Starting a reef from dryrock.

[RuGlu6]

IMO all the pests above mentioned (stars, small worms, Apteisa etc) are Nothing ! compare to Giant Eunicid worm.
And this is the single reason that i will never start another tank with live rock.
The small or tiny Eunicid can be hiding in the hole and buyer will never know it’s there regardless how hard you look or how informed you are.
The only way to be sure at least in the beginning is to go Dry Rock.


http://www.oregonreef.com/sub_worm.htm
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http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=50897
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http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchworms.html
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc971vWUmbQ
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...D8jWvYEHI&NR=1
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I got one out of my tank a couple of years ago but now another one grown.
This thing just recently ate $100 worth of zoas and took the best ones first.
Scrapes the zoas so clean off the rock and so fast! Some times in less than few hours.

Having said all that I kind of like the idea of keeping it in a species tank or a small nano so it can be seen and fed but I can’t take it out of my reef because I don’t want to take the reef apart.

May be I will feed it so it won’t go for the soft & LPS corals. Why it doesn’t eat the Kenya tree or GSP?!!! Or any other fast growing staff? Why it always goes for the best looking, most expensive and brightest color?
I wonder if I do start to target feed the Giant Eunicid Worm how big can it get in 65Gal tank? 7 footer seems like a good size for a show piece critter LOL.
Mine now is maybe 2 feet only but you will not believe how strong it is! It moves rocks and frags almost every night if I keep moving things away from its hiding place. But its also very hard to see, I saw it may be two years ago once! It will sense movement or vibration (I suspect) and will hide long before I can get close enough to the tank to see if its out in the open area.
It will not be possible to catch one with regular worm trap because (as I was told) it will never let go its tail of the hiding hole, just in case it will need to retract quickly.

Also this thing is very quick learner it will never do the same mistake twice!
So if you want to catch it do it right the first time or you will never be able to try again the same method.

I was told Harlequin Taskfish will take it out. But so it will eat all other shrimps crabs and molluscs in your tank.

[FitoPharmer]

But do you QT your corals now?
It just seems pointless to buy rock specifically for the pest free aspect and not QT. Especially because there is always a chance of infection of invasion from any frag or coral colony. I agree a giant eunicid worm would be one of the worst things to get in your tank. But is this another creature that can easily come in on a colony or frag and destroy your tank all the same?

[Enigma]

Originally Posted by Reef Supplies

You might find some LR on sale for $5 here but most of the time it's right around $8 for quality rock. So, yeah dry rock is deff. cheaper here.

Denny's live rock prices are what other hobbyists are selling live rock at, for the most part: not retail pricing.

The retail pricing for dry rock is considerably cheaper: around $3/pound versus $10/pound.

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by Enigma

Denny's live rock prices are what other hobbyists are selling live rock at, for the most part: not retail pricing.

The retail pricing for dry rock is considerably cheaper: around $3/pound versus $10/pound.

yes and thats true too , though not to say that if the store down the street has his liverock advertised as $5 hes not gonna sell it for $3....i was at a store the other day(a big box store) and i didnt think they haggled over prices but apparently they do as they agreed on $4/lb for 30lbs of liverock.....im pretty sure the price on the sticker was $7.99/lb

[Enigma]

Originally Posted by reefwars

yes and thats true too , though not to say that if the store down the street has his liverock advertised as $5 hes not gonna sell it for $3....i was at a store the other day(a big box store) and i didnt think they haggled over prices but apparently they do as they agreed on $4/lb for 30lbs of liverock.....im pretty sure the price on the sticker was $7.99/lb

Sweet deal!

I still wouldn't buy it. I don't think either the "dry rock" or the "live rock" crowds are really swayed much be cost. I think there are other factors that each team is more hung up on.

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by Enigma

Sweet deal!

I still wouldn't buy it. I don't think either the "dry rock" or the "live rock" crowds are really swayed much be cost. I think there are other factors that each team is more hung up on.

exactly , so lets say your in the store and you see that amazing piece of rock that you know will never come around again.....your gonna buy it regardless of cost and whats on it.


most people who are that particular over liverock know what to do or are willing to do it or they simply pass on it.

[Reefer Rob]

If you're going with dry/quarried rock make sure to soak the rock in RO/DI water and test for PO4. Don't ask me how I know

Once it becomes live... and clean, it works great.

Seeding with clean live rock is a good idea for bio-diversity (pods, worms, etc, etc). I know you're trying to keep out the bad, but you also keep out the good. There's more to live rock than de-nitrification.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Enigma

I don't think either the "dry rock" or the "live rock" crowds are really swayed much be cost. .

I'm pretty sure that if all the stores in town started selling freshly imported uncured fiji rock at $0.50/lb, we'd see a huge shift in people's concerns over pests. Fresh live rock would suddenly become the best thing ever,
In fact, if the cost was exactly the same for fresh vs. dry, I bet 8 out of ten would switch to real live rock.
Regardless of what changes happen in this hobby, the bottom line always comes to cost for the majority of hobbyists. Yes, some don't care, but for most it's a cost thing.

[reefwars]

right now i am dealing with a bad pest......hydroids



the only cures that are available i can not use for livestock reasons.

so im now daily manually removing them and hoping the dozen peps i put in there help with the battle.

i dont think for a second that my tank is messed up or a lost cause if anything i actually learned a lot about this pest over the last 2 weeks, and while at first there didnt seem to be much hope i am seeing a difference and in time i got it for sure.


i bought a friends system the other night it came with 14 fish some of them very large around 12" or more , i was able to drop all the fish into my 50g fragtank and not even a glitch to be noticed with the system or water quality.....to me there is no substitute for quality mature liverock.

the fish have all found new homes.

[JDigital]

Originally Posted by reefwars

pest free .....maybe at first.....yes


cheaper....i dont think so i see liverock for $2-$3 and even less all the time, last time i checked at the store dryrock was more expensive than that, maybe in quebec but out here in calgary liverock is as cheap as dry rock......so i dont see the plus side???

I have NEVER seen a store in Calgary sell Live Rock for $2-3/lbs. Which is about what I paid for my Dry Rock. (from a shop)

"Used" LR like the stuff you posted for sale, sure, you can find for cheap, but buyer also runs the risk of pests. Regardless of how pest free someone THINKS their LR is, there could always be something in it that the seller doesn't know about.