konapete Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 Hi All, I'm new to saltwater... Have a few questions. I'm starting a 10 gal AGA here in the next couple weeks. I was just wondering on how I can pick out good liverock at the LFS. What do I look for in particular? As far as pricing goes, what is a good per pound rate for liverock to start a reef? I want to make sure that I'm not being suckered. Also, what powerheads are recommended for a 10 gal? Link to comment
1fish2fish Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 The cost of your LR is going to vary depending on the quality and origin. Rock with lots of life on it will cost much more than something that has nothing on it (base rock). Since it's a nano, most of your rock will be exposed, so you may want to go with the better stuff. I would check around at all the LFS and see what the prices are like and compare the quality. Something to keep in mind when comparing prices from the LFS to the prices from online suppliers is that the stuff at the local fish store should be cured. This means that you don't have to cope with the large amount of die off that happens furing shipping. Uncured LR will foul your tank and can smell quite awful (Best done in a garage). As for price... It will vary depending on the region of hte country you are in and the amount of competitin your LFS has. If I remember correctly my LFS sells base rock for about $2/lb and LR for about $4.50/lb. I'm kind of fuzzy on this as I haven't bought any for some time. I realize that I haven't helped on the cost issue much, but the best bet is to shop around. Link to comment
cookiemn Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 You should also look online to get some rocks in case your local LFS is too expensive. Link to comment
CU_Reefer Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 Prices are generally cheaper on line but most of the time the shipping evens out the price. If you have a LFS with good quality rock go with them. Then you can pick out the rock you want and you don't have to pay shipping. If there is a good LFS in your area you should support it. Even if that means that you have to pay a little more. I bought my LR for $7.50/lb but for the amount I needed it wasn't worth it to order on line and the store is worth supporting. Link to comment
Aiptasia Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 That's especially true with nano-reefs, where you don't need an 85 lb. box of LR. Good quality LR comes in two forms: Cured and uncured. Uncured rock is the most common online, and it's rock that's simply been collected from it's origin country, boxed up and trans-shipped to a wholesaler. Typically, it will stay boxed up and sit with the wholesaler until purchased, which means a lot of life in the LR will die off in the box. Uncured LR will often stink like rotten eggs when newly unboxed (from the die off) and will need to be placed in a holding tank all by itself to "cure" for about four weeks. You can cure your own LR if you're starting a brand new tank, but it's often a foul smelly process. As it cures, the rock gradually goes through it's own nitrogen cycle and it will re-seed itself with the existing life that's survived the shipping process. Cured rock is just that, rock that's been allowed to cure in a retailer's tank. Cured rock is the only LR that's safe to add to an existing reef tank. Even then, the cured rock should be purchased or shipped as 'wet' as possible to prevent further die off. A small amount of die off will still typically occur, but it's nothing compared to the initial cure. Usually, good cured LR will be $2-5 per pound more expensive than uncured rock. If your LFS has good quality cured LR that you can hand pick for size and shape, go ahead and use them. Good quality cured rock should have heavy corraline algae growth, sometimes macro-algaes such as halimeda will be present, and the rock will have a pure clean ocean smell to it. Don't hesitate to use the sniff test, as some LFS's will sell "cured" rock even if it hasn't quite cured yet, and each rock will cure at a slightly different rate. Link to comment
stan Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 a related question regarding live rock. I know the rule of thumb is 1lb per gallon. So does that mean 2 lbs per gallon gives you that much more filtration? Or does the benefits of the LR not increase? Link to comment
phenom5 Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 a related question regarding live rock. I know the rule of thumb is 1lb per gallon. So does that mean 2 lbs per gallon gives you that much more filtration? Or does the benefits of the LR not increase? yup, the more the better... Link to comment
stan Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 That's what i wanted to hear. I have around 10 lbs.. but i want to create that reef wall effect for my tank.. gonna add more! Link to comment
konapete Posted February 25, 2004 Author Share Posted February 25, 2004 As far as I understand, not all liverock is created equal. Under this assumption, you can have 10 lbs. of Bali liverock (an ancient species of coral that has a less dense skeleton) and 10 lbs. of Fiji liverock (A denser liverock readily available) and the 10 lbs of Bali Liverock will have a higher filtration load. This is due to the outer surface area of the rock and the porosity that certain rocks offer. Good liverock should be porous and light for surface area and for beneficial bacteria to colonize. Just my 2 cents... Link to comment
Caesar Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 Konapete, you should look online for a local reefer that is selling his LR or breaking down his tank. my best looking LR and prices have come from other people's tanks and I usually pay about 2-3$/# Link to comment
stan Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 So is a large part of the magic of live-rock simply the fact that you're increasing the surface area of your tank? By the way.. my LFS sells cured fiji for 4.99lb. Link to comment
konapete Posted February 26, 2004 Author Share Posted February 26, 2004 Yes, Stan, surface area is a very important factor for effective biofiltration. I'm sure we've all seen those spiky blue spheres that they have floating at the top of tanks at the LFS. Those bio-balls operate on the same principle to provide as much surface area as possible in a more compact medium. That way, you can get exponentially more bacteria to adhere and work their magic to polish the water. The lighter varieties of liverock give you more bang for the buck as far as filtration goes. You have a higher surface area to mass ratio, which makes it less dense and each pound will go further in the filtration department. Link to comment
stan Posted February 26, 2004 Share Posted February 26, 2004 Thank Konapete, makes a lot of sense. Im only 1 month into this mini-reef thing and i remember buying my LR and the LFS employee saying "wow this ones' really light" and getting very excited. I guess there really isnt an answer for this, but i would assume that at some point you just cant support anymore bacteria and adding more rock wont help. Just food for thought. Link to comment
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