Live rock quality

hikari

hikari

New Member
Hello I am starting on this slow expencive fun process and I have 2 questions.
Where should I get my live rock? I see alot of places online but I'm afraid to buy from a store where I can't see what I'm getting. my local store charges 5.99 lb. However if i buy online I can cut that down a great deal.
The second question is how much rock to start with? Since I am just cycling my tank should I get all my rock at once or start abit at a time. I have a 50 gallon tank with livesand water has been stable for about 2 weeks though I understand that will change when I put the rock in.
 
maeistero

maeistero

Active Member
it would be better to get as much at once to avoid a small cycle. if you want to add a bit at a time then you'll have to quarantine and keep an eye out for unwanted pests. on the other side, by adding a little at a time it's easier to get the exact shapes and all that you want. i've bought in 100-200lb loads at a time and usually it ended up 1 or 2 show tank pieces and the rest base rock or potential future show.
where to get it... look around at your general area. there's a salt community online in every metro area. we regularly have experienced people unloading proven rock that they've had for years around $3-5. fiji and marshal. shipping is too expensive usually so i'd just do a ton of research at local fish places that aren't national chains. i'm sure some of the people there know the sites.
just my short experience
 
hikari

hikari

New Member
Thanks for the reply. I live in the middle of the dessert so I only have like 3 store locations that have live rock and I have been looking at newspaper for someone to sell some so that s good advise.
One of my local store has the Walt Smith that you see everywhere and it looks good but at that place it's every expencive. they don't sell it by pound it's listed by size.
 
maeistero

maeistero

Active Member
that's rough. we have tons of club members out in prairie kansas that we ship stuff to from kc. walt smith rock is excellent, but probably abit overpriced. i think marshal island is supposed to be the least dense. therefore you'd get the most size for your buck. it also breaks easier though. tradeoffs!
that auction site is a rip off if you ask me. they need an option to filter out all the buy it nows so you can actually buy from people not businesses.
oh, and joe, i think everyone knows about eday. no need to post it unless you've actually seen a good deal. go ahead and look up lr and shipping.
 
vanos

vanos

Member
Do a google search and you will find a better deal than your lfs. Even with shipping it is still cheaper than your lfs. I've bought from this website and a competitor and may buy more from a place in tampa bay which has amazing life on it.
 
hikari

hikari

New Member
I was just afraid that I would get just a bunch of rubble rock that would not be really any good to me ordering online.
 
moby

moby

Member
Hikari, you said you live in the desert.....Arizona?
I know some places in AZ that have some fairly good deals, but on line is probably going to be the cheapest, but of course you don't see it before you buy so you can't pick the pieces you want.
Moby
 
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