Live Rock order

[Coletrickle]

CP-39301
SW - Refugium Rubble - 25lb bag $ 34.99
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$34.99
CP-81793
SW - DFS Select Fiji Premium Rock - 45 lb. Box $ 119.99
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$119.99
CP-80633
SW - Fiji Foundation Rock - 35 lb. Box $ 59.99
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$59.99

Does this a good order in terms of price and rock selection? It's not ordered yet. It is for a 55gal display and 20gal sump. Shipping is about 150.00. It's from DR F&S. Any other recomendations?

Thanks

[yote]

Check with your LFS before ordering the rubble and base rocks.
A lot of times,they will give you some rubble out their rock tank.But the Fiji live rock is some decent stuff.

Check out tampabaysaltwater.com before you do anything.

[Coletrickle]

Tampabay look to be a little more pricey. I hear nothing but good things about them but cost is an issue for me. I'll check on the rubble here. Thanks.

[yote]

TBSW is pretty pricey.
But I like the fact that when the order comes in,You can actually see LIVE hitch hikers crawling all over it.

[Piggy]

Several people from this site has ordered LR from them. That looks like enough. You should have about 1-2 pounds per gallon.

[dustin_P74]

the only bad thing about TBSW is that you have to make two trips to the airport to pick it up and they are notorious for having mantis coming with there rock

[Damseluver]

That and TBSW is cultured rock. They generally take base rock off shore around Tampa and soak it for a year. Whether that's a good thing or bad is up for debate.

IMO using the guide line of a pound or two per gallon is way over stated. Since the LR craze started I have set up numerous tanks most of them identical as far as equipment and maintenance routine. The only difference from system to system would be the presence of a DSB in the sump.

Tanks packed with LR but no dsb would inevitably run 10 to 20 nitrates. Systems with even small dsbs in the sump would almost always run with undetectable nitrates.

Of course a DSB is not going to introduce much in the way of biodiversity to a new tank but on the other hand a pound per gallon of LR is far more than is needed to achieve this. There are other variable to consider here also but my last half dozen tank starts have been at least half base rock mitigating a large expense to the set ups. In six months to a year I am hard pressed to point out which rock started as base and which was LR. Water quality was never a problem in tanks started in this manner either.

But then again thats just me; I could be wrong.

[yote]

I'm a fan of using base rock myself.MAtter of fact,nearly 3/4 of the rock in my 75 was base rock.

[Coletrickle]

I checked with the LFS and they want $6.90 a lb for live rock or rubble, didn't matter both were $6.90. It didn't even look good. Think I'll go with the Docs.

[dustin_P74]

good choice