Tips on live rock selection

jackdp

jackdp

Member
I might be heading over to my LFS tomorrow to pick up some LR. I was just wondering if there is anything in particular to look for when getting it? I know about cured/uncured and all that...I mean as far as color, shape, how to tell if it is really "alive" or just a little "alive". I got one piece from there a few days ago, and it has some red and green spots on it here and there but is mostly whitish. It also has some things hanging on that look like little greenish trees. Just didn't want to go and get a bunch and find out I've Been robbed! The shop is pretty reputable around here...called "That Fish Place" thx for any help
 
S

simm

Guest
When I pick LR I check for smell. If it smells kinda bad its not cured yet.
 
m.rogers

m.rogers

Active Member
jackdp where are you from there is a lfs close to me in maryland not shore where that is called The Fish Place. If you are close to maryland there is a lfs here called the Aquarium Center that has liverock for $5.99 a lbs. and is the best i havs ever seen any where in a store. So where are you at and if you are close i will tell you how to get there.
 
jackdp

jackdp

Member
I'm in Lancaster, PA. Not too far from MD, about 30-40mins from Baltimore. Let me know where the LFS is you're talking about if its near Baltimore area, I have alot of family down there and need a reason to visit.
 
saltywashington

saltywashington

Member
All of the live rock that I have gotten has been cured and in an active reef tank. What I have looked for has always been the color and amount of coraline on it. All of the other live stuff IMO will be there if the coaline is growing strong. As to which shapes to look for, that will have to be up to you. Depending on what type of structure you are trying to build. One thing that I have found is there are a whole lot of rock that you can get with holes in it that is light therefore cheap. This rock that has a lot of holes in it will also have a lot of things hidden in it. Hope this helps.
 
m.rogers

m.rogers

Active Member
jack sorry it took so long to get back killer day at work. It is called Aquarium Center it is in Randallstown off of 695 There # is 410-521-4529 and there website is aquariumcenter.com
 
m.rogers

m.rogers

Active Member
thanks pual this is my first sw tank and now i am hooked i am terning my 55 in to sw and just got a 150 my wife is losing more and more room but my son loves it:D
 
krishj39

krishj39

Active Member
Jack,
I just bought some LR from That Fish Place. I bought it two weeks ago and I definately wasn't cured so becareful with it. They have the Tonga and the Fugi, I got the Tonga from there cause it looked so much healthier. Most of the pieces I got seem to be doing really well with a fair amount of diversity already. One piece has 2 species of unidentified sps coral that made it to my tank alive and they are doing well. I did have one Aiptasia anenome that I found, so watch out for those too. Basically, I would say if you get rock from there, just find the pieces that have the most corallene algae on them and diversity if you are looking for that too. Also, I would consider not taking the pieces from the top. IMO they could be less cycled because they just got those pieces in, also, sometimes they have too much LR for their tanks and the pieces on top don't fit in the water, so it's possible the rock has dried out for a while. Anyway, just my 2 cents.
Kris
 
jackdp

jackdp

Member
thx for the help....got about 6lbs of tonga in there yesterday and some branch...wasn't too bad..had some coralline on it i think (small reddish growths) also tried to pick out some that already had inverts growing on it....my tank is still cycling so, are these inverts gone for good or do they survive the high NH3 and NO2???
 
fshhub

fshhub

Active Member
If you are scycleing, I would not even worry about cured or uncured, the uncured will cycle the tank, and you will loose some of the life on it, but not enough to worry about, and what you do will grow back.
IMO, save your money oand get uncured or partly cured(precured, i think they call it)
All that I look for is, sahpe and size(to fit my landscape scheme that i have in mind). and I also look for price adn if they take any measures to at least be cautious towards mantis.
NOW, if it were a tank that is up and stocked, then I would definitely purchase only cured)
HTH
 
mchandler

mchandler

Member
m.rogers,
your tank is awesome! What kind of LR from the Aquarium senter did you get...I live about 15 mins away from that place...and was thinking about getting some from them. Thanks.
 
doodle1800

doodle1800

Active Member
So... when buying live rock in a petshop - will the life on it be very noticeable? Like will I see things growing out of it or crawling around? I'm thinking of buying my first piece tonight in fact so I'm wondering what to look for besides smell. Also - does live rock change after awhile - in other words do things grow on it and keep growing, or does it basically look the same all the time?
 
pufferuk

pufferuk

Member
i live in eng and no some really good reputable lfs and the displays are impressive but yours looks like the fish are uilt for your tank and the rock look awesome
ROCK ON !!!
p.s keep up the good work :)
 
entice59

entice59

Active Member
figi and branches, probably going to move the rocks abit but the branches help keep the rock stable
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top