rock on the beach?

[thedog12]

So I am on vacation in Florida. I am walking the beach and I keep finding little pieces of rock, but there red. I was wondering if the rock I find in the ocean that is pours would be ok to use in my aquarium.

[duoc9119]

if you are finding it on the beach, then it could be storing all sorts of things you don't want in your tank because of the wash that comes in. It's like a giant protein skimmer and that rock was sitting in it for who knows how long.

 

If it was found a little out in the water then I would say go for it. I have a few skeleton pieces I've found not far off the beach, and not exactly sure where they came from because there's no reef nearby. Probably a wave broke the pieces off at the reef, and carried it to the beach.

 

Gave it a good hot water bath and let it dry in the sun before putting it in my tank

[drgreenz]

I agree with duoc and from exp with wild rocks(out a ways also) the wave crash effect makes foam on the beach and that is just like the skimmer effect. Those nasties are washed onto whatever is on the beach. If it is just too cool a piece, i would boil it then give it a rly rly good rinse to get off the dead material.

[mbonus]

If it was found a little out in the water then.....

 

 

It's illegal to collect Florida live rock from the water.

[drgreenz]

It's illegal to collect Florida live rock from the water.

can you post where this law is, because everything that i have searched and talked to in the Florida FWC they regulate only the GEAR used when on reefs(hooks, venting equiptment for releasing fish, ect) and the species collected, and the areas you can harvest from(eg no protected zones, sanctuaries) You cannot collect any protected or endangered speciec, or coral without permits(no power tools allowed and an annual quota of 70,000 colonies) but you can collect rocks sand and any non-protected species of marine life(crabs, fish, ect) with just a saltwater fishing license.

More info can be found on florida in specific here http://myfwc.com/fishing/

[duoc9119]

It's illegal to collect Florida live rock from the water.

 

I didn't pick up live rock. Just some coral rubble that has been washed up from a reef somewhere.

[mbonus]

can you post where this law is, because everything that i have searched and talked to in the Florida FWC they regulate only the GEAR used when on reefs(hooks, venting equiptment for releasing fish, ect) and the species collected, and the areas you can harvest from(eg no protected zones, sanctuaries) You cannot collect any protected or endangered speciec, or coral without permits(no power tools allowed and an annual quota of 70,000 colonies) but you can collect rocks sand and any non-protected species of marine life(crabs, fish, ect) with just a saltwater fishing license.

More info can be found on florida in specific here http://myfwc.com/fishing/

 

http://myfwc.com/research/habitat/coral/ne...nd-regulations/

 

"In the state of Florida there are specific rules governing the commercial, nonlethal harvest of marine life. Throughout the state of Florida the collection of stony corals, fire corals, and the octocorals Gorgonia flabellum and G. ventalina (common sea-fans) is prohibited. The collection of octocoral species is restricted. The harvest of live-rock, substrate with living organisms attached, is illegal unless harvested at a licensed aquaculture area. Additionally, any harvest of the long-spined sea urchin, Diadema antillarum, is prohibited."

 

I didn't pick up live rock. Just some coral rubble that has been washed up from a reef somewhere.

 

 

Anything washed up is fair game, but like was mentioned above, should be vigorously sanitized.

[thedog12]

Thanks for all the help. I grab a few small pieces of rock when I was walking on the beach and looking at shells but if it’s all kind of bad things in it I’ll throw it back tomorrow. I never thought about the foam having the same effect as a skimmer.

[Deep Stops]

It's hard to tell if you are looking at suitable rocks without knowing which beach or where in Florida you collected them.

[thedog12]

I am on sanibel island, If the rock is good that would be sweet nothing beats the price of free but if its going to be bad for my tank I would rather spend 50 bucks and order some good rock online some places. I was going to use the rock on a new tank I want to set up.

[Acielot]

Sanibel Island is amazing. When you are down there you could collect some small fish and macros for your tank or even hermits there are tons of them

[Deep Stops]

Sanibel Island is amazing. When you are down there you could collect some small fish and macros for your tank or even hermits there are tons of them

 

I grew up there. Do not collect any live mollusks though because it is illegal. Rocks there have a good chance of being mostly silica, so I would probably leave it. A red porous rock reminds me of worm rock, which I wouldn't use in an aquarium. If, however, it is a carbonate rock, you could clean it very well and use it, but to me this is too much work. If you upload a picture I can tell you what it is.

[duoc9119]

Sanibel Island is great! While there for vacation one summer I had caught a small angel butteryfly fish and a tiny yellow puffer in a cast net. Wasn't intentional, just fishing and they ended up in the net. Let them go though since I had no use for them.

[jedimasterben]

I've collected lots of rock from FL's Atlantic coast, and I've never had a problem with any of it, Gulf coast should be the same. Give it a good rinsing with some bleach or hydrogen peroxide and drop it in.

[Deep Stops]

I've collected lots of rock from FL's Atlantic coast, and I've never had a problem with any of it, Gulf coast should be the same. Give it a good rinsing with some bleach or hydrogen peroxide and drop it in.

 

Two completely different offshore environments, so no they won't be the same. You can throw any rock you want into an aquarium, but some rocks are better than others.

[thedog12]

Thanks, ill see if i can take a picture with my cellphone tonight and post it on here.

[thedog12]

here are some pics

[jedimasterben]

Two completely different offshore environments, so no they won't be the same. You can throw any rock you want into an aquarium, but some rocks are better than others.

here are some pics

Those look identical to the ones I pick up.

[Deep Stops]

Those look identical to the ones I pick up.

 

Yeah worm rock does occur on both coasts. I wouldn't use it because I think it's ugly but I doubt it would hurt anything if you cleaned it well. Porosity is not that great. Yeah the pores look big, but porosity and bacteria popupation is more complicated than that.

[bryanphillips]

I live in Florida and both of my tanks contain coastal rock. I have had no problems. The one tank I even use water I collect from the ocean and the other one was started with natural water. Both tanks also have wc snails, crabs and starfish. etc.The idea that everything from the wild is bad is not accurate, after all, 90% of all the stuff in our tanks is from the wild anyways. Just use common sense but all that rock looks fine. You should have vacationed a few counties north, our rock is a lot prettier and we have all types of goodies on our beach to collect.

[jedimasterben]

I live in Florida and both of my tanks contain coastal rock. I have had no problems. The one tank I even use water I collect from the ocean and the other one was started with natural water. Both tanks also have wc snails, crabs and starfish. etc.The idea that everything from the wild is bad is not accurate, after all, 90% of all the stuff in our tanks is from the wild anyways. Just use common sense but all that rock looks fine. You should have vacationed a few counties north, our rock is a lot prettier and we have all types of goodies on our beach to collect.

Where are you at? What do yours look like?

[like-fish]

I dive alot on boths coasts of central florida and I have to say that the gulf bottom is much more attractive. Lots fo macro-algaes and other assorted life. The Atlantic is much harsher and more barren (at least in the Ornage City, Daytona, melborne area). I ahve been diving for several years, just started to notice the life down there now that i am keeping an aqurium.

 

Im down there for the spearfishing. Its nice to do some sightseeing. i always wondered why people dove without spearguns. Always seemed silly.....

 

Looking forward to doing some harvesting this summer. Its pretty barren out there now with the cold water.