[SKRIZ]

He guys!

I am looking for a good place to buy LR. I am working on a 600g tank. how much rock do you think?

btw, it will eventually be a reef.

oh yeah,

10' long, 3' wide, 3'tall.

thanks

[BubbaWPB]

Hmmm... according to GARF's calculator you're closer to 700 gallons... 673 not counting sand and rock. General suggestions are for 1 to 1½ pounds of live rock per gallon. 600 pounds of live rock is a lot!

[SKRIZ]

Bubba, everything on this tank is A LOT!

that is why it is even more critical that I get a good deal, but also get some really nice rock. The Fiji stuff has been looking like junk lately.

Since the tank is so tall, I figure I will need mostly large show pieces. Could I get away with using base rock under the nice stuff to cheapen the load? I don't want to skimp if it will be better to use only the good stuff.

[BubbaWPB]

Well, there are options...

I used about 100 pounds of generic, no-name reefbone type rock because of the price. Here's a link for the brand name ReefBones®. The petrified coral limestone rock is easily available and plentiful here in south Florida. I cured the dead rock for about 4 weeks (after rinsing them twice, very well) with about 100 pounds of fresh Tonga live rock and a few pieces of Fiji live rock before I put all 230 pounds in the tank.

Although it is not cheap, another alternative is ceramic rocks... you can get big, nice-shaped peices. Here's a link with some pictures and prices. You might want to consider one or two large pieces for architechtural purposes in addition to live rock.

Ordering drop shipped rock is also much cheapter - I got a very nice shipment from Tonga from one of our sponsors, Pacific East. Shipping to FL was $62 so it came out to be a little less than $3.70 per pound. The box I got had 3 very nice big pieces, two nice arched-shaped pieces and some smaller stuff. Nice color and a variety of shapes - flat, branch, coral heads, etc - all very porous. You might want to call Pacific East or a few of our other sponsors to see if you can get deals on drop shipped rock directly from the Pacific.

I considered the 10'X3'X3' tank... when I figured out that a 10% water change was about 100 gallons (taking a nice sized sump into account), I settled on something a bit more modest. Good luck! We'll be looking for pics!

Bubba
"Bigger *IS* better!" (at least when it comes to tanks)

[BubbaWPB]

Oh, I forgot another option... at least here in south Florida, Haitian rock is readily available and cheap. However, most if it is not pourous at all, and it tends to have nasty hitch-hikers (Aiptasia, gorilla crabs, nasty little mantis shrimp, etc.). It is a viable option - it just takes some patience to rid your tank of the nasties.

Brazilian live rock is also available at a cheaper price here in FL than Pacific live rock - it is more porous than Haitian, but can have the same hitch-hikers and tends to be round like baseballs and softballs... pretty round stuff. Some nice colors and coral hitch hikers, but a whole tank full of baseballs is hard to aquascape.

[Reefland]

You might simply to try contact a few of our sponsors (like Premium, Pacific East, etc.) and see what kind of deal they will cut you on a large purcahse of rock. You could do a mix of base and quality live so include that when your talking to them. I would think they might cut you a deal (maybe about $.50 per lb off) for such a large amount.

[zhenya]

Another option would be to incorporate some DIY rock made of aragocrete.
Check our DIY forum for DIY rock and some ideas of how to make it. I think you can make some interesting, large pieces and mix them into a nice aquascape. Good luck on aquascaping 3' tall tank, I hope you have long arms....

[Reefland]

Thought this might interest you:
Fiji Premium Live Rock SPECIAL

[WillieM96]

Has anyone here ever bought from Drs. Foster and Smith (www.liveaquaria.com)? They have a premium fiji rock where they guarantee 80%-90% corraline algae coverage. Can anyone vouge for them?

[WillieM96]

vouge=vouch...sorry

[BubbaWPB]

Gene, I forgot about the aragacrete option... that would be even more inexpensive than the ReefBones... SKRIZ, you can find the infamous aragacrete recipe at www.garf.org under the HOW TO folder.

[SKRIZ]

thanks all!

I have inquired about the transhipped option, and it seems that it will be the best route to go.

I don't know if i read it wrong, or I was just too sleepy, but the DIY stuff need a long time to cure. I'll have too look at it again.

Pics coming soon

[SKRIZ]

I also can't find anybody that carries reefbones. any ideas on who i can try?

reefbones look like a viable option, if the price is right.

[Floyd]

You might want to call Premium aquatics. www.premiumaquatics.com They have great looking fiji and huge peices also. You could probaly get it for around 3.50 a pound. Maybe less because of the amount.