Live Rock/Base Rock Question
- Thread starter kevin34
- Start date
sjimmyh
Member
Most all the live rock from the pacific aquarium trade is supplied by one company. I won't say the name so as to not infringe on the rules, but most of you will know who it is. Google live rock and you will find it.
The best LR I have ever gotten, IMO, was marshall island UNCURED live rock. It happens to be the deal I swung in my most recent reef set up.
Talk to your LFS. They can get the same uncured LR that all the other companies can get. Tell them what you are interested in and how much you can get it for online. Most businesses will match or beat their competition if given the chance. Not to mention, if you pay up front, its a sure sale. You shouldn't have a problem getting them to get you what you want.
Why uncured? Every time you cure live rock, some of the little organisms that we love to see and watch will die off. Lots die before it ever makes it to the LFS or online company. They, in turn, cure it so that it is safe for use in a tank almost immediately. They ship it to you and more dies off (maybe not a lot, but your still going to lose some animals. It is inevitable).
Uncured LR will NOT have the coraline algae all over it like cured LR will. BUT it will grow on this rock over time. If you just want coraline algae, buy cured LR from an online supplier for the best prices (as long as your getting a decent amount). Cured LR will also have the bennefit of providing a decent amount of nitrofying bacteria to your tank very rapidly. This greatly speeds up the cycling process.
Marshall Isl rock is generally more expensive, but it is actual coral heads that have broken away and either washed in to shallow water or just collected by divers. If you imagine those bleached coral heads you can buy (that have all the neat tangled shapes) or the fake ball shaped coral with all the tangles in it, this is what the rock looks like. I bought 90 pounds at 5 dollars a pound from a special order at a LFS. The day he got it in, I went in and took the entire box (he never evened opened it).
So why am I so pleased with it? Upon placing the LR into my tank I set my own personal record on the amount of SPS coral I have ever had in an aquarium at one time. The stuff is all over it. How much lived through shipping and the cycle of my tank? About 50 percent. Still a lot of encrusting SPS and a large porites sample. Now, don't expect brilliant colors because it most likely wont be. Mine are all tans and browns. IMO it still makes for a great background look to the tank and only $5.00 a pound for it because I did some shopping and comparing and asking questions.
As for Saltwaterfish.com Live Rock, I can't say that I have ever used them. I do know that Fiji Live Rock in general seems to have gone downhill in quality. This was information provided by an online company regarding fiji. He did state that they do still get good fiji rock, but its not as consistant as it once was. Since all stores, as I stated earlier, use the same pacific rock wholesaler the consistancy is most likely accross the board.
Here is some more information on rock.
Fiji - Mostly volcanic rock. Can have hidey holes, but generally not as much as the coral based live rocks. IMO, the most porous of rocks and makes for very good filtration. Coraline algae specific with this rock is usually purple.
Marshall - Almost completely coral heads. Tons of hidey holes and easy to aquascape tunnels and arches. Not as porous as Fiji. Coralines can be red, green, orange or Purple.
Namoli - Limestone chunks "appearance". Porous. More colors than fiji in coralines. The rock is also kind of "tan" where Marshall is more white or off-white and fiji is dark.
Tonga Branch - Basically acropora skeletons. Has a more "tan" look like Namoli than Marshall does. More colors than fiji in coralines. Great for a branchy look and very good for keeping flow through the rock to prevent dead areas.
Tonga Shelf - Like its name, slab-like rocks of limestone. Very similiar in all other ways to Namoli. Tends to have a lot of sun coral skeletons on it. Coralines seem to be more reds and purples. Can be used to provide fairly "flat" shelves to glue your coral specimens to.
The best LR I have ever gotten, IMO, was marshall island UNCURED live rock. It happens to be the deal I swung in my most recent reef set up.
Talk to your LFS. They can get the same uncured LR that all the other companies can get. Tell them what you are interested in and how much you can get it for online. Most businesses will match or beat their competition if given the chance. Not to mention, if you pay up front, its a sure sale. You shouldn't have a problem getting them to get you what you want.
Why uncured? Every time you cure live rock, some of the little organisms that we love to see and watch will die off. Lots die before it ever makes it to the LFS or online company. They, in turn, cure it so that it is safe for use in a tank almost immediately. They ship it to you and more dies off (maybe not a lot, but your still going to lose some animals. It is inevitable).
Uncured LR will NOT have the coraline algae all over it like cured LR will. BUT it will grow on this rock over time. If you just want coraline algae, buy cured LR from an online supplier for the best prices (as long as your getting a decent amount). Cured LR will also have the bennefit of providing a decent amount of nitrofying bacteria to your tank very rapidly. This greatly speeds up the cycling process.
