Best Base Rock?
 

So I'm looking at different sources for dry base rock. Part of it is because at this point in my life I cannot justify spending $500 on live rock, and partly because I like building/making things. So I'm gonna cook some dry base rock in a dark bin at the highest temperature my heater will go (to leach the phosphates out of the dry rock) and feed it bacteria, vodka, and ammonia for a few months and see what happens. I've read it works quite well for getting good levels of aerobic and anaerobic bacterias. I'm interested in an "experiment" sort of way. Gives me something to do over the winter. LOL!

So, what should I buy? So far, I think the Caribsea Lace Rock looks pretty good. Has anyone bought a box of this before? What kind of sizes and shapes should I expect? Are there better dry rocks out there? I'm looking for nice shapes (not bricks and boulders!) for a 65 gallon tank, so I would prefer to have several in the 10-14" range, and then the rest in the 6-10" range.

Comments? Ideas?

marcorocks.com <-- Probably the best available at the moment.

^ That is some NICE rock! But they are in the US and ship via UPS, which means I'll get dinged at the border 25-40% which makes those rocks pretty darn expensive. Looks like it will end up costing about $5/lb once it actually arrives at my door and the shipping and border duties are paid.

If you have all winter then make your own.

http://www.garf.org/

Scott

SkyLord has it right. If you have the time then I would definately make your own. I made around 100 lbs myself years ago. It's very easy and you can make some great rock with caves and such. After it gets covered in coraline you can't tell the difference. Google DIY reef rock for lots of ideas.

I have used Caribsea Lace Rock for Base Rock. It works very well. It is very porous so it will accommodate bacteria well. I bought a box and just took a hammer and chisel to the pieces I wanted to adjust to sizes better suited to my needs.

Tom R

Reef Ceramics

www.korallenwelt.de

what are you going to dinged 25-40% at the border for?
I dont understand.

UPS charges a "Brokerage" fee when they ship things from the US into can. This fee is based on the dollar value of the goods, and is usually Stupid expensive

Thanks for the responses everyone! :)

I'm not sure I actually want to make my own rock...I've heard that making it yourself doesn't create a rock that is (finely) porous enough. You seem to be able to make fairly large holes in the rock from the granules of rock salt, but you can't make tiny little pores that the anaerobic bacteria like to colonate. Any comments on that?

Ok, I'll write down the charges I received when I bought a used protein skimmer for $110 that was sent via UPS. The seller paid for the shipping, but I received this bill from UPS about 6 weeks after the package arrived:

$6.25 - Customs GST
2.09 - Brokerage GST
0.26 - COD GST
$8.60 Total Government Charges

$29.00 Entry Prep Fee
5.85 Disbursement Fee
4.25 CA COD Surcharge
$39.10 Total Brokerage Charges

$47.70 Total Charges

On a $110 item!!!!!!!!!! This is 44% the value of the item. I won't be accepting any items sent by UPS from the US ever again. Their brokerage fees are ridiculous. The government charges are based on the value of the item, which I can understand and am willing to pay. If I receive an item via USPS from the US, then the government fees are all I pay, and I pay those when I pick the item up at the post office. The UPS brokerage charges don't vary much with the value of the item, but do vary according to the size of the item (although not much). You're usually looking at $30-50 brokerage fees from UPS for average sized items, then about 8% government fees.

Thanks Tom! I am worried that I will get a bunch of small pieces when I order a 50 lb box. I bought a box of Caribsea reef rock a couple years ago, and they came as a bunch of heavy non-porous boulders, and there wasn't a piece over 8" in the box. Did you receive big pieces in the lace rock?

The people at garf don't seem to have any issues with that and they have some rather nice stuff. I have seen it in tanks and had a piece in my tank for a long time( gave it back to my Bro-n-law when it got covered in GSP). I wouldn't do the whole tank with the stuff but cant see any issues with making base rock. You can add any number of food items to make smaller pores.

Scott

I'll take a closer look. Thanks. :)

My box of Caribsea Reef Rock was all large rocks that I had to break up into usable pieces. petrified reef rock.

Tom R

My Reef Rock came really small...most pieces about 4-6", and ugly. LOL. I'm worried that the Lace Rock will be small like this...?

You could always ask Marco Rocks if they will ship USPS...

I don't know if USPS will ship packages that big...but ya I did send them an email asking. Thanks! :)

Shippers
 

I has tuff shipped to me through DHL.they said there brokerage fee was a flat rate I think.Might be worth looking into.Clint

I had 50 lbs. boxes of base rock shipped from Florida when I setup my tank. (through USPS) Shouldn't be a problem so long as they are willing.

Where did you get it? How much for a 50lb box?

Another source of very nice base rock;
http://www.twopartsolution.com/index...e02d7fefaa1e90

you could use dead liverock from fellow reefers. You'll have to soak it in RO for a while and change the RO water to get out any nitrates and phosphates from the dead rock. very cheap and it looks JUST like liverock ;)

Look at my signature! I haven't been able to find any!! :(

I'm just waiting on the reply from Marco rocks...

J&L Aquatics will special order the Caribsea Lace Rock 40 lbs for $69.95.

iam looking for base rock too and was thinking of getting stuff from a landscapeing place, i think its called tuffa, lace rock or something? has anyone used rock from a place like that? or i was also thinking of going down to white rock and collect some rock off the beach then soak it in fresh water or afew weeks or cook it in the oven i figure it would look better, or mabie just put in the tank strait from the beach? it will be a FOWLR so i dont think i will have to worry about stuff in the rock.

Woah! Don't take them from the beach. For one, it's illegal. For two, there are WAAAAY too many contaminants on the local beaches. Lots of people use the Tufa/Lace Rock from landscaping stores with success. I'm paranoid that it will be contaminated with chemicals or such as those sorts of stores have all kinds of stuff in them.

Any place in Calgary to buy this CaribSea rock everyone is talking about?

Marco Rocks emailed me back. They will only ship UPS.

Rocky Mountain Tufa has come up a few times, has anyone actually contacted them about selling direct to a reefer?

I don't find tufa to be porous enough to make good rock.

Inidentally Marco Rocks ships via USPS International Priority not UPS United States Postal Service not Ugly Packagin Service

Double Check they told me United states postal service international is what they used, but either way bulk reef supply and twopartsolutions has eco rox (think i mentioned twopart before)

This is what Marc of Marco rocks replied to me in an email around Dec 18th:

Myka who ever suggested making your own had a good idea, lots of people have done it, it's not difficult and to make it more porous you can add 1 part course salt. Some people suggest you add pasta (dry) but I found it was difficult to rinse off, and out. You can cure your rock in the back of a toilet for a few weeks, it works great. I found the cement at Revy for about $60 but that was enough to make a few hundred pounds of rock. Some people use oyster shell in their rock but I just stuck with the aragonite rock and it worked out well for me.

Doug

what about Eco Rox? http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/Eco-Ro...362f926498d3fb

if you can tell the rock place to declare the item as a "gift" you wont get the brokerage charge with UPS IIRC. Broker is for importing