Does LR have to be in water?

patrick33

patrick33

Member
I do not know if this is true. Help.
A LFS I went to sold me some LR but did not put in water when I took it home, and they said it was ok. It seems counterintuitive to me that if it is living that they would sell it dry, especially if they took it from a tank in water. I am also noticing recently that the rock I bought from that store is having a big die off. I do not know if that is connected? any advise?
 
elfdoctors

elfdoctors

Active Member
In my experience most LFS sell it this way. One of the issues is that most bags that they put it in get holes in them from the live rock and wouldn't hold water anyway. They also sell it by weight so they have to put it in bags dry anyway (unless you want to pay $8/pound for water).
As long as it is not out of water for too long, it will do well. Some of the dieback that you are seeing could be from lack of acclimation (particularly if your water chemistries differ from the LFS).
If I found a piece of live rock with some cool hitchhikers, I have been able to ask that the LFS put some water in a bag for me.
 
lesleybird

lesleybird

Active Member
The last time I bought live rock at my LFS it was fully curred and I did not want any die off to start due to dry transport. I went to Walmart and bought a large rubbermaid container for only $4.00. I bought about 5 rocks from the store and they gladly let me have a gallon of tank water from the live rock tank. This made the water level in the transport container maybe two to three inches. This did not cover the rocks completely with water so I also had brought a roll of paper towels to cover the tops of them with as it would have taken too much water to cover the rocks completely. The paper towels hung down into the water and acted like a wick to keep the top of the rocks damp. This worked out fairly well to transport them home for me without any noticable die off. One could also use a 5 gallon bucket for just one or two rocks. If the LFS won't give you saltwater you could always bring your own in your bucket from home.
Lesley
 
stillfrodo

stillfrodo

Member
When my LR was shipped it was wrapped in damp paper. It did fine. I quick ride from a LFS will not hurt it. You are gonna have die back anyway no matte rhow cured they say it is. Helps great to cycle. Talk about a jump start..
 
dreeves

dreeves

Active Member
What do you do with all those salt buckets you get your salt in? When you go to look at rock..fill it with some saltwater and take it with you...
 
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