How to know how much LR you have?

[thbrewst]

Need to sell some live rock and always see folks posting XX lbs of rock for sale. How the heck do you measure that? I got my rock when I bought the tank. It doesn't all fit in a 32 gallon Brute but is not enough to fill up 2. How does one estimate how much rock this is?

Secondly how do you judge good versus bad rock? Just by appearance and interesting shapes? How porous it appears matter too? How about where it came from? Any way to know that by looking at it?

Thanks for the advice...

 

[jdavid]

most people weigh their rock by using bathrooms scales and a 5g bucket. The problem is that to see the weight you have to offset the bucket, and bathroom scales are not always accurate, and usually the weight is not the same if you check it at home with your own bathroom scales after making a purchase. lol.

 

[rdnelson]

brchapm;868092 wrote: could you weigh yourself with the 5 gallon bucket of rock, then weigh yourself with just the bucket and not the rock? The diff between the two should get you pretty close....

But then I would know just how fat I really am.


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[jeffmuse]

rdnelson99;868105 wrote: But then I would know just how fat I really am.


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lol! :lol2:

 

[bluespot]

rdnelson99;868105 wrote: But then I would know just how fat I really am.


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You could tell us then we'd know just how fat you really are too! He he he! Jk

 

[rodasphoto]

some scales let you zero out the scale with a container on it. Then all it would read is the rock.

 

[dball711]

How much could a bucket weigh...maybe 1 pound?

 

[unome]

I'd use the 5 gallon bucket method. The bucket can't weigh that much - let's say 1 lb.

So you place a rock in there & the scales shows 22 lbs. So the rock weighs about 21 lbs.

I'd advertise that piece as weighing 19 lbs. to allow for difference in scales. That way you get a decent price, someone gets a decent piece of rock & when they weigh it, they might be getting 1 - 2 lbs. more than was advertised/paid for.

They feel good about that & everyone's happy.

 

[nickg]

thbrewst;868049 wrote: Need to sell some live rock and always see folks posting XX lbs of rock for sale. How the heck do you measure that? I got my rock when I bought the tank. It doesn't all fit in a 32 gallon Brute but is not enough to fill up 2. How does one estimate how much rock this is?

Secondly how do you judge good versus bad rock? Just by appearance and interesting shapes? How porous it appears matter too? How about where it came from? Any way to know that by looking at it?

Thanks for the advice...

Quality is strickly subjective, in my opinion. Appeance, shape and porous are all that matter. Just my 2 pennies.... As far as estimating, good luck with that.... It would be VERY hard to judge weight without knowing how porous a peice is.

 

[bluespot]

Most bathroom scales are highly inaccurate at low weights. They are calibrated to be more accurate at the higher weights closer to what the average person weighs. The closer you are to their maximum or minimum weights of the scale the more the inaccuracy. A lot of electronic scales dont even register until you get at least 5lbs on them. In theory the best way for a bathroom scale to be used would be to stand on the scale WITH the empty bucket. Then fill it and weigh again holding full bucket and subtract original weight. Of coarse, even that number can change slightly based on foot placement or the way you stand on the scale (leanining to one side/forward/backward).

If its all you've got then you have to use it. You could use a higher rated postage or kitchen scale that is accurate but why bother. You will get inaccuracies based on how much water is on/inside the rocks. Besides, most members selling rock only want or get a couple bucks a pound for something usually costing 3 times that or more so what is a couple bucks either way in the long run? Anyway, for filtration in the tank, volume and porosity of the rock is more important than poundage of said rock. The stupid rule of of 1-2 lbs of rock per gallon is archaic and ridiculous. A 5lb sold chunk does a lot less than an open porous 5lb piece. So try and get the right volume of good rock for your tank to look good for your aquascape and dont fret on about a couple pounds.

 

[nickg]

Porous rock, or rock full of holes, has MUCH more surface area. Also cracks, holes, and hiding spots for pods and other micro organisms. You could almost call the rocks "HOLY" rocks... Made myself laugh out loud...

 

[curtismaximus]

Ive got a simple solution, you can just sell,it all to me for $100 and be done with it! Why make it difficult on yourself?

 

[nickg]

I'll go $101:up::up::shout::wow2:....

 

[curtismaximus]

nickg;868388 wrote: I'll go $101:up::up::shout::wow2:....

:boo::swordfight: