How to tell if its live rock?

Coleus · #1 03-26-2010, 03:34 PM

if you buy from LFS under "live rock" then it is live rock but sometime you have to cure it or wait for it cycle in your tank. It is good to go once there is no smell and the ammonia,nitrates tests are zero.

The best way is buying some from canreef member so the rock has been in their tank for awhile to save you time on cycle it and save you quite some money.

Physically, they are chunks of limestone rubble.

TAB · #2 03-26-2010, 04:02 PM

Ok thanks, I am buying it from a member, so I just wanted to make sure.

Fishward · #3 03-26-2010, 08:43 PM

the more active the member is on the board the more accountable he/she will be. lots of posts = something to loose if they lead you astray.

NU-2reef · #4 03-26-2010, 09:02 PM

first off, if you base your judgement on the number of posts a person makes then you are unlikely to recieve ALL necessary info.

most shops here in the GVRD sell either cured live rock, uncured live rock or simply base rock. the best way to distinguish the cured vs uncured would be the smell. if it smells like the bay at low tide then there is plenty of die off and would mean the rock is uncured so expect a cycle.

cured rock still smells like the sea but it shouldnt make you gag.

my advice is to go with base rock. and get a few pieces of live rock to seed the bunch. plus the cost of base rock is nearly a third of the cost of live rock.

mseepman · #5 03-26-2010, 10:38 PM

Another option is to use Bulk Reef Supply and order their Eco-rox which are dry man-made versions of rock that you can seed just like base rock and know that you won't get any pests, etc...

Often base rock tends to be very solid and not the best rock to be used for all your tank. Most live rock is porous, while base rock often isn't.

NU-2reef · #6 03-26-2010, 11:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mseepman

Another option is to use Bulk Reef Supply and order their Eco-rox which are dry man-made versions of rock that you can seed just like base rock and know that you won't get any pests, etc...

Often base rock tends to be very solid and not the best rock to be used for all your tank. Most live rock is porous, while base rock often isn't.

base rock is solid??? base rock is dead live rock. both come from the same place. the ocean. and are made up of the same components. its just as porous as true live rock just without the coraline,bacteria,hitchikers and other algae.

untamed · #7 03-27-2010, 12:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mseepman

Another option is to use Bulk Reef Supply and order their Eco-rox which are dry man-made versions of rock that you can seed just like base rock and know that you won't get any pests, etc...

Of course, you don't get any good, interesting life either.

That's how it is with live rock. People have very different expectations of what is considered live rock. For some, LR is just a place to grow bacteria. For me, LR should be full of all kinds of life and have gone as quickly as possible from the ocean to a tank where my best efforts will be to keep as much alive as possible. (including unfortunately, some things I would prefer not to have)

Chase31 · #8 03-27-2010, 01:40 AM

just make sure you see it in their system, if not i wouldnt trust it as much

Fishward · #9 03-27-2010, 04:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by untamed

Of course, you don't get any good, interesting life either.

That's how it is with live rock. People have very different expectations of what is considered live rock. For some, LR is just a place to grow bacteria. For me, LR should be full of all kinds of life and have gone as quickly as possible from the ocean to a tank where my best efforts will be to keep as much alive as possible. (including unfortunately, some things I would prefer not to have)

+1... i got into this hobby to see some weird, wacky outrageous stuff living in my tank, and with nuked rock, you'll never get that. you will get a very boring monoculture of life with just enough stuff to qualify as biofiltration. straight from the ocean into my tank.. ill deal with whatever pests i might get. there's fish or chemicals for just about everything.

Canadian · #10 03-26-2010, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NU-2reef

first off, if you base your judgement on the number of posts a person makes then you are unlikely to recieve ALL necessary info.

most shops here in the GVRD sell either cured live rock, uncured live rock or simply base rock. the best way to distinguish the cured vs uncured would be the smell. if it smells like the bay at low tide then there is plenty of die off and would mean the rock is uncured so expect a cycle.

cured rock still smells like the sea but it shouldnt make you gag.

my advice is to go with base rock. and get a few pieces of live rock to seed the bunch. plus the cost of base rock is nearly a third of the cost of live rock.

Sure, but as a newbie he/she could pay top dollar for wet base rock and have no idea if it was liverock (cured or otherwise) or base rock if the decision is based solely on smell.

If the rock is being purchased from a member then you certainly are better off ensuring that member has a good reputation on this board. If the rock is coming from a LFS then you're less likely to be mislead (although it's not totally out of the question).