live rock and dead rock

[scomar31]

I am new to salt water and I am setting up a fowlr 55 tank. I have been reading everything on this site to get me prepared... My lfs has some nice live rock but is either $8 / lb or $15/lb depending on how much "stuff" is growing on it. Due to their prices I cannot afford 75lbs of this stuff. I was thinking of buying some dried/dead rock from Marco's rocks then seeding it with some of the live rock from my lfs. Will this work? Also, I have seen mixed reviews on Marcos rocks, has anyone ordered from him lately and were you treated fairly? Last question, do I add the aragonite or substrate before or after the live rock?

 

[stunreefer]

Yes you can get Marco rock and add some smaller pieces/rubble to "seed" the dry rock.

You can add sand before or after, doesn't reallty matter. Usually I do sand first then add rock. Make sure to rinse the sand well.

With certain dry rock it's good to rinse the heck out it too... sometimes there is dirt/crap/algae struck in it or on it that you don't really want to add to your tank.

 

[Marc]

Hi Scomar31,
Thanks for thinking of us,
Your plan sounds perfect it'll work well.

I can assure you you'll be "treated fairly"
If you have any questions about your set up, cycling or what rock is what feel free to shoot off an email or call.

Marc

 

[scomar31]

Hi Scomar31,
Thanks for thinking of us,
Your plan sounds perfect it'll work well.

I can assure you you'll be "treated fairly"
If you have any questions about your set up, cycling or what rock is what feel free to shoot off an email or call.

Marc

Thanks for the help.

Marc, I am more than likely going to place an order from you because I like the products on your website. I also saw some pics from another user of your shipment to him and the rock looked great. Just when I saw the not so great reviews I had to ask. Also, for a 55 gal will the key largo rock work well once I add my lfs carribbean live rock?

 

[scomar31]

also guys should I spend the money on caribsea aragonite or live sand or will any cheaper off brand regular sand "go live" once the live rock is added? I appreciate all the help for this rookie! I don't want the fish to pay the price for my mistakes...

 

[Marc]

No worries,
Just look at the dates when you read posts
The sudden Fiji shut down hit us pretty hard last year, things have changed quite a bit since then.

 

[Adam_T]

Nemo Fish in Charlotte sells great Live Rock with Coralline patches all over it for $3.50 per pound if you are interested. Nemo Fish: Salt Water Fish and Coral Charlotte NC

 

[scomar31]

Thanks Adam, I am actually in Charlotte about once a month so I will Check it out.

 

[ilovereef]

sometime buying dead rocks is better than buying "cured" live rocks that arn't cured properly, and end up with a disaster, just to let evey here know, "cured" LR in over 50% of the LFS, are not truely cured. If you don't see fish swimming in them, I probably wouldn't buy them.

 

[stunreefer]

also guys should I spend the money on caribsea aragonite or live sand or will any cheaper off brand regular sand "go live" once the live rock is added?

Just get dry sand. Believe it or not there is actually bacteria living on dry sand that will help establish your tank. The bacteria that's on "live sand" needs oxygen, and how much do you think is in those bags over an extended period of time?

Make sure to have your tank fully established prior to adding anything, and add stock slowly as to not disrupt your biological fitration system too fast.

 

[BASA]

I finally got my tank cycleing this weeked and this is what i did.

Searched craigslist and reef2reef for someone selling the dry rock. You can get it for a much better price than buying LR.
I found 200 pounds or dry/dead coral on craigs list and paid 250.00 for it. Then I called all the LFS to find the best price on Oolite Aragonite sand. Turns out that PetsMart sells a 30lb dry bag for 20 bucks. I would have rather given the LFS the buisness but they wanted 10$ more for the same stuff.

After I had the tank set up I went to the LFS and bought a few small pieces of LR some Live Sand and 2 Damsels. I put the damsels in the sump, the LS on top of the "dead sand" (dont spread it out) and added the rubble LR to the "dead rock".

Saved me a lot of money and it really wont take much longer for the tank to cycle.

 

[scomar31]

great replies everyone, I appreciate the help!

 

[makingbubbles]

I started my tank with 6 bags dead sand (1 bag live) 30lbs dead rock and 1 small live rock. best thing you can do if you dont want any dirty hitchhikers.

 

[BASA]

Update: I am pretty sure my tank has cycled, took less than 2 weeks.

Ph 8.2
Nitrate between 5 and 10 ppm
Nitrite 0
Ammonia .25

Im going to get another source check these because I am pretty sure u cant have zero Nitrite and have Ammonia. If one is zero they should both be zero. I bought a API test kit and I have to say i am not very happy with it. The results can be very hard to make out.

 

[whitleyjb]

I have set tanks up with live rock and Marco rock (Nice rock, light weight) and recommend the Marco rock.

You can get too many hitchikers on the live rock. It does take a while for the rock to get some color, but in the long run I think it is safer and worth the extra time. Be careful with what you seed it with or you could end up with the same problems.