Live Rock: Help Finding

[Ehof1]

I'm starting a 5.5 gallon nano reef tank as a little side hobby. I have sand, light, water and heater all ready to go.
I'm pretty sure I'm now ready for some Live Rock.

I Want to make this an experiment and only put LR in the tank to see what hitchhikers make the trip and appear (coral, sponges, anemones, etc). For this I will be wanting PremiumLR.

So, I have a couple questions.

I have, to the best of my knowledge, not come across PremiumLR at any of my LFSs, in Louisville Ky.
Other than asking, and risk them giving me false information, is there a way that I can tell for myself that the LR is Premium?

EDIT: Would you recommend cured or Uncured?

Would it be better to order off line? And, if so, where can I order it by the pound?

How much LR would you recommend for a 5.5G reef tank.

And, lastly, I'm just curious to know what surprises some of you have gotten in your tank from your LR.

Thanks In Advance.
-Evan

[Ehof1]

[Lucid]

I would definitely grab some uncured since you want to see what hitchhikers you'll get. Problem though, is I don't know if you will be able to get a box lot small enough for the 5.5g. If you had another tank setup then you could get a 16lb box for nanos.

[Ehof1]

I found this Uncured Fiji Premium rock here, by the pound.

How many pounds should I get? Will 8 or 10 be enough?

If I let this rock cure in the tank wont it send levels soaring?
Regular water changes will take care of this though, right?

Premium Fiji UN-Cured Live Rock: Premium Aquatics

[Lucid]

When I did my tank, I just put uncured rock in it with no livestock. Yeah your ammonia will spike high for about a week, then the nitrite. When nitrites get to about zero, then you can do a 50% water change.

Make sure the pieces are small for a nano tank or else you'll probably get one big rock. I'd contact them before ordering. 8lbs would likely be plenty IMO. I guess it depends on how many corals you'd want (for space considerations).

[Ehof1]

I went ahead and ordered 10 Lbs a few minutes ago. They had a little request box where you could request what size and shape rocks you wanted. So hopefully all will turn out well. If 10 Lbs is too much I can put some in my FOWLR tank after curing.

Thanks for your help!

[Lucid]