choosing live rock. Fijii or caribean?

[king_neptune]

both are priced pretty close on this site, since that out of the way... which should I choose? im getting 50lbs. what factors do i need to consider?
oh and since its going to go into a brand new tank, I wont need to cure it will i? I can just add it directly in and begin the cycle, correct?

 

[jackri]

Inny Minny Miney moe.. something about a tiger's toe....
All personal preference. You'll have some die off but going into a new tank I'd personally add it and will start your cycle for you.

 

[drtito]

Originally Posted by jackri
http:///forum/post/3100801
Inny Minny Miney moe.. something about a tiger's toe....
All personal preference. You'll have some die off but going into a new tank I'd personally add it and will start your cycle for you.
+1 I have the caribean its nice.

 

[king_neptune]

i remember reading somewhere that Caribbean is more apt to parasites and other unwanted pests. is that true?

 

[drtito]

I have not seen any of that in my tank, Why not mix as many differnt rocks as you can. carbi,fij, aussi, japan any rock you can get, besides diversity is what you want.
Note : I have LR from the cali coast line,carbi sea, sea of cortez mexico and anything else I can find.

 

[carlos413]

I like getting my LR from lfs. You pay a prem but you can hand pick the rock. Gives me peice of mind. Any way I got a fishstore that has some nice rock for $6 lbs. Around here it's as high as $12 lbs.

 

[posiden]

I know you have been, uhm, well....... bent over at the last local shop you went to but, I do like his fiji tucani LR he has. It was like 6 bucks a pound last time I bought some. It could be a gohst hunt too, the last time I was in there it was getting pretty sparce. Heck, he hasn't even gotten any Mysis shrimp in since the snow storm we had. It is nice rock tho.

 

[king_neptune]

you remember eh?
ya, I haven't set foot in that place since. Dom**** is a gangsta prik. I hate thugs. I hated them in highschool, I hated them in the workplace. And I hate them now that im back in school.
Lonz** is cool, but he has no control over his son. Ive been in there before and Dom and his friends have been shouting at the top of their lungs over some football game or fight or whatever...i couldnt even carry on a Q/A session on the other side of the store. couldn't hear a reply to my question even after several repeated attempts. I just shook my head and lonz shrugged his shoulders. Whatever, that place can fade away.

 

[gratefulhippie]

I'd definatley get the carribean as the formations in the rock itself provide more flow, and look better imo! Also it makes placing coral easier as they have more grooves and openings.

 

[king_neptune]

and that, is the reason I asked. I needed to know that exact kind of thing. thanks

 

[alix2.0]

i like fiji personally, i just like the shapes. i have a lot of tufa also, its very porous and good if youre mainly using it for biofiltration and pods, because theres so much surface area. plus, its really lightweight so you get more for your money.

 

[king_neptune]

tufa is too yellow/white

 

[alix2.0]

true, but you have to take into consideration coralline and such.

 

[king_neptune]

ya your right about that. it would go good in a sump. you dont see ti...and that place is mainly for bio filtration. ill probably order some just so see how I like it.
but that will be a while. ill wait till i have a heavy bio load

 

[ophiura]

There are a lot of considerations, IMO
Caribbean rock is frequently aquacultured, and this is desirable. It tends to have a lot, from what I understand, of "things" which are both fantastic and less desirable. This is always a risk with LR but less so with Pacific (perhaps because so much dies off in transit).
If there is nothing else in the tank, you can use it directly to cycle it.
If this is a large system, I would not buy LR from the store. Most of it effectively is base rock anyway. You may cherry pick some larger pieces later to fill in, but I would not pay LFS prices for the bulk of my LR.
However, local reef clubs, especially now, may be very good sources for lots off LR. Highly recommend looking into that. sometimes it is even worth a pretty long drive.

 

[king_neptune]

thx fer the tips Susan.
Actually I was planning on ordering here from SWF.com
ill start with 50lbs. but if it needs more. ill get more.

 

[ophiura]

If I had the option, I would use florida aquacultured....BUT...I think inverts (even "bad" one's) are pretty cool. There is no doubt it comes with a lot of crabs and such. However, I've never seen any of it in person

 

[cydab]

why not just mix them, like this you get more diversity and the bet of both world.

 

[king_neptune]

maybe. but i only got 50lbs to work with. in a 125DT the rest is my foam wall build.

 

[cydab]

would it make it more expensive if you get 25lbs. of each? after all the more diversity you got the better the echo system will function.