KP aquatics live rock question

[jp1986]

Hey fellow reefers!

Looking at getting some live rock from KP aquatics. I have a 150 gallon reef that's been going for a little over a year now. Started with all dry rock, which was nice for not qprrying about pests, but I feel I lack some biodiversity in my system. Would I be ok putting it in my sump/refugium? Or should I put it in a separate spare tank for awhile to cure/see what all comes on the rock?

Thanks!

 

[TexAgReefer]

Hey fellow reefers!

Looking at getting some live rock from KP aquatics. I have a 150 gallon reef that's been going for a little over a year now. Started with all dry rock, which was nice for not qprrying about pests, but I feel I lack some biodiversity in my system. Would I be ok putting it in my sump/refugium? Or should I put it in a separate spare tank for awhile to cure/see what all comes on the rock?

Thanks!

I quarantined my KP Aquatics live rock for 76 days to try and insure I was not adding any ick/parasites. I observed and checked it frequently for any other pests(crabs, aptasia, etc).

 

[JGT]

If you get it shipped in water it can go right into your sump.if you get it shipped with just wet newspaper, then I’d put it in a to tank to cure as there will be some die off.

 

[TnFishwater98]

I recommend a separate tank for a month +, just to wash off rocks in buckets and observing the LR.

 

[X-37B]

I would put it in a brute can with a heater and powerhead.
Once you have 0 ammonia or nitrite it can go in the sump.

If its just 1 or 2 pieces then it could go into the sump if it was shipped in water.

 

[jp1986]

Thanks for the responses everyone! I'll play it safe and put in a separate spare tank for a month or two to be safe.

 

[TnFishwater98]

I guess it’s to play it safe but it’s good to get the Gulf ocean debris out of the rocks to get them cleaned up. Put in a QT to observe and when you do water changes use your tank water in the QT. I’d start with water changes and dunked in buckets of every couple of days at first then less the longer they are in Qt. Fun to see what’s on the LR so you can decide on aqua- scaping showing the best side of each LR. It doesn’t feel like you’re wasting time because the whole process is fun IMO

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

i just got 25 lbs of their premium L.R and it was full of critters that will throw your "pest free" system out the window i wish i could find the annoying pistol shrimp that clicks all night i got 20 of them out but at least 1 made it by and all the crabs H.S!!! i thought i got them all too but there are crab molts in the sand. and all the die off will shoot nitrates thru the roof even with 2 week cure with w.c's im still detecting die off and alk spikes. so i would possibly do it differently...

 

[Jeffcb]

Very happy with KP here.

I got 125 lbs shipped in water and it cycled in 5 days with 3 large water changes as Phillip recommended.

I did start with an empty tank.

125 Lbs. of KP Live Rock on airplane now.

Its been years since I have done this. Last time I got rock it was wrapped in wet news paper and was a long cycle. Smelly. This is shipped in water and weighs 285 pounds with water. Freight was high but supposedly better. Its going in my Reefer 900 (240gal) which was has been full and running...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[tautog83]

i just got 25 lbs of their premium L.R and it was full of critters that will throw your "pest free" system out the window i wish i could find the annoying pistol shrimp that clicks all night i got 20 of them out but at least 1 made it by and all the crabs H.S!!! i thought i got them all too but there are crab molts in the sand. and all the die off will shoot nitrates thru the roof even with 2 week cure with w.c's im still detecting die off and alk spikes. so i would possibly do it differently...

That's with just 25lbs imagine what the guy with 125 lbs has. Not to mention the hugeeeee dent in his wallet .

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

That's with just 25lbs imagine what the guy with 125 lbs has. Not to mention the hugeeeee dent in his wallet .

yeah im serious it great rock i am happy with it dont read me wrong, but the o.p mentioned "pest free" system so i just wanted to share my exp. and i hate pistol shrimps!!!! anyway i did a thread about it with pics if you want to see.

there is tons of spaghetti worms hydroids on the glasss, tons of other unknown worms the pest i already mentioned, and all the sponges and colors die off i had all the coraline algae stay, but its had allot of dye off.

 

[areefer01]

Hmm...you have 3 options:

1. Play it safe and QT / isolate it from main system
2. Place in the display and remove what you feel may be unacceptable
3. Add diversity by other means (Indo Pacific Sea Farms rubble, AquaBiomics reef rubble (when in stock), Garf wonder mud (not sure if they are still selling though), or similar products.

Note: I recently added about 25 lbs to my main display. Ick or similar diseases are not going to be part of the package as it is shipped direct from the ocean to your door or air freight drop. So that leaves oceanic hitch hikers. There is a higher risk here of having something end up in your display that you may not want such as a Gorilla crab, pistol shrimp, or mantis shrimp. These sorts of things. Visit KP's portal and you can see a list. So if you have a fear of these then isolation is your best bet. Since I wasn't worried about diseases I opted to place my rock in the sump for about 48 hours then I moved it to my main display.

