Live Rock doesnt need to be cured?

[cnl83]

I was shopping around at Live Rock n Reef, and Noticed there headline says Live Rock does not need to be cured. I also noticed that their rock looks alot more alive than the local fish store and other sites. Their rock is crawling with critters. Has anyone bought from them before? and why wouldnt rock need to cure?

one more thing. Man Rock is expensive! Seems like I can hit the local beach and grab my own rock. We dont have rock off of our coast?

Cherry Primo Picked Decorator

[Kibouchi]

Live rock doesn't need to be cured. It's more expensive if you buy it cured. Curing just means it's been through the cycle and the bacteria is active and breeding. You can do that yourself, it just takes longer. But it's worth the wait for the money you save.

I say buy uncured live rock. Saving money is a bad thing when it comes to scrimping on equipment like protein skimmers and lights. But for something like live rock, with a little patience it'll cure on its own.

As for using rocks off the beach, I'd advise against that. You don't want to use rocks from an uncontrolled environment because it has god knows what on it. You could be bringing a bad foregin contaminent into your tank and creating a bigger problem to deal with later. The amount of money you have to spend on a tank can be very daunting, but you really want to stay on the straight and narrow when it comes to setting up your tank. The ecosystem of your reef is very fragile, so it's important to spend the money and do it right.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not experienced in this, I just know what I've researched and what several experts (including many on this board) have told me. But I don't know, one of them might post after me and tell me that everything I just said was BS.

[cnl83]

Live rock doesn't need to be cured. It's more expensive if you buy it cured. Curing just means it's been through the cycle and the bacteria is active and breeding. You can do that yourself, it just takes longer. But it's worth the wait for the money you save.

I say buy uncured live rock. Saving money is a bad thing when it comes to scrimping on equipment like protein skimmers and lights. But for something like live rock, with a little patience it'll cure on its own.

As for using rocks off the beach, I'd advise against that. You don't want to use rocks from an uncontrolled environment because it has god knows what on it. You could be bringing a bad foregin contaminent into your tank and creating a bigger problem to deal with later. The amount of money you have to spend on a tank can be very daunting, but you really want to stay on the straight and narrow when it comes to setting up your tank. The ecosystem of your reef is very fragile, so it's important to spend the money and do it right.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not experienced in this, I just know what I've researched and what several experts (including many on this board) have told me. But I don't know, one of them might post after me and tell me that everything I just said was BS.

Yeah, im thinking about getting in a boat and going a little ways out. I would go snorkling at a beach and do that. I always wanted to do a bit of diving anyway. Where do you get uncured rock?

[tedlepplin]

hi cnl83,

I am in the same boat as kibouchi, super keen to learn but not very experiensed.

I would say that true live rock is rock "straight from the sea." althought it has been hanging about and some of its shipped around the world it has been kept in water at all times to preserve as much life as possible. You will pay quite a bit for this type of rock.

Dead rock, is often seen in a dry pile in a box at the lfs althought it was live at one stage, its not anymore. This rock is much cheaper but will eventually perform the same task. As the tank cycles barteria will grow. I wish I had a photo but i bought some recently that was labled something like
"live (dead) fiji rock"

i do see their thinking in doing it, i.e. they need to let you the customer know its is good quality and here's why.

differnt rock has different density. something like fiji rock is very light as its porus, you need this quality to brow the bacteria required to support your tank. if you used granite for e.g its very impermiable and hence bacteria will onnot be able to form on in it anwhere near the same numbers as the fiji rock. hence less worth having it in the tank, and it could mean your tank is under filtered.

Taking rocks might be against the law, and in a way you have no idea whats on or in the rock.... who knows.....

what I have done is buy a fair few kg's dead rock, and 4kgs of l/r. put the dead in first, the live on top and wait.

Its the same with sand, sand sold in a bag labled "live sand" in my opion is a waste of cash. how can it be live bone dry inside of a bag thats been in the store 6 months?

if it was me i would buy 2/3 dead 1/3 live if cost is an issue.... this is just my opionion that i have formed with help and advice of this forum and my own research..

You cant rush things if you want a successful beautiful tank, they just happen when the timing is right.

[Ninong]

I was shopping around at Live Rock n Reef, and Noticed there headline says Live Rock does not need to be cured.

They're talking about aquacultured Gulf of Mexico live rock that they collect in the morning and ship in the afternoon. You would still have a small amount of die-off.

I also noticed that their rock looks alot more alive than the local fish store and other sites. Their rock is crawling with critters. Has anyone bought from them before? and why wouldnt rock need to cure?

The picture of the rock you linked to appears to be aquacultured live rock. That means it's pieces of limestone that are dug up and then placed on racks in the Gulf to age and turn into live rock. That process takes about two years. Then they pick it up as needed to fill orders.

one more thing. Man Rock is expensive!

Well, yes, everything about this hobby is expensive. Better to make a list of everything that you will need in advance, including all the various test kits, so that you won't be hit with sticker shock later on.

Seems like I can hit the local beach and grab my own rock.

That's EXTREMELY illegal. It is against the law to collect live rock anywhere in the territorial waters of the United States. The fines are severe!

We dont have rock off of our coast?

Not off the Louisiana coast, unless you consider the Flower Garden Banks to be off Louisiana. The Florida Keys have live rock, of course, but you can't touch it unless you want to go to jail.

Cherry Primo Picked Decorator

I have never heard of that company but it appears that they are operating out of the Tampa Bay area, which is where there is a large live-rock aquaculture facility. The pictures appear to be aquacultured live rock, not natural live rock from the South Pacific. Aquacultured Gulf of Mexico live rock will have a lot of life but it will all be life indigenous to the Tampa Bay area. You will get the good and the bad. Caveat emptor.