Live rock from Bali or any other place? Which do you prefer?

[Steelen]

Okay so my LFS sells live rock from Bali. I think on some occasions they also sell Hawaii and Fiji.

Which one would be the better option? And which one do you guys prefer when it comes to using live rock?

Would love to see a discussion and experiences.



P.S. Sorry for all these questions. It makes me look really dumb, I am so new to the hobby I'd rather ask 1000 questions then fail majorly the first time.

 

[Steelen]

Bump

 

[ebushrow]

Well, the majority of what you will find will be from Bali or Florida, strictly from the point that they're the only 2 places that have cultured live rock, at least to some extent. I have started with live rock, dry live rock, cheap base rock, and tonga branch.

Negatives with live rock
- unwanted hitch hikers,
- mass die off of organisms on the rock
- my wife would say the smell of the tank after you add it to it.
- price
- Eco-footprint- as in effects on the local community it is removed from

Pros for live rock
- lots of macro and micro fauna to Wouk and grow in your tank
- look of rocks with some form of life on them

I would suggest either dry live rock or ceramic live rock if you want to do it right. Vida-rock is amazing stuff and will not leach or bring hitch hikers into your tank. It also is colored to look like Coraline encrusted live rock so the look you will want overall will be there when you add it. I have several pieces in my tanks and several pieces I have not done anything with. Feel free to pm me if you want a couple of photos.

 

[Steelen]

Well, the majority of what you will find will be from Bali or Florida, strictly from the point that they're the only 2 places that have cultured live rock, at least to some extent. I have started with live rock, dry live rock, cheap base rock, and tonga branch.

Negatives with live rock
- unwanted hitch hikers,
- mass die off of organisms on the rock
- my wife would say the smell of the tank after you add it to it.
- price
- Eco-footprint- as in effects on the local community it is removed from

Pros for live rock
- lots of macro and micro fauna to Wouk and grow in your tank
- look of rocks with some form of life on them

I would suggest either dry live rock or ceramic live rock if you want to do it right. Vida-rock is amazing stuff and will not leach or bring hitch hikers into your tank. It also is colored to look like Coraline encrusted live rock so the look you will want overall will be there when you add it. I have several pieces in my tanks and several pieces I have not done anything with. Feel free to pm me if you want a couple of photos.

Mine sells maricultured live rock. What is the difference between that and live rock?
Also how bad are the unwanted hitch hikers? What are the chances? And is there something I can do in advanced?

How bad is the smell? It will be next to my bed so.

 

[ebushrow]

Mariculture just means grown in the ocean...dead base rock dumped in a leased portion of the ocean and things allowed to colonize it.

Hitch hikers can be devastating, from bobbit worms to aptasia, just depends on your stomach for risk...I know that if I get a bobbit worm and my gem tang gets eaten by it I would go nuts...or if I got some acro eating flatworms that destroyed my Sps. Just look around the forums on how many people will acid dip, bleach, or cook their "live rock" to get rid of unwanted stuff....and if you feel you can and want to take the risk, I would go for it....these are extreme situations I am speaking of but just do a search on reef 2 reef. Just be patient and do lots of research before you start.

 

[Steelen]

Thanks.

I googled the hitchhikers and some are dangerous from what I saw but now at least I know where to look for when the time gets there. (Hopefully end of February when my vacation is paid off lol) Some of the "guides/overviews" gave me a broad idea of how some things look and in some cases how to get rid of them when they are harmful. The chances of it happening or low but i'd rather be prepared.

 

[MatteZ]

Why do you want live rock? It is much cheaper and safer to buy dry rock. it will all become live over time. dry rock you pay for the rock weight. with live rock you are paying for all that water weight.

 

[Steelen]

I am not flying the LR in, its from my LFS around the corner. The extra weight comes from beneficial features on the rock not the moisture. On top of that it will be a good learning experience to see how LR acts since its my first tank. Plus it will also help with the cycle a bit.

I know dry rock is "lighter" and safer. I have read and asked questions all over the place to gather information that I need to make my steps. So thats why I asked about the LR preferences and experiences from others.