live rock question

[orbit]

hi

im planning to go to my LFS to buy live rocks

i've never bough live rocks before..wut should i look for in terms of a good piece of rock

what should i look out for/ avoid

any suggestion?

Thanks Orbit
:smokin:

[Lotus99]

Look for pieces that have a good shape that will fit the proportions of your tank (smaller rocks for smaller tanks). Avoid ones that have macroalgae on them (especially Caulerpa).

If you see ones with corals or mushrooms on them, grab them! A little coraline would be good, too.

[ILoveReefer]

The more purple the better

[orbit]

cool thanks ill keep an eye out for em

i think my LFS has Kaelini rocks ...how are they compared to fiji focks

also buying a whte rock is not a good thing right? white rocks means the rock dead?

[jamiep]

White rock means dead coraline. The more purple the better! Make sure you ask your LFS if its cured, and how long it has been in their holding tank. The longer the better! If it hasn't been cured or was lifted out of the box yesterday, you'll get a bit of a nasty dirt spike when you put it in your tank. This includes if they say they got it yesterday and it's "pre-cured"

[ILoveReefer]

I don't no anything about Kaelini rocks. A White rock means the rock is dead. If its a piece of dead coral or Tufa you can still add these to your tank. A combination of good quality live rock and base rock(dead rock) is your most economical route. Using tufa or some other type of reef friendly dead rock when used in the same aquarium as live rock will over time become live rock. It takes a little time but you can save alot of money. I have in my tank around 75lbs of live and around 100lbs base rock in mine, or a least i did at the time of purchase. A year later I have about 175lbs of live rock. 50/50 live/dead is acceptable. If you have a petsplus in your area they sell tufa and lace rock. Both are reef safe. Stay away from lava and most other rocks. The often cotain heavy metals. Hope this helps good luck

[kau_cinta_ku]

don't forget to look for aptasia :D bad bad bad

[phenom5]

shape & density are the 2 most important things IMO.

Kaelini is less dense then fiji i believe.

LR provides a place for me to put corals, that's why i'm more concerned with shape than coraline. plus if you cycling a tank with it, coraline is nice, but it's going to die off anyway, so i wouldn't worry too much about how purple your rock is. although, lots of coraline is a good sign of healthy rock.

if you see aptasia, leave...go get your rock somewhere else. seriously.

[Kryptikhan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10916626#post10916626 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kau_cinta_ku
don't forget to look for aptasia :D bad bad bad

what does aptasia look like?

[kau_cinta_ku]

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/msub5anem/l/blii_hautaiptas.htm

[jadeguppy]

I avoid dense rock. It costs more and provides fewer places for bacteria and pods. White or off-white colored rock in holding tanks can be alive with bacteria. That is what is sold as live rock in stores in my area. It has very little coraline, but does have bacteria. White rock that is dry on the shelf is also sold here and is fine to use. It just takes some time for the bacteria to spread to it. The aptasia advise is good, listen to him. If you see it on one rock in the tank chances are that there are little babies starting to grow on the other rocks.

[tank o tang]

look on craigslist, you'll find it alot cheaper

[orbit]

okay cool guys thanks for all the tip

i hope to go to my LFS tomorrow and pick up live rocks ...if i like wut i see

also i wanted to know if i should dip them in a bucket of saltwater before i actually place it in tank or is that only for ordering it online?

[mcmxc17]

Check the boards and see if anyone local is selling a tank or parting out with some rock.