live rock question for everybody

[Scodz]

I am looking to purchase a good amount of live rock and I just thought i would enquire as to what people thought was the highest quality rock out there? Harbour aquatics? Florida aquacultured? Just looking for opinions and advice. I am using it to seed a good amount of base rock. Mostly I am looking for different coralline varieties and colors, would love love love some plate coralline and some orange stuff. ANy and all comments are greatly apreciated

[Drew]

Hey Scodz,

LR is one of the coolest parts of our tanks, it's awesome to find some many new things you didn't even know were there. As for the best LR out there, that is debatable. If you are looking for good shapes with good color, a coral here and there thats light and has adequete life, Premium Aquatics is where it's at. But if you are looking for rock that is BURSTING with life, vibrant colors, but that is a little dense, check out www.gulf-view.com I have both kinds of rock in my tank. I like em both. BTW Harbor is also decent, their rock is pretty much the same as Premium Aquatics.

Drew

[cyberchef]

Another good source for Aquacultured LR is Sea Critters in Florida, http://www.petsforum.com/seacritters/Default.html
I'm new to this forum as well as new to Marine Aquariums. I have a 55 gallon reef tank I set up recently and I bought live rock and live sand from Sea Critters. I was very pleased with the LR I recieved. I told her what I was looking for and she did her best to pick out what I wanted (size and shape wise). The rock had lots of small corals as well as sponges and lots of different life forms (brittle stars, crabs, another red star fish that I have not been able to identify (it stays hidden, lol) including a small gergonian which is growing longer every day). They have 3 different grades of rock to choose from, coraline algea, coral polyp and deco, just depends on what your looking for.

[FishDaddy]

Scott,
All the vendors mentioned have good reps for quality. Most of the Indo-Pacific rock comes from Walt Smith and I believe, one or two other major suppliers. The differences come from the way the rock is handled after it arrives at the vendor.

I got my first rock from Premium Aquatics..good stuff. Since, I've gotten the rest from Aquatic Specialists, which is local to me. I suspect the Fiji rock came from the same source as it is so similar.
In addition to the Fiji, I have some Pohnpeii and Tonga.

While getting all the rock at the same time makes setup easier, having rock from different areas provides more diversity of life and some different shapes that can make your aquasculpture unique. Many vendors do sell rock from different locations so you could mix an order and still have it all at the same time. The better vendors will help pick out some particular sizes and shapes for you if you call and ask. Most receive shipments weekly so if they don't have the particular rock you want, they may the following week.
HTH,
Dick)

[mojoreef]

Hey scodz as per suppliers all of the above a great. I'll give you a few different ideas on LR out thier.

Marshall Islands rock (my favorite) comes with a decent ammount of micro algae and small life. It has a varity of shape and such including some very neat looking shelves (kinda like huge tables from the lower reaches of the reef) it is not as dence as the other rocks out thier so the price usually balances out. Also does not seem to have the nasty critters figi does. Not alot of corraline to start with but colors up fast.

Figi rock: is a dence rock and usually comes with the most life (good and Bad). seems to be mainly old porites or simular in shapes. the main shapes are boulders and flat slabs with rounded edges although some unique shapes are available. watch for crabs an Mantis, i usually suggest a FW dip no matter what just so you know whats on it. these rocks usually have good coraline growth.

tonga, tonga branch and Vanissi: these rock are usually taken from deeper waters and have some really neat shapes, usually in the forms of branches, plates and oddball. When they arrive they have many shades and colors of coraline (pink, green, red and purple) but usually once in your tank for a year the purple coraline takes over. They has smaller ammounts of micro algaes, but have a decent ammmount of critters. have not experenced anything really bad in the way of bad crabs or mantis.

Aquacultured rock: This one I dont know alot about but from what I have seen they seem to be man made concrete rocks that have been sitting in reefs or tubs for a long time. They usually have a decent ammount of micro algae and very little bad critters if any. They usually come with full purple coraline coverage.


In my opinion the best way to approach aquascaping is to have a good mental picture of what you want your reef to look like. and then buy the different rock types that you need to achieve your goal. on my reef I have used figi on the lower reaches of the reef to build the rock mantels. then dress the top reaches and the overhang shelves with marshall islands and then added some tonga branch for the oddball places.


good luck
mike

[SPC]

Posted by Mojo:
Aquacultured rock: This one I dont know alot about but from what I have seen they seem to be man made concrete rocks that have been sitting in reefs or tubs for a long time. They usually have a decent ammount of micro algae and very little bad critters if any. They usually come with full purple coraline coverage.

Just to clear up a few things here, aquacultured rock is natuaral rock that was placed in the ocean years back. It is heavier than the Pacific rock but has a wide variety of life on it including coral. You also can expect quite a few critters like mantis and crabs. IMO there is not as much coraline as the Pacific rock, but more of other types of life. I have used both Fla aquacultured and Pacific rock but will only use the aquacultured rock in the future due to the wide array of life.
BTW, if I lived where you do I would drive to Sea Critters or Tampa Bay Saltwater and pick out my own.
Steve

[mojoreef]

Thanks steve for correcting me, as i said I dont have alot of experence with the aqaucultured rock, Light bulb is going now , was it not mined limestone that was place in shallow reefs.

mike

[hoginme]

I got my LR from Tampabay Saltwater which is aquacultured rock. Great rock, good service, covered in macro and micro, and is loaded with sponges. They do a great job packing the rock, its a little more to ship, but comes shipped in saltwater. The only thing that sucked about this rock is the mantis and crabs that come along with it. I have 160#'s and have pulled 4 mantis and 7 hairy crabs out of it! Mine was growing caulpera in less than a month. If your looking for color diversity this is a good way to go I have too many colors name on the rocks. I would recomend a FW dip before putting it in the tank.

[SPC]

Hi Mojo, yes it is lime stone but as a kid growing up down there we always just called it coral rock. Actually in Miami once you get down in the ground a couple of feet often times it is solid coral rock. When you went out to dig a mail box hole you were usually in for a lot of work.
Steve

[tdwyatt]

Speaking of mailboxes...

Steve: Clean out y0ur mail box in the PM section, you'll need to make sure to look at the list by looking at all the previous entries (not just a few days back) and delete the stuff you don't want to keep. I have a response for your PM, but could not use your email addy nor your PM box...

sorry

[jeff63]

has anyone heard obout the rock at jeffs exotic fish in s.Ca.?

[ShirleyM]

Hi Jeff63,

We ordered from Jeff's Exotic Fish, Fiji and Marshall Island uncured, over 4 yrs ago before we discovered PA. Their rock was VERY NICE, but so is PA's (Premium Aquatics).

Shirley