difference between different types of live rock

dbacksrat

dbacksrat

Superstar Fish
#1
Jun 3, 2003
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okay i looked at some live rock at an lfs today--it looked pretty sad--the water was brown and cloudy, it barely had any coraline algae--the only somewhat encouraging life on it was three button polyps--they looked like they were dying from lack of light (now i'll get to my point)
i'm looking at live rock from Tonga, Lalo, and Fiji--why are there different prices for each type? the only difference i can see between these is their point of origin--do different places have different organisms?
 

W

wayne

Elite Fish
#2
Oct 22, 2002
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#2
Yes, also the rocks have differing shapes, densities. I have rather abandoned using source location though - I just go and look at the stuff - if it looks, feels like a brick I'm not so interested.
 

1979camaro

1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
#3
Oct 22, 2002
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wayne is right...if it is light and fluffy and you like its shape, go for it! I am a big fan of hand picking and with a 29 you aren't going to need a full 50lb box anyway so you probably have to go that route
 

S.Reef

S.Reef

Superstar Fish
#4
Dec 1, 2003
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Different rock comes from different places and varies in shapes, sizes and colors. What you see at your LFS is probably live rock that is curing. When I got my live rock it was pretty bare. In a matter of months(with adequate calcium and light) coraline algae and other life forms began to show.

Organisms are on every rock. They basically are the same. When you purchase rock you will probably begin to see crabs, snails, stars, feather dusters, corals and other things.

Sam Reef
 

dbacksrat

dbacksrat

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#5
Jun 3, 2003
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i was just gonna order some live rock from liveaquaria.com--probably a 36 pound box of uncured lalo rock
i dont see the point in buying cured live rock (i do, but lemee explain)--u pay top dollar for quality rock that contains beneficial organisms, but the curing process kills of a lotta good things
 

W

wayne

Elite Fish
#6
Oct 22, 2002
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I guess it depends if you think you can do a better job of curing than a retailer. Some people can, some people don't. If you're uncertain you probably not going to do so well or better.
 

S.Reef

S.Reef

Superstar Fish
#7
Dec 1, 2003
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#7
I also saw that deal on liveaquaria (pretty average price) and want to warn you. If you are planning on curing the ive rock yourself it can smell really bad. It can smell like old seawater up to a dead animal...so you might want to cure it outside.

Sam Reef
 

dbacksrat

dbacksrat

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#8
Jun 3, 2003
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would constant water changes help? my house already smells really bad (my cat has a bladder problem- need i go on?)...where else online can i buy live rock?--i'm still not done looking around locally--only two more stores to go..hopefully they have like rock (cheapest i've seen here is $6/lb)
 

W

wayne

Elite Fish
#9
Oct 22, 2002
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Constant water changes might well be essential. There are a bunch of places online to buy stuff, try links of wetwebmedia or here, or look in a magazine or just google search. But remember shipping. At the end of the day, for a 29 , online shopping may or may not be worth it. What are you going to do if you buy the stuff online, and it comes and it's not as good as what you saw in the shops. Yeah, you might have saved 20 bucks, but you can't return it....
 

S.Reef

S.Reef

Superstar Fish
#11
Dec 1, 2003
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#11
Go to www.marinecenter.com They sell Premium Fiji Live Rock for 2.99 a pound, Fiji Live snad 1.49 a pound, Extra large peices of Fiji Live rock for 3.99 a pound, and Savaii Ultra Premium Rock at 4.50 a pound. Occasionally they get Marshall base rock in for 1.99 a pound but they sell out quick.

Sam Reef
 

1979camaro

1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
#13
Oct 22, 2002
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#13
a lot of the times the life is there, you just cant see it...as I know Wayne can attest to, after a few months to a year all sorts of corals, sponges, etc start showing up randomly on the LR
 

method

method

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Apr 21, 2004
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i'm also gettin' into the SW side of the hobby and i was just "window shopping" at my LFS today and i was lookin' at their fiji rock and it was a bright purple color, it was smothered w/ coraline algae. but one thing, i saw these little green bubbles, almost the size of marbles on some of the rocks.. i asked the guy there but he didn't have a clue because he was just watching the store for the owner. yeah, so what is that stuff?
 

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