Dead Rock at Nerac, worth it?

[pyro383]

A vendor at Nerac was selling nice dead rock for $2lb. I just want to confirm that it is a good price. Can I do better else where? At least I can pick what pieces that would work for me. I do have live rock now that will seed it.

What's the consensus???

[LCGoldman]

I'd say it's a good price... and if it's "nice", it's a bargain at any price. Your live rock will seed it nicely in time :)

[Kigs]

i've always wondered... is there somewhere local (LI) where we can collect show piece sized rocks? it frustrates me that i have to pay so much for... rocks. =\

[terranova]

I think I might buy some of the "rubble" to use for frags...

[Fragmented 99]

$2.00 a pound and free shipping eqauls a good deal. Just pick up the pieces before you purchase. Some are much lighter (cheaper) than others.

[dougwilliams]

I just started making my own rock a few days ago- some cement, crushed coral, rock salt and the kids sandbox and I churned out about a hundred pounds in my first run for about $10. First batch was good for base rock with a few showier pieces, the second batch I have some shelves and branch types in the works.

A bit more than 10 cents a pound for dead rock- cant beat that - and it comes in whatever shapes I want.

[aaron23]

i bought some very nice pieces from him. I got the first pick very happy with the huge pieces that i got. You can just buy this dead rock and buy some live rock and it'll become live in no time. 2$ a pound i mean how cna you go wrong? .. good stuff.
Aaron.

[pecan2phat]

Lonnie,

Where were you?

FWIW, Nicest dry rock I've ever seen. Extremely knarly with nice shapes. Ton better than reeferrocks.

[LCGoldman]

Warren,

We didn't get much past the suspension(?) bridge leading in to the aquarium :(

[pecan2phat]

Hope to see you there tomorrow then.

[eboonaman]

Eric, I picked up a piece today, it is huge aprox 13" x12" x 9" full of holes etc... only weighed 12lbs x I just couldn't pass it up, were else can you get apiece like that for $24. now only to find a place to put it....:D
he was also selling all the broken pieces in the box for $1 a fish bag full.

[LCGoldman]

I could use some rubble rock... one can never have enough I say LOL...I can even afford that price too :)

[Corpus Callosum]

This stuff had some excellent marshall island style shapes from pocillopora skeletons to the standard shape you'd see from marshall island.. although he said it was from fiji for reference.

Good call liana I bought 3 of the rubble bags at 1 dollar per bag.. plenty of rubble for my pod system and future frags.

[pyro383]

Nice Chuck, I go and tell you about the guy who was pondering that same rock and you & grab it later on. :mixed: I think I will pick up about 50lbs :D

[eboonaman]

Eric, I'm sorry I really didn't know that was the rock...http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a326/eboonaman/duck.gif
:lol:
but hey, you got some really nice if not nicer rock.. We should have jumped that guy who grabed that large arched rock too bad he was only double our size and would have pulverized us to rubble :lol:
I hope MARCO ROCK comes back next yr. even though it was a haul coming from Cape Cod. he had some nice dry rock. and I think he made alot of sales at least at the end of the show when he started bringing out the newer boxes from his truck.

[jnfallon]

It was very porous and light for the size, I loved it.

I just bought a ton, (actually a 1/4 ton ) from reefer rocks, and it is MUCh more dense than this. Reason is that reeferrocks is mined and had silted up quite a bit, this stuff is picked up off the beach.

I would highly recommend this.

I would recommend reeferrocks if you need very large shelf pieces.

Justin

[dougwilliams]

Yes, they had some very nice rock there - much lighter than I expected - which started me thinking some.

Those guidelines for how many pounds of live rock you need per gallon- those are highly deceptive (unless you use them as "guidelines" as intended). The less dense and more porous the rock, I would venture to guess the less of it you actually need (in terms of overall mass).

So, although I still like my "arago-crete" rocks as base rocks, I'm going to make a few modifications to the recipe and see if I can churn out some other less dense rockwork -

Thanks to Tony for sparking that thought by mentioning the high aragocrete density....

[pyro383]

YEah I walked out with such a huge box and it only had 70lbs. I can't wait to start aquascaping it.

Does anyone know where I can some acrylic rods? If not easily attainable I will go with some plastic coat hangers

[Justjoe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6943015#post6943015 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pyro383
YEah I walked out with such a huge box and it only had 70lbs. I can't wait to start aquascaping it.

Does anyone know where I can some acrylic rods? If not easily attainable I will go with some plastic coat hangers

Fiberglass rod will work well also, you can get it from Agway, they use it for mounting electric fencing, etc.

