Safe to put in my tank?

kablamo

Member
IS this safe to put in my tank? It is a coral skeleton that was part of my rock collection from when i was a little kid,its about six inches long, bottom to top. Its in a plastic bag so i wouldn't hurt my mom's scanner.
Also, what should i do to clean it. thanks!
 

lovethesea

Active Member
boil it a little. Keep in mind that it will not stay a "nice white" once in your tank. It will still look OK, just not the white you are seeing now.
 

kablamo

Member
Is it porous enough to be considered base rock? Will my critters have a nice time living in or near this skeleton?
 

lovethesea

Active Member
I don't think it would be good for base rock. Only because
it could be brittle in places and the weight of rocks on top could casue some toppling.
Magic.....LOL
 
T

tizzo

Guest
:scared:What is the deal with bleach!!! Why does everyone use bleach??? I would NEVER under no circumstances put bleach anywhere near anything that's going into my tank, but apparently a lot of people do and it works for them but WHY. Why would you do it??? Boiling it will kill any unwanted bacteria (careful not to crack it, put it in the water before it starts to boil), and sunlight for 2 days will kill anythind that boiling don't such as certain algaes. Where did this bleach thing come from?? Did somebody misunderstand the term "bleached coral"? I'm not trying to sound mean, I am legitimately (sp?) asking a sincere question, 'cause I hear this bleach thing a lot, I'm just curious where it comes from. :)
 
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tizzo

Guest
That's a good point, about trying to boil a 20lb rock... But why would you want to?? Algae? Again, I am NOT trying to sound sarcastic, I'm only curious.
 

kablamo

Member

Originally posted by lovethesea
I don't think it would be good for base rock. Only because
it could be brittle in places and the weight of rocks on top could casue some toppling.
Magic.....LOL

I said base rock, but i just meant rock to put in my tank that wasn't live... I know its VERY brittle, i mean i can pick it up, but if i dropped it on a hard floor it would shatter... nothing is going on top of it... heres my LR setup and where i wanna put the coral-
o's are LR x is the coral
ooooooooooo
ooooooooooo
oo----x----oo
o

[hr]
o
It was the first peice i ever got in my rock collection, so it's kinda nostalgic, so i am making it kind of like a throne in the middle of my tank. I know stuff is gonna grow on it, its gonna change color, or what not, it'd kinda like i'm giving a gift to my tank... I am gonna mount it on something so it will stay up. It's kinda designed to lay flat like in the picture, so i gotta get something to stand it up with.
its like this flat.
xxxxxxxxx
xxxx x
any ideas?
 

kablamo

Member
about base rock:
My dad lives in corpus christi right on the ocean, i walk to the beach basically-
I am wondering, where do i look for baserock, what should i look for, also, sand straight from the beach, what is all of your opinion about using it as live sand? Any curing methods?
 

kablamo

Member

Originally posted by Magic_Carp
Dont use the sand form the beach, ever see the foam on the beach? waves are the oceans naturla skimmer, you would need to dive down to the bottom of the ocean miles away from the shore to have good "quality" sand, also when looking for rock, look for rock that is very porus, and has lot of holes, rock from tide pools are great, if you could break off pieces of rock around the tippoold that would be good.

tippoold = tidepool?!?
 

kablamo

Member
No, I live in Oklahoma City, but my dad lives in corpus christi. We are going there in a few weeks, so i figure i can bring some cool live rock back, I don't know if corpus christi is tropical or not, but its pretty warm there all year long. For people who don't know where that is, its in texas on the gulf of mexico, about 3 hours from the border.
Also, what would be the best way to transport the live rock back to OKC. We are driving of course, but i mean, should i keep it in a cooler or something?
Also, If i can pick live rock out snorkling, can i also get live sand from the same place?
 

dragonboy

Active Member
Just look for rocks that has color on them but most of them are cover in seaweeds you have to take off the seaweeds to get a good look of their coralline. Make sure you don't get the slime rocks it means they are coated with algae. The tidepools are a good area to look for liverocks just go to any part of the beach with lots of rocks. You should find some of them there.
 

kablamo

Member
My wife and I are looking at some real estate while we are there, if we move there, i may start selling some LR super cheap to my fellow SWF.com Forum mates!
Also, no one answered. Can I get some LS from the same spot? I know that waves are the oceans protein skimmers, but where we are going to dive might be pretty far away from the shore...
Thanks for all the help, because i can't afford to spend money if i don't have to!
:happy: :happy: :happy:
 

dragonboy

Active Member
hehe... yeah its illegal to do that for sure to sell them without an authorize paper works. Also you must make sure the area of the place your getting from are clean parts of the ocean. There only few places where good amount of good water qualities.
 

mytank

Member
all I will say is be VERY careful, I lived in corpus and had a friend "borrow" some rock and he got caught, not sure how they found out. anyway, he got a hefty fine out of the deal and also some community service. So there are watchdogs
 

gbpack

Member
Do you really want to have an expensive trip? Then take LR or any other species from a protected area in the state of Texas and you will get it. There are so many wildlife laws in the gulf coast states about removeing or posession of marinelife it will make your head spin. You never know who is watching you. Any law enforcement officer in Texas can inspect any containers or anything if you are suspected of engaging in the taking of protected wildlife. Taking of LR is against the law! As is the the taking of any marine species even sand unless permitted by the state. The law is as follows:
All wild animals, fur-bearing animals, wild birds, wild fowl, fish and other aquatic animal life contained in the freshwater rivers, creeks, and streams and in lakes or sloughs subject to overflow from rivers within state borders are the property of the people of the state. All the beds, bottoms, products thereof, of the public rivers, bayous, lagoons, creeks, lakes, bays and inlets in the state and in the Gulf of Mexico within the state's jurisdiction are state property. The state may permit the use of the waters and bottoms and the taking of products therefrom. The Parks and Wildlife Department shall regulate the taking and conservation of fish, oysters, shrimp, crabs, turtles, terrapins, mussels, lobsters, and all other kinds of marine life, or sand, gravel, mud shell or marl (1.1.011). The purpose of the Wildlife Conservation Act of 1983 is to provide a comprehensive method for the conservation of an ample supply of state wildlife resources to insure reasonable and equitable enjoyment of the privileges of ownership and pursuit of same, and to provide a flexible law to enable the Commission to deal effectively with changing conditions to prevent depletion and waste of wildlife resources (5.61.002).
Besides the law you need to go out further than a mile to get great quality sand. The water around Corpus has some serious pollution in it. Some experts say a mile is good but it does depend on the quality of the water and how many rivers flow into the area.
 

kablamo

Member
wow! How about base rock then? Getting it from a tide pool is ok? even if it's dead?
What about fishermen who go out and fish for fish... I know they need a license... maybe there is a LR diving license!
 
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