Market for pest free live rock

Claymundo

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Is there anyone out there who would pay top dollar for pest free live rock? Or is it more worth it to just buy dry rock/ live rock from lfs that more than likely is housing aptasia. Im thinking about getting a system going to cultivate live rock that will be pest free. Thanks for your thoughts.
 

Jekyl

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In my opinion there's no hitchhiker out there that is not worth getting live rock. Everything can be dealt with as it presents. The advantages outweigh the possible negative
 
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Claymundo

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In my opinion there's no hitchhiker out there that is not worth getting live rock. Everything can be dealt with as it presents. The advantages outweigh the possible negative
So if there was an option where you could get pest free live rock for a few more dollars a pound would you do that or save the cash and deal with the pests later?
 

Jekyl

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So if there was an option where you could get pest free live rock for a few more dollars a pound would you do that or save the cash and deal with the pests later?
I wouldn't spend extra, no. I'd go the opposite route and get KP or gulfliverock
 

BeltedCoyote

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Barring the few outliers like gorilla crabs or the odd bobbit, chances are you’ll eventually end up with the same “pests” anyway, simply by accidentally introducing things via coral, CUC, etc.


after spending the last two years researching, I’d rather spend extra money to get maricultured live rock shipped in water than something with bacteria only. I’m also team biodiversity however.
 
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Claymundo

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Barring the few outliers like gorilla crabs or the odd bobbit, chances are you’ll eventually end up with the same “pests” anyway, simply by accidentally introducing things via coral, CUC, etc.


after spending the last two years researching, I’d rather spend extra money to get maricultured live rock shipped in water than something with bacteria only. I’m also team biodiversity however.
These are very good points, thank you.
 

mdb_talon

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For me it depends on how you define live rock. If you mean something that was tossed in a tank a few days or even weeks ago and has cycled....then no i would buy dry rock and do it myself or use ocean rock.

If by "live" you mean clean tank matured rock that has been in a running system for months and years then sure I would and have done so(convincing LFS to sell me some pieces from established display or the sumps).

I would prefer clean tank matured live rock or ocean live rock anyday, but think we dont see that as the cost to create truly mature tank "raised" live rock for sale would be too high on a large scale.
 

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Define "pest free" and what is considered a pest and what is not. Back in the day Walt Smith would mist his Fiji live rock on racks for weeks so the mantis shrimp and bristle worms would drop off. Many consider the bristle worm a valuable member of a reef tank.

Looking at the prices of live rock now with shipping overnight, it wouldn't make good business sense to offer a quarantined cultured live rock. Where would the price land?
 

BeltedCoyote

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These are very good points, thank you.

my pleasure friend. At the end of the day, you’ll figure out which method best fits your plan. I started off all about pest free and got 75lbs of marco rock. I still can’t afford to go full maricultured for my tank, but I figure I’ll compromise. Use the marco I have to make a scape and then add 15-30lbs of rock from gulf, kp, or salty bottom.

Honestly wish I could get more. But it is what it is. And don’t forget, you can still qt the ocean rock. I plan to do so, if nothing else to deal with any die off and ammonia spikes.
 

PSU4ME

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QTd rock for sure but not pest free. As stated I’d rather buy it abs get it shipped in water.

I qtd my LR from KP and I found tons of cool stuff abs after 76 days, in it went and the coris wrasse went to work
 
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Claymundo

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For me it depends on how you define live rock. If you mean something that was tossed in a tank a few days or even weeks ago and has cycled....then no i would buy dry rock and do it myself or use ocean rock.

If by "live" you mean clean tank matured rock that has been in a running system for months and years then sure I would and have done so(convincing LFS to sell me some pieces from established display or the sumps).

I would prefer clean tank matured live rock or ocean live rock anyday, but think we dont see that as the cost to create truly mature tank "raised" live rock for sale would be too high on a large scale.
All great points, my thoughts were to cure the rock for a some time, the minimum I had in mind was 5 months.... at first. Enough time for it to have a nice bacteria culture. I'm not thinking of it as necessarily a large scale operation at first, although I do have some things in mind to scale. Of course it would take over a year before I could gather and culture enough to supply a large demand.
 
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Claymundo

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Define "pest free" and what is considered a pest and what is not. Back in the day Walt Smith would mist his Fiji live rock on racks for weeks so the mantis shrimp and bristle worms would drop off. Many consider the bristle worm a valuable member of a reef tank.

Looking at the prices of live rock now with shipping overnight, it wouldn't make good business sense to offer a quarantined cultured live rock. Where would the price land?
 
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Claymundo

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My definition of pest free is pretty much a bacteria only live rock. I would start with dry rock and culture the bacteria myself in its own system with no livestock or coral to bring any pests. On a small scale it's looking just about $10 a pound with shipping being passed to the purchaser.
 

Azedenkae

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Is there anyone out there who would pay top dollar for pest free live rock? Or is it more worth it to just buy dry rock/ live rock from lfs that more than likely is housing aptasia. Im thinking about getting a system going to cultivate live rock that will be pest free. Thanks for your thoughts.
I think some people may want it, myself included, for at least some setups. Nice to have things you want already growing (coralline, etc.). However it has to accompany pest-free live stock though, which is the challenge.

For example, I started with dry rock, yay no pests. Then got coral that had aiptasia, and so it rendered the whole thing moot.

Which is why for most of my setups I would just do whatever, because I feel like with all the sources of live stock I am gonna buy from, I am bound to introduce unwanted life into my tank somehow.

Only if I want to set up something that is super duper controlled would I then consider pest-free live rock, and then also pest-free live stock. But that's a lot of work and would be a rarity rather than the norm for me.
 

PeterZammetti

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Is there anyone out there who would pay top dollar for pest free live rock? Or is it more worth it to just buy dry rock/ live rock from lfs that more than likely is housing aptasia. Im thinking about getting a system going to cultivate live rock that will be pest free. Thanks for your thoughts.
The only 2 main pests we want to try and avoid would be flatworms and aptasia. This being said. No human can prevent aptasia and this is why...it is microscopic. If you take one scraping of corraline from an unknown tank, you may get aptasia. So unless you went complete dry roock and killed the live sand with fresh water for a few days then quarantined everything you stuck in your tank, you could still sneeze and get it lol. One good thing to do when you get liverock is do a freshwater/then seachem coral dip/then freshwater again dip. Then just put it in.
 

PeterZammetti

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The only 2 main pests we want to try and avoid would be flatworms and aptasia. This being said. No human can prevent aptasia and this is why...it is microscopic. If you take one scraping of corraline from an unknown tank, you may get aptasia. So unless you went complete dry roock and killed the live sand with fresh water for a few days then quarantined everything you stuck in your tank, you could still sneeze and get it lol. One good thing to do when you get liverock is do a freshwater/then seachem coral dip/then freshwater again dip. Then just put it in.
bristle worms are your friend!
 

Scooters Reef

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bristle worms are your friend!
Bristle worms, yes. Well most Polychaete are good in the tank. I’d prefer no Pherecardia, Hermodice Fire worms. Certainly no Flatworms!
We do what we can and enjoy the reef and inhabitants along the way. Trying not to let the pests ruin it or take too much focus. Though, do keep things in balance. Able as we are.
 

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