Dry Base Rock

rf · #1 08/08/2006, 07:24 PM

Does anyone know a local place to pick up some decent dry base rock for a good price?

crrichey · #2 08/08/2006, 07:26 PM

The Ocean Floor on I-17 and Tomas has some

truthdesigns · #3 08/08/2006, 08:22 PM

I found some really nice chunks at Pets Inc. Not very cheap but really nice.

rljlll · #4 08/08/2006, 09:40 PM

ABT has some usually also

jpslickorocks · #5 08/09/2006, 02:12 PM

ABT??????

azrednex · #6 08/09/2006, 07:59 PM

About The Reef, southbound Price south of Rio Salado in Tempe

clkwrk · #7 08/09/2006, 09:16 PM

We call it ATR.

Anyways truthdesigns was it base rock or lace rock ?

army67romeo · #8 08/10/2006, 01:09 AM

i hAVE SOME RIGHT NOW I NOT USING ...TRADE OR SALE ... BUT IF IT FOR YOUR 12GAL CUBE IT BE WORTH THE LIVE ROCK SO IT MORE STABLE .... I TANK HALF OF WHAT THE STORE WANTS I THINK THEY WANT $1 OR $2 A POUND I TAKE 50CENTS POUND OR FRAG

truthdesigns · #9 08/10/2006, 06:55 PM

It is Lace rock sorry. Its what I used to fill my turtle tank. Very nice chunks though!!!

sir_dudeguy · #10 08/10/2006, 07:25 PM

ya thats lace rock at pets inc. a buck a pound. i've got it in my tank right now...dont really like it...altho it is starting to get covered in a really dark coraline now so i'm sure in about 3 months i wont be able to tell any of my rock apart. Also, does anyone know if lace rock is bad for a tank? if so, what does it do? srry for the change of subject...

but isnt hirocks.com base rock? they've got 30 lb boxes for 40 shipped, or 60 lb boxes for 60 shipped...

rljlll · #11 08/10/2006, 11:08 PM

lace rock it ok as far as i know but doesn't have he buffering capacity real live rock does

OceanLyons · #12 08/13/2006, 12:59 PM

Aquarium Arts has some.

blas · #13 08/13/2006, 01:04 PM

I used lace rock for years and passed it on down to Tucson never had trouble but I did run a lot of live rock as well.

Tangman1218 · #14 08/13/2006, 01:39 PM

SirDude

You ever see what driftwood does visibly to a freshwater tank? Lace rock leeches metals into a tank which are not visible. No matter how "young" or "old" it is, you will always have that problem. Now granted, some saltwater livestock can live perfectly normal lives in a tank loaded with lace. On the other hand, I dont know if you keep stars (as an example), but I do. Lace is a no-no for stars, even running an agent like chemipure. Of course, someone may chime in and say they have kept stars in a lace tank successfully. That would be a first for me and extrememly atypical. Just a thought for you, since you asked and not way off topic for this thread.

Tang

clkwrk · #15 08/13/2006, 02:57 PM

I will agree lace is a volcanic rock and does contain various metals in different degrees . IMO it is best used in freshwater and FO tanks .

However there are those that haven't had any problems however there are more that will say its not good for a reef tank.

sir_dudeguy · #16 08/13/2006, 04:59 PM

ya i havent had any problems so far because of it, but i havent tried any stars. Is there anything else that i wouldnt be able to keep? i'd rather find out now than $40 later, you know? Such as shrimp? i'm planning on getting a couple soon. And hirocks.com is just regualar base rock right? no lace? I dont wanna get lace for my 40 so i wanna be sure they're just regular base.

and yes, i sure have seen the affects of driftwood. I had a huge piece of driftwood in my 40 before i took it down to convert to salt, and the water would be like tea only 2 days after water changes. Carbon helped w/that tho.

widefx · #17 08/13/2006, 05:09 PM

I have about 60lbs of hirock in my tank and it looks pretty good.

rljlll · #18 08/13/2006, 05:30 PM

With base rock if you put it in an established tank will its buffering capasity ever come back?

sir_dudeguy · #19 08/13/2006, 05:31 PM

is that all the rock you have? or do you have a little more of live rock? i'm planning on getting the 60lb box from hirocks.com and just using that for my 40...but then i'll be putting about 20 lbs in the sump.

