alien4fish Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 what are the pros and cons of buying cured live rock to start a reef over unured rock from the LFS at higher prices?? Link to comment
Ed-N Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 Hey, I am now a believer in UNcured rock from a LFS. If the shipment is recent and you are patient, I think you get more critters that way. More biodiversity - whoo hoo! Also, you get to hand pick the pieces at the LFS. You don't know what you're getting ordering online. But you have to be patient. It will take longer to cycle. Furthermore, I personally have cycled with normal photoperiods and also with 5-10% water changes weekly. I think this preserves more life. Other people will disagree with me and say lights off, no waterchanges until the whole tank stinks and the bacterial load has gone through the roof, and then do a mongo water change. I don't know which is "right" but I think it's a preference. Ed Link to comment
Mnesarchus Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 Uncured is just a needless PITA. Get cured and you'll thank me. It's well worth the maybe $1/lb price difference at my LFS. Link to comment
Ed-N Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 Alien4fish, Big question: how many gallons is your tank. For a 5-10 gallon, you'll save maybe 10 bucks, right? Now if you're doing a 200 gallon tank, that's a difference story. Ed Link to comment
supernip Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 theres not much difference between cured liverock and uncured liverock. even if it were cured at the lfs, the die off would most likely take away the same amount of life. Another thing to consider is that most lfs sell "cured" liverock that isnt really cured. they would keep it for maybe 2 weeks and call it a day. I only know of one place that actually cures their rock and the difference is a good 2.50-3.00. Not many places sell quality cured rock. If you can afford it, cured rock is great but you still have to check your parameters and see for yourself. Also, even with cured rock, a new tank will still need time to develop enough bacteria to support life. I hope that helps. Link to comment
alien4fish Posted October 26, 2003 Author Share Posted October 26, 2003 so why dont just buy some uncured fromLFS(for the critter factor)place it at the top or bottom of the tank?(suggestions?)and then the rest cured rockand finish the arrangement in the tank? oh yeah i was thinking 15-20 lbs of cured and 10-15 lbs of uncured Link to comment
Ed-N Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 Alien4fish, You know, I think it really depends on the quality of both the on-line seller vs. the LFS. You can go to the LFS and check out the quality before your own eyes. If it's really sh!##y then pass it up. If you see sponges, crabs, cup coral, urchins, tunicates, copepods running around, I say go for it. No way some crap on-line place is gonna cure the rock carefully enough to save that life. Ed Link to comment
alien4fish Posted October 26, 2003 Author Share Posted October 26, 2003 im buying the cured LR from a member here that is located in sandy-ego hes got 60-70lbs from his own tank tank that he shut down, he said that the rock is in buckets with power heads on them for circulation, but i dont know how long they have been in buckets, how long will they keep what kind of life is on them blah blah blah im gonna go check the rock this afterrnoon Link to comment
alien4fish Posted October 26, 2003 Author Share Posted October 26, 2003 and of course im gonna try to find the best rock that can that can be stacked and still has good purple coloration, porus etc. Link to comment
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