[Reefer769]

hey!

i want to go out and buy some live rock to scape into a reef for my 10 gal, and i just wanted to know the names of some good live rock for cheap. thanks

[Reefland]

Nothing at all is cheap; or should I rephrase, nothing that is good is cheap.

You should be looking for something that is light weight but has some size to it, has good coralline algae coverage and does not smell like roadkill. Premium Fiji, Kaelini, Marshall Island are some of the common names you will hear but rock is collected at different times from different places and can be "named" anything. You should go by size, weight, smell and visible life.

Scott Z.

[FishPharmD]

Originally Posted by Reefer769

hey!

i want to go out and buy some live rock to scape into a reef for my 10 gal, and i just wanted to know the names of some good live rock for cheap. thanks

Well, cheap depends on what you pay for.....you do get what you pay for in this hobby, most of the time....

Live rock can be found pretty cheaply online, but in your case, since you only need 10-15 lbs, the shipping charges wouldn't be worth it. You can probably find a nearby LFS that sells it for less than online does + shipping charges (for 10 lbs of live rock, you can add $3.50-5.00/lb. for shipping charges.

Live rock comes cured and uncured. Cured means most of the indigenous critters have died off, and usually the rock won't cause a nitrogen spike, depending on if your tank has cycled or not. You can tell by the way the rock smells....if it has a strong, pungent odor, it is uncured. Cured rock is usually more expensive than uncured rock, b/c it's been sitting in a dealer's tank for a few weeks.

Uncured rock is less expensive and more colorful. It still has some critters on it, but some are in the process of dying off from the moment the piece was removed from the ocean. This kind of rock can cause a big ammonia/nitrite/nitrate cascade in your tank, so it's best to start with this stuff a few weeks before you add anything else. You can try to save some stuff you want on the rock (sponges, corals, featherdusters, etc) if you want by doing frequent water changes.

If you have a choice, I'd suggest Fiji or Tonga. Marshall Is. rock is the premium stuff IMO, and if you can find Carribbean it is ususally nice too. Any of these are good choices. There are other good choices too, but these are the most common.

Look for rock that has purple/green spots on it. This is coralline algae, and in the right lighting, it will spread and eventually cover the entire surface of your rock, providing a beautiful structural support for your reef.

One more thing.....I'd highly suggest trading in that 10 gal and getting at least a 55. You're gonna run into some heart-breaks with a 10...it's just awfully hard to maintain a reef in a small tank. If you're like me, you'll end up spending as much or more than you would had you started from the beginning with a 55 gal. Just a suggestion...hindsight is 20/20, and I don't want you to go through what I did.

HTH!