Un-satisfied with LFS LR. Advice please.

[salll]

Alright, well after purchasing some LR from the LFS and spending hours trying to make the rocks into a reasonable formation...I pretty much gave up. The LR that I have are all too large and have no unique structure to them. The owner also tried to the best of her intentions to stray me from purchasing a lot of rocks, leaving me with a small rock bed that is not worth a second look.

I dont know what type of live rock i bought, all I know is they have it in a big aquarium where it all is thrown in. Could anyone help me with suggestions on purchasing live rock online? I have a 29gallon biocube. I want the rock formation in a "W" shape. With the top of the "W" facing towards the front. Im really starting to get stressed about this. I see alot of really nice rocks and feel like I got sold into the "newb" pile.

So, what type of good structured rock/rock combinations and what website is the best.

I ONLY WANT CYCLED AND GOOD TO GO ROCKS!!!!

I may be new to the scene, but I even know what looks bad!!!

Thanks, I really appreciate it!!

-Ben

[FishDoc]

It is not unusual to have to bust up pieces to get them to fit where and how you want. You may need to glue or bind pieces together with epoxy. Some people will even build a framework with PVC to give the basic shape you want and then cover it with small pieces until you can't see the framework. Since you have some already you could try breaking the large pieces up and see if you can get the shapes and sizes you need. Ordering online is going to be even more of a chance, most places don't specify sizes, only total weight. Did you pick through what they had at the LFS, or just take what they pulled out of the holding tank?

[Bonneville08]

If you order online, the rock will be very rank, and will need to be cured. You can do this in a new trash can if you have someone in the tank. Without talking to an online dealer, you don't know what you will get. Does the tank have water in it yet? I used expanding foam for the majority of my structure and it worked well. If you are looking for filtration (ie Berlin), don't use "branch" rock. If you have time, you can make aragacrete rock yourself. There are directions on the GARF website. If you need more cured rock, go back to that or another LFS, and buy it a little at a time until you get what you want. Keep in mind that a lot of corals are going to come on rocks already (zoanthids, corallimorphs and the like). You might want to do this slowly over time to get the look you want in a nano.

[salll]

Thanks for the replys.

I did look through the live rock selection and asked the owner about some of the rocks. But it seemed like if they were a hassle to get to, i.e. removing rocks to get to them, they wanted nothing of it. But simply, every rock I see in there tank has little to no structure to them. Simply rounded rocks with a bit of variation in the shape.

[mindytoy]

any pics?

[salll]

http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/8730/rocksughmg9.jpg

The bigger rock on top has structure, but its a big rock. and its not the structure that you can really do anything with. Im so lost.

[mindytoy]

i think u can do it, just mess with it.

[Phyxius]

I think its able to work also! Yoiu have a nice shelf piece there as well as some base rocks to sit it on. It gets frustrating trying to get it just the right way but hang in there. Like others have mentioned you could also break a rock if needed to get it to fit in that perfect spot if needed.

[Bonneville08]

Thanks for the photo. Try not to get uptight about the stucture yet. Thats not a lot of rock yet. Bust them into smaller pieces if you need to to start a base. Leave room for hidey holes and water flow. Keep it away from the glass. Keep as much of it off the sand as possible. When you go back to the LFS, buy each piece like its part of a puzzle. If they do not want to get into the tank, offer to wash your hands an arms and do it yourself. Do not be in a hurry, your reef tank has been waiting for you for your entire life. It can wait a little more.

[Kdocimo90]

trust me... took me days to find a decent structure... its been 9 months now and im concidering moving some rocks around again lol... Just relax, it'll come to you and you'll think "why didnt i just do that before!?" lol

Good luck

[nikon187]

i have been buying rock for almost a year for my tank. Only the interesting pieces will do for me as well, it does take awile to get your aquascape the way you want it. Most people end up changing it after a while anyway

[salll]

http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/7127/1000066go6.jpg

Well thats after some messing around and 4 new pieces of LR. Now I think i should just wait and cherry pick some amazing pieces for up top. I am very satisfied now. The owner of the LFS was extremely helpful, I was just in an frustrated mood before when I spoke poorly about them.

AMAZING SPS TANK HERE I COME!!! :)

Thanks every one for your help, this forum is by far the greatest for quick help and thorough advice!!

Forget obama, and forget McCain, I say the entire Reefcentral community for president!!

-Ben

[otrlynn]

That looks very nice--the new rock made a big dfference! It looks like you have rock leaning on or very close to the side of the aquarium. Some people do that but it does make it very hard to clean the glass. I prefer a space as big as a mag-float or a scraper all the way around the tank.

[mindytoy]

with a small tank like urs i reccomend a digital thermometer too.

[jbc123]

Sinking thermometers are much more accurate, but I'd suggest finding a better place heh. I have mine in the back corner.

[Bonneville08]

Excellent job Ben, it looks really nice. otrlynn has a good point about cleaning your glass. If you want to keep the corraline off of the glass on the sides, you will have to clean it regularly.