Live Rock and Where to Buy

[fatman]

It is the most efficient rock for base rock use. I can not see the base rock in my tanks as they are covered with corals. I would cover the majority of the base rock with live rock in a standard conventional display tank housing fish and less corals. As I add coral I replace the original live rock with the new coral head, and therefore recover the base rock. The coral fills the spot quite quickly. Besides it doesn't take ling for the average reefer to cover their base rock, as it seems most of us are pretty obsessive and compulsive and our reef tanks become nearly an addiction. It doesn't take long to a mass 40 or 50 corals or even a hundred, especialy once you start fragging your own corals. Once your corals settle in and really start growing you have to either trim them or frag them anyway or you have to always remove corals due to the corals growth causing croeding. SPS Corals as big as basket balls only take a few years to get that size if untrimmed. That would mean only a dozen or so corals per tank. For the price I actually preferred the standard base rock that is advertised on that site, but it is no longer available. Seems the supplier found another purchaser who pays more and sells it at higher prices. It is sold now by the single rock and only the large rocks are presently now being sold. I ran across the site only once and foolishly did not save its location. The single rocks were selling for $75 to $750 each. They were large enough to use as center pieces. They were 2 to 6 feet long and a foot or two tall and full of holes. No different from what I had bought previously for $1 per pound, or for about 25% of the prices now charged by the new retailer.
If your wondering, I receive no gratuities from any retailers, suppliers or anyone in the aquariums trades and have no financial interests in the aquatic trades outside of Alaska.
I have just recently purchased some of the worm rock they advertise. Just Tuesday, actually, and have not yet seen it. I have ordered quite a few shipments of there standard base rock in the past, and hope they start handling it again , even at a higher price. It is even nicer than Pacific live rock and is much less dense. I do not buy live rock for coral remnants. If I want coral remnants I would just buy coral remnants or coral skeletons. However I quit doing that many years ago. That was back during the days when blazingly white bleached coral skeletons were the norm. I would take the dead coral out of my tanks every month and bleach them. Dead coral skeletons are still, for some insane reason, available on ebay.

[Hornet]

Any thoughts on this stuff:

http://www.oceanproaquatics.com/shop...nd-p-3215.html

Came across the link while surfing around for dry base rock options.

[UnderwaterWorld]

Yea I'd like to know the best and cheapest base rock there is for when I get to setting up my next tank!

[fatman]

I personally only buy carbonate based rocks as they are usually devoid of anything but carbonates in one form or another and possibly some silicate as it is found in all naturals live rock and live sand (beach sand is typically silica). Volcanic rock can be of made up of just an bout any mineral. It is porous because it was lava full of hot gases that escaped after the lava came to the surface. Lava rock can contain many minerals that while cause little harm in a reef surrounded with mega billions of gallons of water which on the other hand can kill everything contained in a tank holding tens or hundreds of contained gallon of water. The Florida mariculture people such as at http://www.tampabaysaltwater.com will sell wet base rock that is full of nitrifying bacteria but with growths of Coraline algae abut no macro algae, sponges, tunicates, polyps and tube worms and such for around $2.50 cents a pound. Basically a dense live rock with growths on it akin to Fiji rock once it finally makes it to you. My approach is if it will not dissolve in white vinegar (mild acid) it does not go in my tank. There is a lot old fossilized aragonite deposits mined in Idaho, other wise it is Florida rock that is aragonite that has changed forms to calcium carbonate rock. All aragonite eventually changes form into calcium carbonate eventually as it is the more stable geometric arrangement and natures chemicals migrate towards stability.

[Reefgyrl]

live aquaria is the way to go...........

[cumminz]

i get base rock from my LFS that was once live, but got dried out. it costs 1.75 per lb. nice stuff

[fatman]

Originally Posted by cumminz

i get base rock from my LFS that was once live, but got dried out. it costs 1.75 per lb. nice stuff

Five to six dollars a pound up here for even the worst dead base rock. a bargain uo here is $8.95 per pound for live rock with a few remnants of coraline and nothing else.

[NewbReefer]

i can get it for $4.00/lb around here (and base rock for free if i wanted, lol). i feel bad for the people that there LFS's sell it for $8+/lb

[cumminz]

Well at my new LFS it is 499, 599, and 699 per lb. And they also give out free ro/di water.

[fatman]

Originally Posted by cumminz

Well at my new LFS it is 499, 599, and 699 per lb. And they also give out free ro/di water.

My lastest greatest purchase was a commercial RO filter, from an LFS that went out of business, with a 24 inch long, 2.5 inch diameter membrane that runs with a pumped pressure at 225 psi, it also came with a two tank water softener which the water was prefiltered through. ($175 for a new membrane, plus $6o shipping) It really puts out a stream of water and at 33 percent efficiency, but give the water way. RO water is now 50 cents per gallon, at Culligans, here in Fairbanks and $2 or more per gallon at the stores.
PETCO will order me live rock at $5 per pound, by the box, from their supplier in 20 kilogram boxes (44 pounds), but will not provide a choice on size or type. The price would include shipping. The rock they typically have in their tanks is only fist sized. I however do not frequent the store so it is posible the large peices just sell out quickly.