LR from LFS

[slofish]

Ive heard about having to cure LR you get online, but what about the LR from a LFS. The rock is in their tanks and already cured. Does die off occur during the time it takes to get the LR from the LFS to my house. It live about 40 mins away. SCn i put the LR straight into my tank? Planning on adding bout 25 lbs to the other 25 already in there. The tank is already established w/ 3 fish and corals.

 

[bdhough]

Yes you can add LFS rock to your tank. What you do is smell the rock. If it smells bad then don't buy the piece. I would also recommend not putting more than 3 lbs at a time in your tank from the LFS. It has a tendency to spike up your Nitrates at the least if not any of the other levels. Doing 3lbs at a time will also allow your tank to handle any kind of spikes in levels much easier than doing 25lbs all at the same time. Thats all there is to it. Oh and try and shake off any kind of dirt and debris in their holding tanks before bagging it.

 

[karajay]

Originally posted by SLOFish
The rock is in their tanks and already cured.
Don't take their word for it!

 

[ncjetskier]

You can purchase LR from a reputable source on line for about $2.50-$3.00 per pound that will be out of the water for 24 hours or less. This will have little to no effect as far as die off and nitrites. Use the search function and see what peoples experiences have been. Most LFS are a rip off at $6-$8 per pound!

 

[slofish]

actually, the LR @ my LFS is $4 lb. Kinda surprisingly cheap. But i guess its just the prices in this area. Most expensive LR ive seen is $6lb.
As for being out of the water for 24 hrs or less, wont the die off still occur. and if they ship next day, what does next day cost?
bdhough,
how bad of a nitrate spike is it? the reason i ask is because im planning on rearranging my entire tank, so i thought i might as well add the LR all at once. How long will it take to bring the spike down?
Thx

 

[bdhough]

Well that all depends on the rock. And i don't know why its just nitrate and not everything else. I guess its all the extra "dirt" that gets added to the tank. Its just something i've noticed when i stocked my 12. How much just depends on the rock i spose. It isn't to bad. A small reading of nitrates won't hurt anything for a couple of days unless you are having algae problems. Which is the sign of poor water anyways plus a lack of clean up crew but thats another matter....
As far as how to clean up nitrates the best way is a water change. Do a 20 percenter a couple days later. Like i've said don't buy a rock from the LFS unless it does not smell. You'll know what im talking about once you start sniffing. If someone looks at you weird just smile
Nitrates isn't something to worry about at all unless it gets insanely high or is present for a couple weeks in your tank. By doing water changes you can easily remedy that. Sometimes it even clears up on its own. It has in mine. Unless i've tested wrong all these months......
And always remember to add slowly to an established tank. If you have no life then by all means get all the rock in there you want right off the bat.
One more tip i've found is to buy small stuff from multiple sources. Save room for that one piece that came out of a display tank or most excellent piece that came in on a shipment.... I bought one such piece and it had insane amounts of life that i introduced into my tank.

 

[bdhough]

One more thing. If the rock is out of water for any extended period of time beyond a couple hours then there WILL be die off and you WILL most likely have some sort of readings in the big three tests well er maybe 4, ph,am,nitrite,and trates.... If you can keep the rock submerged in water or limit transit to a couple hours(no more than 3 or 4 which is not set in stone) die off will be almost negligable. Makes sense to me.

 

[ncjetskier]

The rock is wrapped in plastic with wet newspaper when shipped and LITTLE die off occurs in twenty four hours. It all depends on how much you are looking to add. If you are looking to add 50 Lbs+ then it might be worth purchasing on line (this is typically how it is sold). I noticed you are in Calif, which helps explain the low price. Most of the wholesale SW suppliers (LR, fish etc) are located in Calif (near Los Angelas (sp?) and the airport.
Here is an example of how little die off there is. I just broke down my tank and wanted to put my LR in the garage (in a garbage can for about 1 week (in saltwater) to do some work on my tank. It was Sunday and I did not realize I was out of Salt and could not get any til Monday (after work). The LR stayed in the garbage can WITHOUT water for 24 hrs. After putting it back in water, I tested amonia, nitrates, and nitrates and all readings were zero.
If you search on the internet on LR, and look at international companies, there is one that has all the info you can imagine. You will not be able to buy from them, since they sell by the container load, however it provides good info on how LR is processed, shipped and resold with little die off.

 

[doodle1800]

FYI - Chicago Area - $9 and $10 a lb. Ouch.

 

[thankgod4fish]

Originally posted by doodle1800
FYI - Chicago Area - $9 and $10 a lb. Ouch.
it's about that much at some places out here (NJ).
Just bought some for 8 bucks / lb. I've seen $11/lb around here too.

 

[chinnyr]

It's the same here too...'bout $10 a lb.I have seen the imfamous "base rock" for $5.99lb.And,all they did was put dry rock into a tank and get it wet!

 

[doodle1800]

I prefer the LR not be "rinsed" off by companies like SWF. I have bought their LR and its ok - I'm satisfied. But when you buy from a LFS, sometimes you can get it with a lot more life on it. I know there are some unwanted pests, but haven't came across any - yet. Of course its more expensive though...

 

[simpdaddy]

Like the guys at the LFS I go to say. Smell the rock to be sure it's cured. If it smells like ass or someone just ripped one, put it back in.
I've never had a problem with any of the rocks I've bought at my LFS. I don't even get hitchikers on them.

 

[slofish]

Thx for all the info.