Places to purchase starter liverock?

[wannabeeareefkeeper]

Any suggestions on where to purchase some great liverock? I am starting a new 120 gallon and need some liverock.

I want to prevent bad hitchhikers, so please no aiptasia or other bad hitchhikers. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Wannabee

 

[shanepike]

Getting LR from an LFS means you can pick the exact pieces you want. Ordering by mail means cheaper prices. Buying used from an individual is cheaper still, but you have to worry about nasties.

 

[frantz]

Though nasties can come from LFS as well. I always see used as a cross between uncured and cured live rock. I usually go half and half, getting good base LR and then the cheaper lace rock in the shapes I want to work with for the visible section.

 

[elfloyd]

My suggestion is to get the dry rock (Marco Rocks is what I used, or Bulk Reef Supply), then purchase live rock from a LFS or someone from ARC. Suggest 75% dry to 25% live. This cuts down on hitchhikers and save on $$$ as well. The dry rock will become live in a very short time.

Also suggest you seed the new sand with a cup or two of sand from an established tank. When starting my first saltwater tank I used Garf Grunge (

 

[rdnelson]

But!!!! You have gift certificate for several LFS that are livestock only. I would classify LR as livestock.

 

[wannabeeareefkeeper]

rdnelson99;823764 wrote: But!!!! You have gift certificate for several LFS that are livestock only. I would classify LR as livestock.

Shush! I'm tryin' to send out some feelers and you've just exposed my colvert operations. LOL Actually, I'm tryin' to get some ideas and this is my attempt to get ideas of LFS in Atlanta. I live so far away that I'm clueless on what selection of LR is available from the LFS in Atlanta.

My idea of what liverock I'll need calls for me to take out a 2nd mortgage on my house with the addition of the gift certificates. [LOL]

Frantz and elFloyd have posted great responses here, so maybe I won't need a 2nd mortgage.

Wannabee

 

[hiimsean]

i've always heard great things about BRS dry rock. i purchased mine from someone on the forum though for much less. it was dried out LR. nothing on it, just took about a month and a half to cycle when i started.

 

[mrflameangel]

I have a mixture of Totoka (from Pure Reef and my favorite) and BRS. Feel free to stop by and look at it if need be.

 

[chris s]

WannabeeaReefKeeper;823782 wrote:
My idea of what liverock I'll need calls for me to take out a 2nd mortgage on my house with the addition of the gift certificates. [LOL]

Wannabee

For my 120 I ordered 100lbs of dry rock. I used most but not all. Then I added 30-40 lbs of rock for an established tank. You don't need the solid rock wall many people are used too. I have a very open rock structure. Also the accepted idea that you need x lbs per gallon of water is based on wet live rock and people are realizing that you don't need as much rock as previously thought.

Personally I used mostly dry rock so I could assemble the rock with acrylic rods and epoxy into formations I liked. Take your time and do it right. Also make sure you place all the rock into the tank before adding sand. That way if you have any fish or inverts that dig they won't undermind the rockstructure and cause a landslide.

 

[rdnelson]

Chris S;823807 wrote: For my 120 I ordered 100lbs of dry rock. I used most but not all. Then I added 30-40 lbs of rock for an established tank. You don't need the solid rock wall many people are used too. I have a very open rock structure. Also the accepted idea that you need x lbs per gallon of water is based on wet live rock and people are realizing that you don't need as much rock as previously thought.

Personally I used mostly dry rock so I could assemble the rock with acrylic rods and epoxy into formations I liked. Take your time and do it right. Also make sure you place all the rock into the tank before adding sand. That way if you have any fish or inverts that dig they won't undermind the rockstructure and cause a landslide.

Couldn't agree more with this. Very good advice.

 

[wannabeeareefkeeper]

Chris S;823807 wrote: For my 120 I ordered 100lbs of dry rock. I used most but not all. Then I added 30-40 lbs of rock for an established tank. You don't need the solid rock wall many people are used too. I have a very open rock structure. Also the accepted idea that you need x lbs per gallon of water is based on wet live rock and people are realizing that you don't need as much rock as previously thought.

Personally I used mostly dry rock so I could assemble the rock with acrylic rods and epoxy into formations I liked. Take your time and do it right. Also make sure you place all the rock into the tank before adding sand. That way if you have any fish or inverts that dig they won't undermind the rockstructure and cause a landslide.

Thanks for the great info. Where did you purchase the acrylic rods from and do they come in different lengths? What type of epoxy did you use? Could you post a picture of your rock structure here or PM me? Thanks in advance.

Wannabee

Edit:

rdnelson99;823811 wrote: Couldn't agree more with this. Very good advice.

Thanks rdnelson99 for you response.

 

[chris s]

I got the acrylic rod from mcmaster carr. The rod is 3/8" diameter and there are several sources mcmaster is just really close to me. A 3/8" concrete drill bit plows through live rock and dry rock. I used some fragging epoxy. I can't remember the brand but it came from creation reef and it's a purple coraline color. I didn't need much epoxy. The rods do most of the work and a small piece of epoxy keeps everything solid. I'll see if I can get some pics. From the front it's hard to tell how open the rocks are. You need to look at an angle and the camera doesn't pick it up well. I'll try to get some shots to give you some ideas.

 

[chris s]

Here are a few shots. The larger formation on the right side of the tank is really open with lots of hiding spots. The left side has a rock that creates an overhang. My midas blenny found a hole underneath the overhang that has become his home. The left formation is now one piece. The right side is made of several smaller pieces that all fit together. I did it this way to allow me to remove pieces should I need to remove/rescue something.
I'll get a FTS tomorrow when the lights come on.

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[wannabeeareefkeeper]

Chris:

Thanks for the photos. I really like the layout of your aquarium. I like how you thought it out and made it easy access if you need to get into areas that are not over-loaded with rock.

Easy access to move things around if ever needed is a win-win in my on-going notebook of Reef-Life [the do's and the don't(s)]. Like you mentioned about gaining access if you need to collect the fish and other living creatures; you set-up allows that to happen without a lot of hard work or effort.

Thanks again for the photos. You tank looks great! If I can accomplish the layout similar to yours, my accomplishment would be successful thanks to you.

Wannabee

 

[chris s]

Thanks for the kind words.

Here is a FTS. You can really get an idea of how much rock I used.

 

[wannabeeareefkeeper]

Chris:

I really like your setup. It appears that you have a small sandbed, not a two inch or more. I haven't decided exactly, but my community tank will have mostly non-aggressive community of fish. I do like maybe one or two sand sifters, i.e. goby or blennie; but this is not a for sure thing.

With a thinner sand bed like your set-up; could cause me problems with movement of sand by the sand sifters. Decisions, decisions? Maybe I should just start up two aquariums where I can have the both of two worlds, one deep sand bed, one not so deep sand bed. [ :lol2:]

Your welcome for your last post for the kind words. The ARC provides everyone an opportunity to learn from others. This post qualifies for an learning tool for me to better my set-up. I appreciate your taking the time to upload the pictures that has now allowed me to enhance the little ocean home that I want to create in my home. Thanks again.

Wannabee

 

[chris s]

Actually my sandbed started at about an inch across the entire tank. My yellow watchman goby and pistol shrimp have rearranged it. They have taken up residence under the left rock formation as seen by the large amount of sand under it. The pile moves every few days as they change the entrance to their home. When they are feeling nice the entrance is in view so I can enjoy them working. This type of excavation is why I suggested placing the rock on the tank bottom first for a stable base.