Think I Was Wrong…It HAS TO Be Live Rock

[BiCoastal]

My macro algae did real good for a long while. Great nutrient exporter. I ended up trimming it too much and losing it, but not really disappointed in removing a maintenance feature. I had to mow the lawn very frequently. I got a protein skimmer instead. Check my tank thread for details.

Stacking the rocks is the best way in my opinion. The elaborate scapes are pretty unnatural.

Thanks @jda amd @jabberwock for your replies. I am not looking for a fancy nssa aquascape, they do look unnatural. But stacking up bunch of rock kinda feels dangerous. I have no reason to believe that rocks will fall but still can’t get over the anxiety if I were to try and glue some pieces of live rock for a sort of structure, how could I do that. Is there any epoxy or glue or cement that would work when wet or underwater? Or am I over thinking this

 

[jabberwock]

Thanks @jda amd @jabberwock for your replies. I am not looking for a fancy nssa aquascape, they do look unnatural. But stacking up bunch of rock kinda feels dangerous. I have no reason to believe that rocks will fall but still can’t get over the anxiety if I were to try and glue some pieces of live rock for a sort of structure, how could I do that. Is there any epoxy or glue or cement that would work when wet or underwater? Or am I over thinking this

In my experience with Tampa Bay Saltwater, you can start a dialog with them and talk about your tank size and goals, and they will provide you with the right rocks... Some super glue and an environment to work in, plus the understanding that there is a top and bottom to these rocks will help you create a reasonable scape.

I was setting up a 25 gallon lagoon, and they asked me what I wanted in the way of scape, critters and tank size. They nailed it...

I also held the rocks in an observation environment for several weeks to pluck out undesirable hitch hikers before I got to main DT.

 

[jabberwock]

18 months in

 

[Fishy888]

Dry. The texture is unnatural and though there is a lot of coralline, the coralline's forms aren't diverse and there is very little marine growth of other species to be seen. Your rock may be purple, but that doesn't make it truly live.

This! ^^^

There aren’t any tube worms to be seen even. I started out with dry rock thinking I’d eventually get a few pounds of live to seed the dry rock. This was when I had my 75. I ended up with dinos. It took live rock and live chaeto from a friend’s tank to be free of dinos once and for all.

I would have started out with live rock in the first place but no LFS had TRUE live rock. They only had dead rock they threw in a horse trough and dumped a bottle of bacteria and called it live rock. I STILL want gulf live rock but the nearest airports they’ll ship to are 100 and 150 miles away and even if they shipped to my door I’d be paying 25 bucks a pound and I’d have to buy $1000 worth as a minimum.

Go with some REAL live rock if you can help it. Your reef will thank you! If I ever get the chance I’ll go in on either TBS live rock or gulf live rock with someone local, which would be far more affordable for me.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

In my experience with Tampa Bay Saltwater, you can start a dialog with them and talk about your tank size and goals, and they will provide you with the right rocks... Some super glue and an environment to work in, plus the understanding that there is a top and bottom to these rocks will help you create a reasonable scape.

I was setting up a 25 gallon lagoon, and they asked me what I wanted in the way of scape, critters and tank size. They nailed it...

I also held the rocks in an observation environment for several weeks to pluck out undesirable hitch hikers before I got to main DT.

Same here, I told them what I was doing and I got exactly what I asked for

 

[dannyd_]

Big reveal!

Dry. The texture is unnatural and though there is a lot of coralline, the coralline's forms aren't diverse and there is very little marine growth of other species to be seen. Your rock may be purple, but that doesn't make it truly live.

what does make it alive then? time?

 

[dannyd_]

I am gonna go with CaribSea Liferock. Painted purple, nothing alive about it.

big reveal! dry rock, not carib sea. flattered though, it is all coraline

 

[BiCoastal]

In my experience with Tampa Bay Saltwater, you can start a dialog with them and talk about your tank size and goals, and they will provide you with the right rocks... Some super glue and an environment to work in, plus the understanding that there is a top and bottom to these rocks will help you create a reasonable scape.

I was setting up a 25 gallon lagoon, and they asked me what I wanted in the way of scape, critters and tank size. They nailed it...