Marshall Isl rock is generally more expensive, but it is actual coral heads that have broken away and either washed in to shallow water or just collected by divers. If you imagine those bleached coral heads you can buy (that have all the neat tangled shapes) or the fake ball shaped coral with all the tangles in it, this is what the rock looks like. I bought 90 pounds at 5 dollars a pound from a special order at a LFS. The day he got it in, I went in and took the entire box (he never evened opened it).
So why am I so pleased with it? Upon placing the LR into my tank I set my own personal record on the amount of SPS coral I have ever had in an aquarium at one time. The stuff is all over it. How much lived through shipping and the cycle of my tank? About 50 percent. Still a lot of encrusting SPS and a large porites sample. Now, don't expect brilliant colors because it most likely wont be. Mine are all tans and browns. IMO it still makes for a great background look to the tank and only $5.00 a pound for it because I did some shopping and comparing and asking questions.
As for Saltwaterfish.com Live Rock, I can't say that I have ever used them. I do know that Fiji Live Rock in general seems to have gone downhill in quality. This was information provided by an online company regarding fiji. He did state that they do still get good fiji rock, but its not as consistant as it once was. Since all stores, as I stated earlier, use the same pacific rock wholesaler the consistancy is most likely accross the board.
Here is some more information on rock.
Fiji - Mostly volcanic rock. Can have hidey holes, but generally not as much as the coral based live rocks. IMO, the most porous of rocks and makes for very good filtration. Coraline algae specific with this rock is usually purple.
Marshall - Almost completely coral heads. Tons of hidey holes and easy to aquascape tunnels and arches. Not as porous as Fiji. Coralines can be red, green, orange or Purple.
Namoli - Limestone chunks "appearance". Porous. More colors than fiji in coralines. The rock is also kind of "tan" where Marshall is more white or off-white and fiji is dark.
Tonga Branch - Basically acropora skeletons. Has a more "tan" look like Namoli than Marshall does. More colors than fiji in coralines. Great for a branchy look and very good for keeping flow through the rock to prevent dead areas.
Tonga Shelf - Like its name, slab-like rocks of limestone. Very similiar in all other ways to Namoli. Tends to have a lot of sun coral skeletons on it. Coralines seem to be more reds and purples. Can be used to provide fairly "flat" shelves to glue your coral specimens to.
laxplaya
Member
I prefer vanuatu rock. It is some of the most expensive due to all of the great shapes it has. But the vanuatu i got was "dead" and took about a month or so to grow back to life. Vanuatu rock grows coralline very quickly and has great shape to it. I got mine for 2 bucks a pound
, at that price i said yes without seeing it and it turned out great. If you want similar shape and really quick coralline growth tonga rock is great too and it is loads less money.
azaintcold
Member
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/show...=263438&page=3
I bought my rock from here. Very happy with the purchase.
I bought my rock from here. Very happy with the purchase.
jimmy 4
Member
Originally Posted by LAXplaya
I prefer vanuatu rock. It is some of the most expensive due to all of the great shapes it has. But the vanuatu i got was "dead" and took about a month or so to grow back to life. Vanuatu rock grows coralline very quickly and has great shape to it. I got mine for 2 bucks a pound
, at that price i said yes without seeing it and it turned out great. If you want similar shape and really quick coralline growth tonga rock is great too and it is loads less money.
From all of your pictures that you have posted i have not seen one bit of coraline algae on your rock. Do you know what it looks like? Ill give you a clue. Its not white.
I prefer vanuatu rock. It is some of the most expensive due to all of the great shapes it has. But the vanuatu i got was "dead" and took about a month or so to grow back to life. Vanuatu rock grows coralline very quickly and has great shape to it. I got mine for 2 bucks a pound
From all of your pictures that you have posted i have not seen one bit of coraline algae on your rock. Do you know what it looks like? Ill give you a clue. Its not white.
azaintcold
Member
Originally Posted by Kevin34
Thanks.
From what it looks like the rock from this site arrives with just a little coraline and color to it but once its in the tank for a few weeks the coraline grows like crazy. Is that right? How many lbs of rock did you order?
I ordered 90-100 lbs. I would say it had a good amount of coraline, my camera is horrible so its tought to tell. Some of the pictures you can see the coraline, but it still doesn't do the color justice. The coraline does spread like crazy though
Not a lot of hitchhikers, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. (no mantis, bad crabs etc)
Good variation of coralines. pink , green, purple, orange white, etc.
I was pleased with the purchase.
Thanks.
I ordered 90-100 lbs. I would say it had a good amount of coraline, my camera is horrible so its tought to tell. Some of the pictures you can see the coraline, but it still doesn't do the color justice. The coraline does spread like crazy though
Not a lot of hitchhikers, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. (no mantis, bad crabs etc)
Good variation of coralines. pink , green, purple, orange white, etc.
I was pleased with the purchase.