how to get rocks for cheap?

[dym]

I will soon have to live on the streets unless I stop bidding on these coral auctions

On a serious note, I am somewhat concerned that OP is starting his first reef tank and it is 125 gallons and OP has stated he currently has no way to generate income. I hope he has a good local reefing club. Lots of generous folks in those clubs.

i do have a income for this if u wanna call it that. like i said im young, cant even drive yet its for the sake of my parents, its like a thousand this past week. it shouldnt be considered so outlandish to ask for alternatives, not sure how u got this narrative that i want hand outs or that im gonna do something dumb thatll kill my fishies

its just that people tend to have a hivemind in this hobby they've never tried anything different and they just go with the majority on products/brands. there was ppl that showed they used caribsea and their tanks looked amazing and thats the kinda replies i was looking for.

 

[slingfox]

I will soon have to live on the streets unless I stop bidding on these coral auctions

On a serious note, I am somewhat concerned that OP is starting his first reef tank and it is 125 gallons and OP has stated he currently has no way to generate income. I hope he has a good local reefing club. Lots of generous folks in those clubs.

I am certain you will do stupid things during your first few years in the hobby. That is the nature of the reefing! Thankfully you found your way to Reef2Reef. There is some great advice here.

I have no direct experience with CaribSea rock but their LifeRock line has been at the center of many prolonged ugly battles on this board. I believe I Marco Rock is the safer dry rock option.

“thats the kinda replies i was looking for” <— this is a phenomenon called confirmation bias. This is also a common bias you should try to protect yourself against!

Lastly, there is nothing wrong with getting free or heavily discounted stuff from local reefers. Many in the hobby love helping out their fellow hobbiests—particularly new members to the club!

 

[dym]

that goes both ways if you only notice info that supports ur preference and ignore the rest. ik what u mean but obviously i meant helpful replies instead of telling me to get something i didnt want which i stated
i already got 80 lbs mixed of harvested rocks and marco rocks 2 days ago so im good, just need live rock now. also thx for the recommendations

 

[chillout-reefer-dave]

Let's all hold hands and admire some cool aquariums?

 

[JumboShrimp]

Question: Why did you immediately rule out Facebook Marketplace in the original post? By me, people are posting rock from tank tear-downs virtually everyday... one guy on FB Marketplace sells rock often, for $1.00 per pound!

 

[pescadosman]

Where u located bro… i got a hookup down here in the keys for 1$ a lb. Marco equivalent.
Same w sand

Hey bro how can I get some of that rock

 

[Paul B]

I built about half of my rock and collected the rest. I like the rocks I build better than the ones I collect.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/build-your-own-rock-for-practically-free.279117/

 

[Kooma]

hi. i was wondering where i can get dry rock for cheap except facebook marketplace/craigslist etc. i wanna get marco rock but its 100 dollars for just 20 pounds, thats a bit pricey for me. is there some other kind of rock i can buy and is caribsea rocks good?

Second hand rock is my favourite. Set it up in a QT tank or tote and let it sit for 3-4 months. I’d throw in a large mesh bag of gfo and a circulation pump. From there you can use it for your system and shouldn’t have crazy issues with phosphates.

The tote is helpful to look for pests also. You can deal with them before it goes into you tank. Be sure to use RODI water and fresh salt, I usually just set it to 1.020 or so. I also like to have a heater in the tote to keep it around 70-75F.

I’ve cured hundreds of lbs like this and it works great. Put a lid on and you won’t need to top up evaporate much.

 

[Andamaite]

I get where you're coming from. I started aquarium keeping before I was employment age. That lead to being a MASSIVE cheapskate, and I still keep to that philosophy well over 25 years later. I start out assuming a tank will cost me $50-$100 per gallon by the time it's cycled, properly lit, and ready to stock with fun stuff. People tell me that's an unreasonably low estimate. That's why I stick to nano and pico tanks.

