Live Rock, I'm revealing the facts of about it that will surprise alot of you

[seth16]

I am in the process of creating an article that will be on EVERYTHING having to do with live rock: the history of LR, the future of LR, the differences betwen the kinds of rock, the truth about the kinds of LR, how to properly cure it and care for it, and where to buy it. I also want to present live rock questions from the members to my resources (including Julian Sprung). Please ask me any questions that you have and i will do my best to have them answered. Thanks for your time

Seth

[Reefworkschris]

This sounds like it could be a pretty informative article. Let me know if you need help with anything Seth.

[seth16]

Will do Chris

[lusenut2]

Ok kewl when is this going to be done.

[seth16]

I have alot of the information now, but a big part of the article is dealing with the prpper suring process for the live rock, and my plan is to buy LR of a couple different types, and log the entire curing process, whowing how much of a dfference it should be before and after it. As you know, the Curing process takes USUALLY about 4 weeks, so it will at least be that. This is goign to be a big project for me and i hope it will turn out the way i plan for it to, or even better. I just wanted to get some things thatother people wnated to know to include in my article. But i will let you all know when it is done and i will see if i can get it posted on the ORCA site.

[Reefworkschris]

If your looking for ideas write a little about the possible hitch hikers (good & bad) that can come in on live rock and ways to get rid of the bad ones. And maybe, if your bored, you could research all of the little critters that grow on the rock over time, like the different types of tube worms, anemones, polyps. Just some ideas

[seth16]

The only problem with that is that you can get two batches of Fiji rock fromt the same place and get totally different results (being the critters and end growth results). What GROWS on the rock i can do, but as far as the hitchhikers go, it would not make a valid point if I shared what came on each kind of rock, because it all has to do with the island of FIJI, not the companies that sell the rock, but i will explain that more in-depth in the article.

[sytanek]

could also do some fiji vs florida compar

[sytanek]

isons

[55semireef]

Seth, what have you found about having intense lighting versus mediocre lighting with the corraline algae?

[cowboyswife]

Originally posted by sytanek
could also do some fiji vs florida compar

Florida rock= hell. Fiji=much better and not filled with a million mantis shrimp, gorilla crabs, stone crabs, and those freaky bad isopods. lol

[55semireef]

I am pretty sure Florida liverock isn't allowed to be collected anymore no? Maybe only certain areas it is.

[cowboyswife]

Tampa Bay Saltwater.

[skinnyjoe1976]

Originally posted by 55semireef
I am pretty sure Florida liverock isn't allowed to be collected anymore no? Maybe only certain areas it is.

they are talking about aquaculture rock out of the florida waters.

[skinnyjoe1976]

Originally posted by 55semireef
Seth, what have you found about having intense lighting versus mediocre lighting with the corraline algae?

i've seen better growth from tanks that have NO lighting setup. alk is a big factor and age of the tank.

[seth16]

Joe, you are right on the money as far as that, not from experimentations, but from research i i have found that live rock that is cured with mediocre, to no lighting had better coraline algae growth, but i will be conducting tests of my own and will hopefully get my own results to share.

and TBS rock is all "submerged" all of the time, causing all of those unwanted creatures to make it to your tank alive and healthy, where as any rock from Fiji, Marshall Islands, Tonga sit in piles in the sun for days before they are claimed, so that in and of itself is in an essence part of the curing process. If you for some odd reason plan on buying TBS rock, the best advise anyone can give is to quarantine...for a LONG time until you kn EVERYTHING in that rock (sometimes even that will not work...)

[55semireef]

Originally posted by skinnyjoe1976
i've seen better growth from tanks that have NO lighting setup. alk is a big factor and age of the tank.

I had/have GREAT growth with my T5 setup and Sunpod setup. I don't think it necessarily has to do with the intensity but has to do more with the color of spectrum that is being put out. I do know corraline algae prefers the deeper blue/purple (15 Kelvins and up) range.

[seth16]

Yes, and i will go further into that in the article, but it also does have to do with intensity, but there does not have to be halides or VHO's, even compacts will work fine, but i am also doina test with NO lighting...i will try to get some Purple-up to speed up the process in the coraline tests, and work more with alk. and lighting....i will keep you all updated as far as how that all goes

[55semireef]

Just curious but why are you making this article? Seems like your doing a great job so far.

FWIW: I have seen corraline algae grow really well under NO, PCs, VHO, T5s and MH. Like I said I don't think the intensity of the light has much to do with it but more of the spectrum as far as lighting.

[Me No Nemo]

Great idea Seth. Perhaps some insight on aquacultured (manmade) vs. natural rock would add a nice addition. It will be interesting to see your findings on the lighting and what colors coralline do best under various lighting. I can give you some small pieces that have turquiose and deep burgundy colored coralline on them as well if you'd like to include them in your study. Sounds like a fun project...good luck and looking forward to your results

[lifesworksataol]

tag

[bluerug]

Look forward to seeing the results as well.

[mrcrab]

I'd love to know something about worm rock. Very porous and light. I have a few large pieces in my tank and am still undecided because of all the holes. Great for increased area but traps alot of stuff too.

Here's a link to get you started: http://mariculturetechnology.com/Rock.htm

See the second item on the page.

And before I get flamed, it was not live when purchased. It was purchased from this company and is taken from quarys. It's live now as it's been in my tank for almost a year.

[seth16]

Hey Marcye, i would love any extra help, i will see if i can get down there in the next week.

And about the worm rock, it is not live to begin with, so including i it the study would not gather much results other than getting some pics of what it looks like. Base rock or "dead" rock will turn live in a tank after a while, and this rock seems intersting, but it is not live.

[Me No Nemo]

K..then I'd get to check out the new truck! Keep in mind also that I have the scopes with video and still photography if you want to check anything out close up.