Tangman1218 · #20 08/13/2006, 05:53 PM

Sir Dude ( I feel as though I'm addressing a knight from the round table

),

Just watch all inverts. Some are hardier than others. If it was me, I would use strictly LR in my tank, and I do. When you start skimping, you cause problems up the road. Not to mention the possibility of lost money in the long run. The fact that wideFX says that his tank with 60 lbs of base rock"looks" pretty good, does not mean his system is as stable as another tank he may have with 60 lbs of LR. Not unless his base rock has in fact become LR. You see, base rock is usually, and I stress usually, fiji rock that has been left to dry and is no longer alive. The problem with this is that it does not work as part of your filtration for a period of, at minimum, 8-12 months. And this is if you help the cure process by seeding it with LR. So while it may be cheaper and look good now, dont depend on it to work as LR does for awhile.

Bottom line is, you get what you pay for. True in life and true in this hobby. Best of luck

Tang

sir_dudeguy · #21 08/13/2006, 06:23 PM

lol, ya i always feel like that too when someone addresses me...Only reason i got that screen name is because about 5 years ago when my friend made me my email acount and thought it would be a funny joke to pull on me...anyways, i just use that for all my screen names so i dont forget any of them lol.

yeah i know now that i should have just gotten base rock instead of lace...BUT...at the time i was starting out, all the lfs's were telling me lace rock WAS base rock so ya. Had i known then, i wouldnt have used it, and from now on i'm only going to use base rock and live rock. And ya i know skimping causes problems often.

From what i've found out thru my research on the boards here and stuff...the baserock from hirocks is indeed dried fiji. I know this will not have any of the beneficial life forms that live rock would have (for example pods, bristles, etc...) However i've read that it will still take care of the cycle process (converting amonia to nitrites and nitrites to nitrates).

I know that theres nothing on the rocks to cause a cycle, so i'd have to get the cycle started some other way besides live rock...
I know it wont perform like true live rock does for a while, but i will be having about 20 lbs to hopefully help that along a bit.

so am is this right about base rock, or am i just bein an idiot?

widefx · #22 08/13/2006, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tangman1218
Sir Dude ( I feel as though I'm addressing a knight from the round table ),

The fact that wideFX says that his tank with 60 lbs of base rock"looks" pretty good, does not mean his system is as stable as another tank he may have with 60 lbs of LR. Not unless his base rock has in fact become LR. You see, base rock is usually, and I stress usually, fiji rock that has been left to dry and is no longer alive. The problem with this is that it does not work as part of your filtration for a period of, at minimum, 8-12 months. i

Tang

You are correct I put 60lbs base rock and 60lbs live rock in my tank at start up. It did take a while for the tank to stabalize because of the exsess calcium from the base rock. It took about 8 months. But I was adding coral very slow and once it stabalized the base rock IMO is live rock now after 2+years.

sir_dudeguy · #23 08/13/2006, 08:55 PM

ok thanks. I'm most likely getting the 60 lb box for 60 shipped from hirocks.com, unless someone can point me to a better rock for the same price, or if they'd want to sell live rock for the same price, which i wouldnt expect because thats just too low to go.

Taking a long time isnt really a problem for me. Also, is there a way to get the calcium lower, or get rid of the excess calcium base rock gives off?

widefx · #24 08/14/2006, 06:02 AM

Mabey soaking it for a couple weeks before putting it in your tank can help.

run4cvr · #25 08/14/2006, 11:09 AM

I ordered 60lbs from hirocks last February. The rock was a lot more dense than i expected, but the price made it worth it to me.

I gave it a good rinsing and added it to my tank the same day.

Pic after the rinse.