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News & Reviews Article
| Title |
Live Rock - Worth the Price? |
| Author |
Ralph Cabage
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| Last Updated |
2014-12-13
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| Abstract |
How do you judge if you're really buying 'live' rock? Live rock should be treated as any other living species. Check the color, size, shape, and odor - sniff each piece of rock. Properly cured rock has an ocean like odor but should not smell rotten or foul.� Rock with little growth or that has been kept by a retailer without light or filtration is less valuable rock that has been mishandled, and, in fact, may be dead.
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Live Rock - How to tell if it's worth the price and should you buy it
Fresh live rock is teaming with millions of fascinating reef species that have the potential to grow and thrive in a captive saltwater environment. "Curing" live rock refers to a period of normal die off of some of these organisms when the rock is moved from the ocean to a captive saltwater environment or from one location to another. When cured properly, live rock rebounds from the die off and many organisms begin to flourish once again. During the curing period the die off can cause a spike in ammonia and nitrite which can kill many of the organisms on the rock. Many dealers lack the knowledge and facilities to properly cure live rock to get it to the rebound stage. Most of us have seen the unfiltered, unlit, foul smelling vats of stagnant brown water some dealers use to cure live rock. Sadly, this situation leads to total kill and sadder still, customers are mislead into buying this mess.
So how do you judge if you're really buying 'live' rock? Live rock should be treated as any other living species. Check the color, size, shape, and odor - sniff each piece of rock. Properly cured rock has an ocean like odor but should not smell rotten or foul.� Rock with little growth or that has been kept by a retailer without light or filtration is less valuable rock that has been mishandled, and, in fact, may be dead.
� Better rock is filtered
� Better rock does not have a foul or rotten odor
� Better rock is lighted to encourage growth of organisms
� Better rock has actively growing colonies of organisms
Buying Tips
It is best to purchase live rock from a local fish store. Better stores have live rock in stock that is cured and ready to go, and you can see it and handle it see it before buying.
� If you are not set up to cure fresh live rock, buy it cured.
� Don't allow yourself to be talked into purchasing mass quantities that you cannot handle. Only buy what you really need, and remember, don't overload your system.
� Inspect the rock visually, and smell it. If any growth on it appears to be dying off or if you detect a foul odor, it is probably still curing and may need to be cured longer.
� Make sure the rock is under lighting and filtered. Do not pay for premium rock that is not lighted and filtered.
� Box lots are available that have been rinsed, cleaned, and labeled "cured" by the collectors. This is a great way to save some money and or setup a new aquarium, but the rock should be treated as rock that is not cured.
� Make sure stores are supplementing their rock tanks with calcium. This helps beneficial coralline algae growth.
� If you run across �must have� rock that may not be ready, understand that and accept the responsibility and possible consequences and complications that may arise. Buy it and use some of the cleaning and curing methods described in the Cleaning and Curing Live Rock handout to acclimate it.
Types of Live Rock
These are the types of rock that are available from the collecting stations. Other names are used but they are usually names given by the sellers to make the rock seem more appealing. The descriptions are of the types by the box and pieces will vary within the boxes.
FIJI Premium - Purple coralline, scrubbed clean, Very porous, mainly round and oval shapes that are well covered in purple coralline algae, Excellent foundation for corals that aids biological filtration. approx 49lb/bx
FIJI Premium - Purple coralline, scrubbed clean, show size. approx 92lb/bx
FIJI Aquacultured - Walt's handmade pink/purple cementitious rock base well covered with Fiji purple coralline. approx 49lb/bx
FIJI Natural - Plant rock with lots of macroalgae. approx 49lb/bx
FIJI Natural - Plant rock with lots of macroalgae. Show size. approx 88lb/bx
FIJI Ultra - Best coralline coverage & super shapes - approx 49lb/bx
FIJI Ultra- Best coralline coverage & super shapes. Show size. approx 88lb/bx
FIJI Buna Branch - Beautiful bottlebrush with deep purple coralline algae. Porous, light weightt, clean, some critters. approx 66lb/bx
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FIJI Live Sand - White/golden sand with shells, calcareous coral pieces & annelids. Makes a great denitrifying substrate. approx 59lb/bx
FIJI Zoanthid Colony Rock - Awesome orange & green zoanthid polyp colonies on Fiji Premium rock. Must be cured and heavily filtered while curing. This a great rock if handled properly. approx 44lb/bx
Sun Dried Rock - All types and shapes of rock completely dried in the sun. Use as deco rock or base rock, varied weights and box sizes.
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Tonga Branch - Fat mostly fused branch rock with maroon coralline coverage, shorter branches don't break during shipping. approx 66-75lb/bx
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Tonga Show Branch - XL chunky clusters of semi-dense, elongated branches. Fused branch rock with maroon coralline algae. Short curing time. Adds vertical dimension to the aquarium and unusual shapes. Used to provide ample room for circulation. two pcs per box, wt varies: 50-75lb/box
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Tonga Shelf - Tabletop rock with multicolor coralline, flat pieces are good for constructing caves. Lg boxes only. approx 99.2lb/bx
Tonga Kaelini Rock - Like Premium but more lighter color purple coralline. Lighter weight, flatter, some macroalgae. approx 88lb/bx
Tonga Henu Rock - Ultra Kaelini rock. The best rock Tonga has to offer fully covered with coralline and some macroalgae. approx 80-95 lb/box
Marshall Island Rock - Wonderful shapes! Extremely porous with yellow, green, pink, purple and blue coralline plus macroalgaes.
Other types often seen
Lalo - Unique shapes, and diversity of color & life. Porous rock that is often recolonized heads of ancient coral.
Branching and plating coralline algae, macroalgae, sponges, and encrusting hard corals. Ideal rock for diversity. Slightly longer curing time but well worth the effort. Assorted sized pieces.
Eva, Uanieva or Vavau Rock (Tonga) - Like Kaelini, Uanieva, Marshall and Vavau is deepwater rock.
Caribbean, Ocean Aquacultured Rock - Consists of ancient coral heads that have been encrusted with coralline algae, sponges, tunicates, & macroalgae.
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