I also held the rocks in an observation environment for several weeks to pluck out undesirable hitch hikers before I got to main DT.

Thanks @jabberwock good point about reaching out to them directly. You did just mention my other concern - hitchhikers I know some are good but the others…. Could you explain what you mean by keeping them in an observation tank? And how do you actually catch them

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

Big reveal!

what does make it alive then? time?

Biodiversity. Technically yours would be considered live, but in order to get all the benefits, you need to have a bunch of different bacteria, microorganisms, tunicates, sponges, invertebrates, and various micro/macroalgae. The only way to get this stuff, aside from adding corals/rock from an established tank which used live rock, is by putting some stuff from the ocean in there.

 

[dannyd_]

Biodiversity. Technically yours would be considered live, but in order to get all the benefits, you need to have a bunch of different bacteria, microorganisms, tunicates, sponges, invertebrates, and various micro/macroalgae. The only way to get this stuff, aside from adding corals/rock from an established tank which used live rock, is by putting some stuff from the ocean in there.

Yea that makes sense, starting from dry rock there simply isn't any way to introduce the biodiversity without seeding it. I am seeing all the stuff about tampa bay live rock, I am actually from the tampa bay area, any idea what the laws are on collecting rock? Would be interesting to try myself.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Yea that makes sense, starting from dry rock there simply isn't any way to introduce the biodiversity without seeding it. I am seeing all the stuff about tampa bay live rock, I am actually from the tampa bay area, any idea what the laws are on collecting rock? Would be interesting to try myself.

They have a lease, way off shore. There is a video

 

[jabberwock]

Yea that makes sense, starting from dry rock there simply isn't any way to introduce the biodiversity without seeding it. I am seeing all the stuff about tampa bay live rock, I am actually from the tampa bay area, any idea what the laws are on collecting rock? Would be interesting to try myself.

Seeding does not introduce the biodiversity you seek. It comes from the ocean.

Do not collect rock yourself without the proper permits, which you will never get!

 

[dannyd_]

Seeding does not introduce the biodiversity you seek. It comes from the ocean.

Do not collect rock yourself without the proper permits, which you will never get!

Was just asking. and I meant seeding as in with live rock.

 

[jabberwock]

Was just asking. and I meant seeding as in with live rock.

Seeding with live rock is reasonable, but, the dry rock you would be seeding is devoid of life, and opens the door to undesirable algae, aptaisia, etc, because the space (available real estate) is not already occupied.

 

[jabberwock]

Thanks @jabberwock good point about reaching out to them directly. You did just mention my other concern - hitchhikers I know some are good but the others…. Could you explain what you mean by keeping them in an observation tank? And how do you actually catch them

Check my tank thread for details. Catch them by hook or by crook. Tweezers, traps, nets, fingers, whatever it takes.

 

[dannyd_]

Just read something interesting about collecting the live rock, it says that the state of florida no longer issues permits for it, so once the owners of the two companies in florida collecting live rock can no longer dive, then we won't be able to get live rock from tampa bay anymore, quite sad.

 

[jabberwock]

Just read something interesting about collecting the live rock, it says that the state of florida no longer issues permits for it, so once the owners of the two companies in florida collecting live rock can no longer dive, then we won't be able to get live rock from tampa bay anymore, quite sad.

The folks at TBS are pretty young. They purchased it from the OG retiring owner. I give them at least 20 tears of continuing the lease!

 

[jabberwock]

The folks at TBS are pretty young. They purchased it from the OG retiring owner. I give them at least 20 tears of continuing the lease!

They also do local pick up! That's what I did, saved a ton on shipping but had to rent a beach house for my wife...

 

[dannyd_]

They also do local pick up! That's what I did, saved a ton on shipping but had to rent a beach house for my wife...

That is good to know, I will most likely do that for a larger tank in the future, hoping to get a job in tampa after school so that would work out.

 

[schooncw]

Scroll down for a good article on live rock.

Mastering the Basics: Reefing 101

*Note that the article below is simply my opinion and experiences over 25+ years of successfully reefing. I am not a scientist and some of my methods and what I say may rub against popular opinion and science...

www.reef2reef.com