it straight from the ocean. I know this subject is like around here, but what would I need to do to make sure this rock was safe to add to my tank? Would it be alright if I just dried it out for a few days, and at that point is there any benefit to using this over dry base rock?

 

[carey]

To be honest, I would skip it. Looks like there will be tons of hitchhikers. If you dry it out and kill everything you pretty much have base rock which you can get alot cheaper. lol

 

[Purevil21]

I can't get base rock for $1 per lb, but I would rather pay the little extra I think and have more control over what is going into the system.

 

[Gti_Leo]

i've read if you put the rock in 1.04sg water that any hitchhickers will quickly evacuate the rock and you can pick out any of the bad guys out

scroll down to controlling unwanted pests

http://www.liveaquaria.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=209

 

[uscamaro]

If you dry it out and kill everything you pretty much have base rock which you can get alot cheaper. lol

How much does base rock cost you?

 

[iDream]

JMO, his rock looks like junk. Very dense and not very porous looking, IMO skip that and go the RC/marco route, it may be a bit more but like stated earlier you could see with your own rock and not have the chance of some ugly hitch hikers.

I believe you said yourself that trying to get a hitch hiker out of that tank would be a disaster Though it may be a bit more in price its much better quality in terms of filtration and aesthetics

 

[Purevil21]

Thanks for the input guys. I think I am using all base rock. That will allow me to have complete control over what goes into the system. I know it won't be colorful for while, but it is well worth it to avoid ending up with a menace.

 

[iDream]

FYI not sure if you already know or not but if you're a fan of coralline you'll need to introduce it to the system, it doesn't pop up out of no where

 

[Krypt]

If your looking to have great diversity of life, then it may be the rock for you. But if your looking to keep ultimate control of what goes in your tank, then definitely pass up this rock. Key Largo base rock would be your golden ticket.

 

[Purevil21]

Yeah, I am going to scrape coraline off a friends glass and introduce.

 

[Chisel]

I guess i'm the only one that likes the suprises of hitchikers (besides aptaisa of course). I had purchased a rock from a tub at one of my LFS that was supposed to be just rock. After bringing it home, I ended up with the additions of a lawnmower blenny, a few hermits, a couple snails and a mythrax crab which I was able to catch and give away.

 

[Purevil21]

It's hit or miss sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you end up with a mantis shrimp. The last thing you wanna do with the reef tank is get bad hitch hikers.

 

[Gti_Leo]

you can get alot of turbo snails from your LFS with coralline aglae on the shells. thats how i got it on my rocks