How to Handle Live Rock

mrdc

mrdc

Active Member
Well let me think how to ask my questions cause it is in two parts I think. I will try to get to my points and not ramble too much.
First, how do you tell if a store has good live rock? Believe it or not, the two big pet stores I have here have rocks that look really good meaning that that appear to have a lot of coraline algae and just look mature. I have LFS that sell rock that basically look like base rock (maybe with a hint of brown or green) sitting in saltwater under halides and current.
Secondly, how should a store bag the rock if you buy a piece? I went to a LFS store yesterday and I didn't like what they had in their live rock tank and asked if I could buy something out of their coral tank. This is a store I have been going to for a long time and I know that rock has been in there forever. It was showing some really nice colors. Now the part I didn't like is how the lady took the rock out of the tank, weighed it (which is how they determine the charge) and bag it in a little water. I brought it home and put it in my tank since this is my first time buying live rock. Today the rock has a lot of colr but not as much as yesterday. It has a lot of white areas. So was the rock sold to me in the proper way? I guess I just really need to know how buy and handle live rock since this was my first piece that I have bought. My tank was setup with base rock and (I assume since I paid for it) liverock years ago. Now I am trying to be the master on how to spot good live rock and how it should be handled.
 
garick

garick

Member
I don't think there to be a special way of handling live rock. It basically normally consists of coraline algae and beneficial bacteria.
Leaving it exposed to air or drying out over a period of time can kill stuff on the rock, but if its white, it could simply be where the coraline was dieing off from lack of proper calcium/kh in the water itself.
Mainly it should either be kept wet like with soaked papers, stored in a bucket with water over it, or put wet into a bag and sealed.
 
nycbob

nycbob

Active Member
nice lr would normally hv coraline algae growing on it, but from what i hv seen, most lfs dont sell those. all the lfs bag lr by putting it inside a bag with no water. not much dieoff since transit time is less than 2-3 hours for me.
 
mrdc

mrdc

Active Member
Thanks for the responses guys. My ca is only 390 now because I have just been focusing on getting the ca back up with the anticipation of my new lights. I guess I was under the idea that the rock should be bagged under water and not be exposed to air. Bob, if it doesn't have coraline is it alive?
 
nycbob

nycbob

Active Member
yes it is still live. sometimes coraline algae dont develop until 3-4 weeks after sitting in ur tank. the more important thing to look at when it comes to lr is the shape.
 
mrdc

mrdc

Active Member
Could you elaborate on what you mean by shape? I think I know what you mean but just want to make sure.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
I believe that he is talking about the physical shape of the rock and how it would fit in with your aquascaping plans.
 
scopus tang

scopus tang

Active Member
Originally Posted by 505titan
http:///forum/post/3230219
so if i add calcium/kh i would get more color on my LR?
Yes and no; dKH can help with coralline growth, but lighting is also a major factor. IME, metal halide results in lower levels of coralline, while PC lighting produces the most coralline growth.
 
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