You can get slightly cheaper LR at places like Ocean Aquatics (who are also site sponsors). I think they have it at around $5.29 - $6.99 per pound.

Once again, you can't tell if the LR is actually live.

What usually happens is they harvest the rock from the ocean. It sits on the beach, sometimes in the sun. As soon as it does that some things start to die on it. In fact, as soon as sponges hit air they pretty much die immediately. This starts the process of dying rock.

They don't really ship rock in containers of water. This would be far too expensive so they usually wrap it in wet paper while flying it out. This also continues the "dying" process. The rock will sit in containers and in airports for up to 2 weeks! THEN it finally gets to your store.

The only way it starts to become live again is if it sits in water for a few weeks and it will come back. You then purchase it and bring it home. It dies a little and you may (depending on your setup) have a little die off and may detect some ammonia or nitrates as the rock becomes fully live again.

phew!

Many retailers are quite honest and will tell you that their rock is OK if it has been curing in their store for quite some time. They know how long it has been sitting for. If they tell you that it just came in and it is live, I would be a little skeptical.

It is exciting starting a new talk! It looks like you're off to a great start and reading forums and learning from others! Enjoy the journey.

Thanks and I did managed to get that aiptasia this morning so that's now out of the way. I hope I got it all. I'm woking on thet tank right now, more updates to come....

Keep your eyes put for more they are tough and when you think you got them boom!!! Their in another spot how did you kill the little bugger???

A good sign that rock is "live" is coralline algae as the algae takes a while to grow and if it is alive and well then the bacteria should be as well. "Live Rock" generally means that it has bacteria on it.
The rock when it arrives at your LFS it is "Live" it's just not "cured" (most of the time... some times it has gotten too dry/warm/cold that it is no longer live but that is rare). There has been lots of die off and that is what "curing" is for. Some LFS will sell you un-cured rock for cheaper because they don't have to keep it in there system while all the stuff that died on route finishes decomposing. Never add un-cured Live rock to a system with fish in it.

That is way more clear than I was. I guess the terminology is a little weird. Live Rock and Cured Rock.

As for the coralline algae thing, what about "COOKED" LR? Isn't that live? But it has no coralline on it. I have cooked LR and put it into a new tank and never experienced a cycle. Mind you, I've only been doing salt for about 3 years so I'm still new to this as well.

I hope this helps the OP. I think the most important thing is to watch your ammonia, and nitrates when you move a tank or get a new one. I have bought a few systems from Craigslist that were pretty rough looking and I used the LR from them and put them into my sump or main DT. I just watched my levels.

Good luck and let us know how things are progressing!

I said a giveaway that it was "live" was to have coralline algae on it (because I think you would have to try really hard to have the algae on it and no bacteria)
I also said "live" means it has bacteria on it so "cooked" or "Base Rock" can be made live by cycling it in a tank to produce bacteria colonies on the rocks.

Update July 12th/2010

So here is an update of what the tank is at now. The tested the big three yesterday and things seem to be under control. The skimmer on the tank I found out is to small, I knew this in the back of my mind b/c comparing it to other skimmers for 200g this one seemed small. It's the skimmer Vertex IN-80 In-Sump Protein Skimmer. I'll be getting a bigger one by the end of the month, it will be okay for now since its just cycleing and no fish will be going in it for awhile. The live rock will be going in a few days, it's still doing well in the buckets outside, they are heated and have powerheads in them. I will put it in after I get some live sand for the tank from a member hopefully in the next few days or so. The substrate that came with the tank is okay but there is not enough...that is still in the bucket also. Anyways here is the video of the tank and sump area, if you see anything out of place let me know b/c this is kinda going by trial or error.http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/image...ies/tongue.gif

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ3BMPcXsXE

If you're getting a bigger skimmer anyway I would suggest sooner rather than later. There will probably be a certain amount of die-off when cycling a new tank and skimming is important during this time.

Well I'm waiting for someone to take down their tank, if they will part with the skimmer which they don't know yet, when it's down then I'll take that one. If not I'll go out and buy a new one.

Hey all so far it's going good, new pics or video will be up tomorrow. I went into work today and tested my water. I was actually very surprised by the results. Nothing bad is showing up and infact the tank seems ready for fish but I can't get any until I get back. Just have some problems though that maybe you all can help with:

The temp of the tank is 73F. This is to low correct? It should be around 78F? I need to go and buy another heater b/c the one I have is not strong enough I guess.
The PH is at 7.5, is this to low for marine fish? I hear mixed opinions? Some say it should be around 8.

Any input? Thanks.:)