175g Saltwater predator tank - Update:Aug 10th/10- FISH ADDED

[snow1]

Oh and as for the LR I was going to buy it from a fish store for $3.50LB but I will look around to see if I can find some used.

[snow1]

Oh and for the "LR" there seems to be bacteria in it which makes it LR but it doesn't seem like any of the LR I have seen in the past....

[reefwars]

Of there's life like anemones and coraline algae plus the millions of bacteria you can't see it's alive and as the cycle completes bacteria are going to multiply and become it's own ecosystem.

Liverock takes many forms and comes from many places most people can't tell you where it comes from I have somecweird looking pieces and I've seen even weirder and nicer pieces in different tanks round, flat, branched, smooth, sharp, hard, brittle ... one of the most enjoying parts of your tank you'll have is custom picking out your liverock and trying to visualize it in your tank

[reefwars]

Same here liverock sells second hand for around $5/lb and up to $10 at lfs

[snow1]

No this rock is true live rock, they bring it in on a reg basis. They sell it for $9.20LB but I know the owners of the store for a very long time. They are happy that I'm getting into saltwater b/c it's what 70% of their stock and tanks are. I can't say though where I'm getting it from b/c I don't want to break that trust.

Oh and I just measured the saltinity in the bins with the rock with my refractometer and it's 1025. I'd like to be 1027 but it's a start.

[scherzo]

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.

[snow1]

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....

[Greenmaster]

Originally Posted by scherzo

...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.

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.

[Bloodasp]

The idea of a live rock is not that because there are a whole bunch of critters crawling on them, well there are but what is most important about having live rock are the bacteria that live on them. They become your natural filters.
And also just from the price of the rock you are buying from the store i am assuming they are not live rock rather they are dry rock or base rock. Just a hunch but i could be wrong. Most LFS if that is where you are buying it from sell them for at least $10 per lb.