Buying Live Rock Online - Quantity Unknown

[abclemen]

I will be setting up a brand new 180 gallon Reef Tank in less than 1 month. I will be purchasing an undetermined amount of premium aquacultured live rock from an online retailer in Miami and shippig to Pennsylvania.
I am looking for a recommendation on the total weight to order. I prefer a personal preference in appearance of the live rock as opposed to the rule of thumb 1.0 - 1.5 lbs per gallon due to varying densities.
I have no idea what 75lbs of live rock looks like versus 150lbs. I am looking for a recommendation on what to order. I do not want the tank to look empty but definitely not overcrowded.
What weight makes the most sense? If anyone has a picture with an appoximate weight of the live rock that would be extremely helpful.
Thank you!!!

 

[icedtc]

It really depends on the type of rock you want. Some is a lot more porous than others. For example I have a 92 gallon tank and bought 55 lbs of Pukani rock which is very porous and anything more and I think my tank would be overcrowded. Not to mention if you buy live rock the water weight will obviously add a lot.
This may go against your idea but I would highly suggest buying dry live rock. There are several advantages...to name a few:
1. Much cheaper to ship
2. Your not paying for water weight
3. There are no hitchhikers to worry about
I personally love the look of the Pukani rock I got and again, it's so porous less is really more. You could then "seed" it with a piece or two of live rock to get your tank going fast. I didn't seed my tank and within 1 month I still had my initial cycle over and diatoms growing like crazy. Just from using live sand.
I looked into getting 75 lbs of live rock shipped to me...and the shipping price was insane to me. Not to mention you could possibly get some bad things traveling along with it.
This response doesn't help too much if you are dead set on wet live rock but just wanted to point it out at the very least. Then you can have some more $$ leftover for other goodies!
Best of luck either way. https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/390539/92-gallon-corner-tank-build-thread Theres a link to my build thread. Again, thats in a 92 gallon corner and its 55 lbs of dry pukani rock. I'd like to say it was about the overall size of 5 basketballs or so.

 

[abclemen]

That is great advice and I also like the Pukani rock. You have a nice setup and I will definitely consider it too.
As for the online purchase, the Miami based retailer offers 100 lbs of total rock (20 lbs live rock / 80 lbs dry rock) totalling $2.49 per pound. That also includes shipping.
They also offer their live rock for $3.50 per pound which also appears to be very reasonable since it includes free shipping.
Your ratio of live rock is about .6lbs:1gal. If I order 100 lbs of live rock for my 180 gallon setup it puts me very close to that ratio which is very helpful.
Thank you for your quick reply.

 

[acrylic51]

Very nice rock, but be wary to check the rock for Phosphate leaching.....A known issue with this type of rock.

 

[btldreef]

Quote:
Originally Posted by acrylic51 http:///t/390999/buying-live-rock-online-quantity-unknown#post_3465657
Very nice rock, but be wary to check the rock for Phosphate leaching.....A known issue with this type of rock.
+1
I'm not a fan of the 1lb/G rule, etc. There's a huge difference between the weight of dry rock vs wet live rock, so that throws off the whole 1lb/G rule from the get go. Dry rock is MUCH lighter.
Also, keep in mind that spending the extra money on CURED live rock and having it shipped to you, is a waste. There's going to be die off in shipping and you're going to have to re-cure the rock.
I'm a huge fan of the Tonga Dry Rock that Bulk Reef Supply sells. My LFS does not weight their live rock, they sell it based on what the piece looks like, my live rock is from them, and I used it to seed my dry rock from BRS. I have no idea how many pounds are in any of my tanks. If I had to guess, I'd say my 180 probably was started with 80-100 (wet) or so pounds of cured live rock from an existing tank and 60lbs of dry Tonga branch and shelf rocks.

 

[2quills]

I see the same reports of phosphates from pretty much every source of dry rock, BRS, Marco's etc. I think anything that's been sitting in the ground or has contained organic matter at some point in time could have the very same potential. Although most reports do not seem as though they are off the charts high in those regards. Safe thing would probably be to soak it in r/o for a few days and check it then go from there.

 

[acrylic51]

I haven't seen to many crazy things with the Macro rock.....It's more been the Pukani.....There's a big thread over on RC about the Pukani leaching.

 

[btldreef]

Quote:
Originally Posted by acrylic51 http:///t/390999/buying-live-rock-online-quantity-unknown#post_3465692
I haven't seen to many crazy things with the Macro rock.....It's more been the Pukani.....There's a big thread over on RC about the Pukani leaching.
I agree, a lot of people complain about the Pukani. A friend of mine had a terrible hair algae outbreak after filling his 330 with Marco rock and sand. No fish, etc. I had no issues with the BRS Tonga, but I've heard that the BRS Eco Rock leaches phosphates.
I did soak my dry rock in a bin with salt water, a powerhead and a phosphate reactor for a week just to be safe.