Most people are trying to save you a lot of headaches and heartache, rather than being rude. Things that are "cheap" are often more cost and trouble down the line.

Since you only need a few pounds to kick off your tank alongside your base rock your "best overall" is going to be at a local store or from another hobbyist because you're cutting out the costs of shipping.

In terms of VALUE a TBS treasure chest is probably the best, because it's going to give you a big hit of fresh biodiversity, and sometimes enough extras to get you the start of a clean up crew. TBS will need a little extra love to make sure there's nothing seriously destructive along for the ride, but that's true for any actually-live live rock you bring in.

In terms of the absolute lowest PRICE: Bottled bacteria. It'll get the job done, but it won't introduce anything else. Your CUC later on will bring in their own little friends. Good things like coralline spores. But also bad things like algae and pests. Bottled bacteria doesn't come with the little micro-predators and grazers to take care of that stuff, and can turn into a costly "chase" to fix those problems as they pop up.

One thing you're going to want to budget for now is the salt, plus the cost of RODI water (or RODI unit media/filter replacements) for top offs and water changes. Since you're starting dry I would also suggest picking up some filter media bags, and a BULK container of activated carbon to help catch the especially nasty crap that can come out of older rock, any chemical leeching that might happen as it settles into water for the first time in a while, and just in case you get the dinos.

Best of luck!

 

[JumboShrimp]

Good advice.

 

[chillout-reefer-dave]

I just did my routine check of my local FB Marketplace here in Podunk .
Immediately thought of this thread.

There's a guy tearing down a large setup, selling well established coralline covered for $1/lb. He has 100 lbs. available. Obviously needs further investigation for critters. But this is where it's at. ka' ching.


---I swear I'm going to learn how to be less abrasive, rude, and curt. I want to learn from people and learn to teach others in a healthy way. I know I can be better. We are never too old to learn new ways, right? This is why I'm going to stick around and try to be a productive member of something. ---end rant

 

[landlubber]

Yes rock can seem fairly expensive... then you realize you also just bought your most meaningful filter and the furniture that most of your corals are eventually going to be laying on all in one step.

 

[08TRDOFFROAD]

i do have a income for this if u wanna call it that. like i said im young, cant even drive yet its for the sake of my parents, its like a thousand this past week. it shouldnt be considered so outlandish to ask for alternatives, not sure how u got this narrative that i want hand outs or that im gonna do something dumb thatll kill my fishies

its just that people tend to have a hivemind in this hobby they've never tried anything different and they just go with the majority on products/brands. there was ppl that showed they used caribsea and their tanks looked amazing and thats the kinda replies i was looking for.

I would avoid the caribsea Liferock line. It is not very porous and comes with significant potential challenges like slingfox mentioned. I used one of their premade products very similar to liferock and haven't been super happy with it and would never use it again. I opened the box of the South Seas Base rock I mentioned in my first post and was very pleased with the light, porous rock I received. Having used Marco in the past, I can confirm the South Seas base rock is very, very similar to Marco as far as structure, weight, and appearance. LIke I said I paid $2.15 per pound for a 40lb box shipped to my door.

 

[huntkorr]

If you think $100 for rock is outside of budget then you should probably reconsider getting into the saltwater hobby. This is not a cheap hobby. Better to wait until you have more disposable income.

What terrible advice.

 

[Paul B]

My friend helps me collect them on the beach at low tide. I get them for free but the shipping is pricy and Staples doesn't sell the right size box for them.

 

[Kooma]

hi. i was wondering where i can get dry rock for cheap except facebook marketplace/craigslist etc. i wanna get marco rock but its 100 dollars for just 20 pounds, thats a bit pricey for me. is there some other kind of rock i can buy and is caribsea rocks good?

Best spot has been system shutdowns. I recently bought a 150 gallon system with around 200lbs of rock (live and buckets of dry) for less than just the rock would cost. Now I have about 100lbs more rock than I need, but with how hard it’s becoming to find I’ll hoard it for a future upgrade one day.