That was some awesome rock for sure.
Joe

[billsreef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6932765#post6932765 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by vsny2k5
i've always wondered... is there somewhere local (LI) where we can collect show piece sized rocks? it frustrates me that i have to pay so much for... rocks. =\

Vince locally collected rocks will be very dense, it's basically all granite and quartz type rocks around here. Works great for local tanks, but you don't get the same advantages that you get with porous rock such as LR or the dry versions.

[Scott Merrill]

FWIW I have used Marco's rock in almost all of my tanks including my 300g Store Show tank as well as many customers’ tanks.

Its ultra, ultra light (dry means no water weight too), amazing shapes and colors up in no time.

Easily, Best dry rock i have ever seen.
Glad to see it at a show, i would guess there was literally a ton of stuff to pick thru.

[Marco67]

Thanks everyone,
It was great to be there, Hats off to everyone involved. Your time and efforts showed in every detail of the conference.
Joe and the Atlantis staff? ....... WoW what can I say? just WoW I already want to come back!
As far as the rock goes you might want to check/ do a search in the BRS fourms http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/ as folks up here have been using it for a few years now and there are tons of threads with tricks on curing, aquascape etc ....
Thanks again
Marc

[pyro383]

Marco67, do you have a thread link as I could not find any reference.

[Marco67]

I don't off hand (and I'm concerned if I post direct links I'll be considered a comercial post) but if you just pull a search for "dry rock", "marc's rock" you should come up with a bunch of threads
Thanks
Marc

[Editour2]

The gentleman selling the rock advised me to use Deltec epoxy and 3/4" nylon rods from McMaster Carr.

[Marco67]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6952857#post6952857 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Editour2
The gentleman selling the rock advised me to use Deltec epoxy and 3/4" nylon rods from McMaster Carr.

Wow thanks I think ;) (I always thought of gentleman as my fathers name)
Anyway I do like the deltec because it dries hard, the color matches coraline and it dos'nt freek out your skimmer. I've been using 3/8" thread rod and I'm sure on bigger pieces 3/4" would work great.

[kevin21]

might i add marco67,

your rock was very very nice! :)

[Editour2]

Anyone know where you can purchase, locally, the deltec epoxy?

[Spracklcat]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6943062#post6943062 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Justjoe
Fiberglass rod will work well also, you can get it from Agway, they use it for mounting electric fencing, etc.


Good source of acrylic rods--go to Walmart or soemwhere and get replacement Venetian blind rods, the ones that hook on and are used to open/close the slats. For my first tank I drilled holes in the base of my rocks and put the rods in there as "legs" to lift it up and make caves and stuff. You can secure the rods with 2-part epoxy (let it cure well) and they get covered in coralline algae in no time.

--Christine

[efisher]

are you still running the show special. I regret not picking any up when I was there.

[pecan2phat]

You can order either a 25# or 50# box from them.
The 50# box is $125 shipped for zone 1 (UPS) which we fall under and the 25# box was something like $66.25

http://www.marcorocks.com/

Just mention that the price shipped is what Marc (the owner) had told me at the conference.

[olemos]

Here is their store site
http://awesomeaquariums.com/rock/index.php
Anyone up for a drive up there? :)

[efisher]

I hit the cape usually twice a year. Gonna have to stop by when I am up there.

[DgenR8]

I really liked the look of the stuff, and I think I'd be up for a road trip up there. Pick your own is worth the drive!

[Justjoe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6991897#post6991897 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DgenR8
I really liked the look of the stuff, and I think I'd be up for a road trip up there. Pick your own is worth the drive!

Seems like there is enough interest in formalizing a LIRA trip up there for some more rock, maybe we can work something out the Boston gang and arrange a frag swap as well. This wouldn't take place of a regular meeting.
Let me know and I can start the ball rolling. I have my pickup truck (seats 5 total) (and trailer if necessary) to tote the rock back to NY, and it could then be separated out to each persons car. Another van or two and its the ReefGeek Convoy.
If no formal frag swap and just a rock pick up, maybe a trip to the New England Aquarium would be in order.
Joe

[olemos]

I'm in and I have a work van that we can use.

[Justjoe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6992149#post6992149 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by olemos
I'm in and I have a work van that we can use.

How come I just thought of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer and Newman are trying to figure a way to return cans to Michigan for the 10cent deposit?:) :D

[pecan2phat]

Didn't Newman use a Postal truck? I think the Postal Service was a bit peeved at the writers :lol: