Gaining consciousness...

[pepetj]

Hi, I am a newby to SW keeping. I live in Santo Domingo (Hispaniola Island, Caribbean basin).

No single LFS has live rock for sale so I figured I would collect it myself, as well as any coral I dare to care for once my tank cycled(no coral frags sold here either). So I went and purchased an amateur diving mask (English is my second language sorry if I misnamed the thing) for snorkel diving and collect it by myself. not a big deal given the extended shallow natural marine "pools" nearby my City. Piece of cake right?

Not so fast. As I read on I realize how fragile and threatened our reef systems are. So after some thought I decided to explore the shore for fragments of loose rocks and seed it myself.

Notwithstanding, I found myself driving from one spot to the next until I was satisfied with the pollution status of the place. I am quite disappointed and mad with all the solid waste (plastics, construction leftovers, et al) I found near human settlements (say hotel or small villages adjacent shore areas).

Not that I will save the shore, that's not within my reach, but at least I'll do my part not to damage what already is in trouble.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

[jenglish]

It is often a difficult task to try enjoy our critters and at the same time not overtax the systems they originate from. In the DIY forums there are some rather interesting artificial rock construction threads. Most corals are fairly tolerant to fragging in the wild as well though I do not know the condition of your local reefs.

Your English is very good (certainly much better than my Spanish) but et al is not a phrase commonly used outside of scientific journals in English and many will not know what you mean. Etc will be more readily recognized to mean "and other things."

[lombard0]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15662591#post15662591 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pepetj
So after some thought I decided to explore the shore for fragments of loose rocks and seed it myself.


And be very careful in getting rocks near or at the shores because most likely, you'll be introducing critters that you dont like such as crabs in your tank down the road.

I suggest go with what Jenglish recommend regarding DIY artificial rock and seed it with loose rocks you can find at the (wild) reef area.


Cheers!

[returnofsid]

You're to be commended on both your English AND your environmental concern and ethics!!!! Heck, not a lot of us, in America, speak a second language!! That's one aspect of most non-English speaking countries, that I admire!!

Your use of dry rock could result in contaminates, but there are things you can do to at least give you better chances. You can run Chemipure, in a container, while curing the rock. As for "bad critters," if you soak the rock in freshwater for a few days, you'll kill anything "bad." However, you'll also kill anything "good," IF there was anything good on it, which I doubt, if it was dry. So, you'll end up needing to completely cycle the rock. This is a GOOD thing though!!!

Keep reading, keep studying and most of all, enjoy this wonderful hobby of reefkeeping. It soon evolves from a mere hobby, to a lifestyle!!