Using rock from the beach

[DustinKeating]

I have a cottage on the gulf strait via Pugwash - PEI. I'm sure most dont know where that is, but the point is that it's on the water and the gulf is very clean. I was wondering what i would need to do if i was to collect rock from the beach or shallow parts of the water and put them in my tank. The tank is as you probably assumed, is saltwater with clowns and corals...there's no corals or clowns anywhere near this ocean so i was wondering if it's a really bad idea? For the most part the washed up rock is really cool shapes, can i just boil it down and then put it in the tank, or maybe just let it sit for a while? Or, even though it's from a different ocean, is it ok to just kinda "clean" it off and then slam it in (assuming no predators or other unwanted's are attatched) and use it as actual live rock?

The idea came from another reef keeper in the area who uses sea water instead of mixing (works great for him, i think i might switch) and he had got some random muscles that way which he's sure he got from our part of the ocean, and they're thriving.

thoughts?

 

[spiffergirl]

I tried doing that before. I live near Galveston, but the water there is pretty dirty. Anyway, I collected a few rocks, brought them home, then cleaned them off really well with a toothbrush and saltwater. One of the rocks was really porous and I put it in my tank after curing it. I left some of the other rocks in the bucket for a couple of days (I never got around to cleaning them) and then I noticed a bunch of nasty looking bristleworms coming out of them. They were HUGE!!! About 3-4 inches long and UGLY!! I discarded those rocks, but kept the one I had curing and a couple of others that werent porous, but they had barnacles on them (which are way cool).

All of the rocks in my aquarium are doing fine and look great. I did find one bristleworm that made his way into my tank, but he hasnt been a problem. Also, a pretty cool snail came out of that rock. Im not sure what kind it is yet. It is too small to tell. I dont think I will collect rocks from the ocean again unless they are from deeper water just because they were nasty from being in the tidal area and all.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do....

 

[KahluaZzZ]

The rock is probably limestone, wich can be usable for reefs..but better find dry rocks, i don't think the temp/params will be the same and it would result in an ammonia party.

 

[DustinKeating]

Yeah that's the direction i was leaning towards, or maybe finding some cool ones and then drying them out, it wont take much to make the 20 gallon look fuller. I am interested in using it as liverock, but i'm too worried that i'd kill off too many little organisms that would cause some ammonia.

Just out of curiousity, why would you collect rocks from deeper water? is it because they're likely to be less inhabited by bristleworms and the like?

 

[S.Reef]

Make sure its legal. Most beaches are protected under law for this exact reason.

 

[JustinP]

Beach rocks are fine as long as they are cleaned well. I would advise boiling them for 5-10 minutes too for sterilization purposes since limestone is porous and a lot of stuff would survive just scrubbing. I used to do that with rocks I wanted to put in my cichlid tank and it worked great. I brought home some cool dead coral and small conch shells that I found on the beach in Cozumel a few months ago and I boiled them and they are in my SW tank right now.

 

[KahluaZzZ]

Limestone can be taken far away from the beach..well in eastern canada.

 

[spiffergirl]

I would collect in only slightly deeper water, about 2-3 feet deep, because in galveston the beach area rocks are dirty. Also, the slightly deeper water would contain fully submerged stuff, not dying crap that has been out of the water for a while. My goal was to preserve some of the life forms, not to boil the rocks or dry them out. I actually wanted live rock, not just decorative stuff.

 

[DustinKeating]

I'm really kinda torn whether i should try and use it as liverock, or boil it to ensure i dont mess anything up. The water there is very cold, well not incredibly cold but colder than a lot of people here are used to. Would that automatically rule out keeping it as liverock, because the organisms are used to such cold water...or are they fairly tolerant if not impervious to temperature?

 

[aresgod]

i would say it is ruled out,