Please note that you are paying a premium for the rock and an insane amount of money for shipping today. So don't do anything that will harm the rock like putting it in dark places for a long period of time. The rock is amazingly full of life so a lighted sump, QT or isolation tank is best. Not a dark environment with no light for any length of time.

In mine shipment I had about 7 red mithrax crabs, 2 gorilla crabs, 1 decorator crab, 1 hermit, too many to count mini brittle stars, unknown encrusted coral, and a large sponge. Red mithrax crabs are in my display. Gorilla is in sump and the other in my overflow box. Decorator crab I can't find at the moment. If there are any worms, which I'm sure there are, my copperband already took care of.

One other thing I'd recommend before doing this (if you haven't already). Order up a kit from AquaBiomics and view the results first. This is your starting point. KP rock is good. Just like TBS. My concern or worry is that you are paying a premium so one should ensure they can do everything to keep that life going. If that makes sense.

 

[TnFishwater98]

yeah im serious it great rock i am happy with it dont read me wrong, but the o.p mentioned "pest free" system so i just wanted to share my exp. and i hate pistol shrimps!!!! anyway i did a thread about it with pics if you want to see.

there is tons of spaghetti worms hydroids on the glasss, tons of other unknown worms the pest i already mentioned, and all the sponges and colors die off i had all the coraline algae stay, but its had allot of dye off.

I didn’t get any pistol shrimp from Gulf Live Rock ....I guess I got lucky no bads to mention. I’ve ordered twice and plan on another order soon

 

[Reefing102]

I personally love my KP. I got 80 lbs. 65 of the starter and 15 of the premium (if I remember right). I did two orders, added it to directly to my established tank and did not experience any significant spike in anything. That said, the weather was a bit nicer so die off was minimal at best. As for pests, I specifically ordered it to get hitchhikers. The only pests I got were 1 mantis, 2 Bearded Fireworms, and a few too many Mithrax crabs. The starfish, curly que anemone, pistols, baby urchins, encrusting corals, and other worms and such I love finding new things. Just note if you quarantine it, I would definitely keep it well lit so you don’t have too much die off from macro algae’s, coralline, etc.

 

[areefer01]

I personally love my KP. I got 80 lbs. 65 of the starter and 15 of the premium (if I remember right). I did two orders, added it to directly to my established tank and did not experience any significant spike in anything. That said, the weather was a bit nicer so die off was minimal at best. As for pests, I specifically ordered it to get hitchhikers. The only pests I got were 1 mantis, 2 Bearded Fireworms, and a few too many Mithrax crabs. The starfish, curly que anemone, pistols, baby urchins, encrusting corals, and other worms and such I love finding new things. Just note if you quarantine it, I would definitely keep it well lit so you don’t have too much die off from macro algae’s, coralline, etc.

This is what you pay for, right? And with a bit of patience we can remove just about anything from an established reef these days.

 

[rishma]

I got 10lbs shipped in water. Very happy with it. I have a pistol I hear once in a while. Doesn’t bother me. I think there is one gorilla crab I missed. Tiny, half the size of a dime, but will need to get him somehow.
I had it in a separate tank for a month while I got the display going. No ammonia or nitrite during that period. I hunted crabs a night! I got 4, but I know I missed one.
Otherwise the rock is fantastic. Reminds me of the good old Walt smith days

 

[jp1986]

My main concern was the hitchhikers. Just missed all the microfauna from starting with dry rock. I only plan on doing about 15 lbs. If I go ahead with the KP rock I'll quarantine it for a month or so to see what all comes on it. Would most likely just go into my sump anyway but still wanna be safe. I am going to look into the other means of adding some more diversity as well. Thanks again for all the responses.

 

[TnFishwater98]

Gulf Live Rock has a 17lb nano special for $89. I didn’t receive any bad pesto two orders I’ve placed. I’ve had for over a year. Covered in goodness.

 

[TnFishwater98]

Gulf Live Rock has a 17lb nano special for $89. I didn’t receive any bad pesto two orders I’ve placed. I’ve had for over a year. Covered in goodness.

But you probably will not want to put these LR in your sump

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

Its all a risk aefw have eggs on a frag plug what could they hide in 15lbs of live rock..

Its absolutely one way to go or the other "pest free" system and not, with any of those live rock options you automatically put yourself in the NOT line, they are not all bad but what do you want for your system if its just bio, then get the smallest flake of coraline algae or a few snails from a good tank, you already have bio. right you said your up and running? There's allot of things that you don't see on that live rock stuff that hasn't hatched yet and living deep in the rock

Like this guy(crab under plug) and a few others I missed, and the pistol shrimp that clicks all night long, that drives me nuts! I'm tearing the tank apart soon to get them all!

Just things to think about