Looking at live rock, got some Qs

[Pheeshes]

The live rock at the fish store doesn't look too bad other than most of it is covered with red...it looks almost like algea. how bad is this and should i stay away from it simply because of the red stuff.

I know it's hard to say what it is without seeing it, but it's basically a really dark red and looks a little hairy

 

[SalteeDogg]

hair=algae from all my experiences, if its not slimy with no hairs probably coralline.

 

[Pheeshes]

is that something to worry about or should it be ok?

 

[hotimportknight]

If its not hair algae or ciano and is a hard pink/red color then its coralline and is good, you want rocks with good coralline growth.

 

[yote]

Just make sure the red isnt slimmy.You can try and see if it it'll come off or not.
Most new shipments of live rock will have SOME algae on it.As long as its not covered in it to the point for looking like a clump of green hair,it should be alright.

 

[SalteeDogg]

little algae will never hurt it and probably help a tank establish but can quickly demolish a tank if it gets out of control.

 

[Doc]

you can also flip the desirable rock upside down so that algae side is buried in the sand, killing the algae.

-Doc

 

[simpleman]

Good idea Doc.

 

[Doc]

eh, I do get one or two every once in a while. ;)

-Doc

 

[LConte17]

How many LBS of LR are u looking to get that has this algae/ Red stuff on it?

 

[Pheeshes]

well, probably 75 lbs or so, but i'm going to look it over really good next time i'm in there to make sure it's not anything bad.

 

[LConte17]

well ur lookin to get a decent amount of rock. might i suggest getting LR of the internet. via places like tampabaysaltwater.com or oceanproaquatics.com?

itll be cheaper on ur pocket im sure cause LFS charge a lot more. and a place like tampabaysaltwater.com is known to have crazy amounts of hitch hikers and live things with there live rock

 

[cravinmohead22]

i saw that site you are talking about but i was concerned about the cold weather here in ohio so i just bought about 18lbs from a LFS. not the best rock in the world but perfect for cycling my tank. any input on shipping the rock to colder states???

 

[Damseluver]

If your lfs sells cured rock and you intend t0 cycle the tank by artificially spiking ammonia levels I would suggest using sum base rock and maybe a smallpeice of LR.

The bacteria that cycle a tank will attache themselves t0 anything in the tank. After the tanks cycled add your cured LR 0n t0p 0f yur base. IM0 it makes little sense tu cycle a tank with a bunch 0f high d0ller r0ck and kill much 0f it 0ff including the c0riline, spiking amm0nia levels even higher and pr0l0ngeing the cycle.

Keep in mind that the higher y0u spike amm0nia levels during the cycle the higher the end pr0duct 0f that cycle well be, nitrate, which ain't a g00d thing either.

 

[Pheeshes]

well, i was looking on-line. the reason i wanted to get it from the LFS is i have alot of store credit there from when i returned the skimmer and filter and powerheads i got from them and got cheaper online. i'll probably have to wait and see how much credit i have left after we finish completely with all the plumbing and we are ready for living things. i may use the LFSs rock for a base and get some really nice stuff on line or there is even a really nice place here in ohio that does some mail or rock also i may check them out(less than an hour drive from my house.) thanks for the help guys

 

[Damseluver]

Mail 0rder r0ck will have die 0ff. What I said ab0ve g0es 0nly when purchaseing cured r0k l0caly

 

[Sxybeemr325]

i bought half of my rocks fom this seller on e-bay. The rocks were shipped to me via UPS next day air shipment. I beleive I bought 50 or 100 ponds of rocks from them... I bought the rest at my lfs.... When my rocks arrived, it looked just like the pictures...Lots of corraline... i was happy with it and the price was decent at approx. 2.30/per pound(for the fiji super premium rocks). My rocks did not take a long time to cure... i think they were cured already and there was only the die off from shipping.... I now have a nice sponge, tons of feather dusters and polyps growing on it that I never purchased... It's been a year now and I still have new surprises.... overall, I was happy with this seller. The rocks looked great, the price was right, the die off cured super fast and I ended up with tons of hitch hickers!

eBay Store - Wholesale Aquatic Supplies: Metal Halide, T5, Pond Pumps

 

[reeffreak]

i saw that site you are talking about but i was concerned about the cold weather here in ohio so i just bought about 18lbs from a LFS. not the best rock in the world but perfect for cycling my tank. any input on shipping the rock to colder states???

There's a place in Ohio called Saltcritter.com.They have unbelievable live rocks.Since your already in Ohio,you can pick it up locally or buy the live rock online and shipped via ground.Ground versus next day or two day air will save you some $$$$.

They are in Vermilion Ohio if that rings any bells.

 

[cravinmohead22]

ok ill give it a look. im about 30 mins. from vermilion. thanks