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#26
08/31/2004, 07:49 PM
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Quote:
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Richard Rendos - Founder WTMRAC It can't rain all the time. |
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#28
08/31/2004, 07:59 PM
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I did a test on the weight thing. My last batch was 40.0 lbs. When i was done soaking it, it weighed 42.5 lbs.
I think a lot of weight will depend on the type of rock and its porosity. large dense rock like florida rock will not absorb as much water by mass as lighter holey rock like fiji and marshall, somply due to the fact that there isn't as much room for the water to become trapped after it has been submerged (hypothesis). |
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#32
08/31/2004, 08:55 PM
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honestly...
I don't know if there is any benefit at all to using a couple buckets of water from an established tank...just somehting I do out of habit i guess....it's probably pointless now that i thik of it....Although there is the possibility of palegic microfauna that may be transferred in the warer, and maybe the chance of bacteria in the water collumn....idunno.
Yes, you definitely want to make sure your dry rock is as clean as possible...any exposure to chemicals, and dust particles is a concern. And any organic matter in/on the rock will only add unecessary nutrients to the system. i usually soak in ro/di water and scrub a bit.... |
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#33
08/31/2004, 09:06 PM
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I am putting together a new 90 gallon system and plan on going with dry rock plus the rock from my 30 gallon. This will be the second time I have done this. I personally find the dry rock to be indistinguishable from the live rock once it has had a year or two to grow. It can be a bit ugly in the beginning. However, it's really kinda' nice to watch everything in your tank develop including the rocks.
Ron 
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#34
08/31/2004, 09:12 PM
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Another good point to Piero's post is you wouldn't have to worry about introducing a nuisance algae to your tank via the live rock.
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~~~Having a high post count doesn't automatically give you a high reefing IQ.~~~ |
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#35
08/31/2004, 09:14 PM
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Piero
Great thread..... I purchased some hirock base a few months ago and slowly aclimating in my fuge...... This is a great savings compared to purchasing LR from the start...... I am in the process of upgrading and went to order some more base rock from hirock..... To my suprprise  hirock is almost priced at the same amount for un-cured rock......The point is there is a price point where it is more beneficial to go with un-cured rock compared to base rock..... All I can say is fellow reefers PLEASE do not agree to pay more than 85 cents per pound for hirock base rock....... IT'S NOT WORTH MORE THAN THIS........ (my apologies for the caps) Can anyone recomend another place to purchase base rock on-line? Hirock needs competition.....!!!! JMO 
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#36
08/31/2004, 09:15 PM
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All this makes perfect sense to me. I've got well over $1,000 in rock in my tank now. You bet your sweet bippie the next reef I set up will be using mostly dry rocks that are of the most perfect shape!
Wanted: Dry, Dead, Lifeless Rock with really cool shapes!
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-Mike "It is in the best interest of the hobbyist, as well as the corals of the world to increase propagation and captive breeding. It all starts with us." |
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#37
08/31/2004, 09:18 PM
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i do a rinse in fw then a soak in sw before i place my bs in my tank
30 lbs bs 10 lbs live baserock 8 lbs lr, the live base rock i get from my lfs is dirt cheap and comes with tons of critters in it , the last piece i bought cost me 17 bucks for a 6 pound piece witch had 2 very small serpant stars, a cool little white fuzzy crab a bunch of bristol worms featherdusters and a small anemone the onlt diferance in live bs and lr is the live bs dosent have any coraline alge on it and its about 6 to 7 dollars cheaper the liverock its self
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got reef? |
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#38
08/31/2004, 09:22 PM
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I love to see some pics of tanks that are not using live rock for comparation to tanks that we always seen here on RC. If it is not much different then we may be looking at a whole new way of saving money on reef.
John |
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#39
08/31/2004, 09:31 PM
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Here is a picture of Hirock Base Rock I am aclimating into my system..... (Note: I paid 85 cents per pound and Hirock has more than doubled the price in less than three months)
The dark rock on top is just corraline encrusted rock that has been in my display for a few years...... However, the rock on the right side is new Figi rock I placed in the tank for seeding.....  As far as threads see the following:::: http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=377436 http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=236668 Weatherson's thread really rocks.....
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#42
08/31/2004, 09:46 PM
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PIERO,
Love the web-site at the little red house.  My question is (and by the way I did not start my tank with limestone and lava rock, I purchased the already- up and running system and these rocks came with the tank along with live rock purchased from several sources), if you are going to use dry rock and the bacteria from another established tank to start up a new system (from sand, gravel, rocks), why can't you just use "holey concrete" or "whatever" porous rock to start? Isn't it the bacteria/fauna from the old system that matters? Why is the type of rock important?
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"WATCH OUT! Mom's having a bad tank day." -- My Daughter |
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#43
08/31/2004, 10:13 PM
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i agree that base rock can be populated with bennifical bacteria, but i remember reading that its what is inside of the rock that makes a big difference in dentrification the organisims...I think the article was in one of the last reef keeping magazines....just food for thought....
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Got Salt! |
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#45
08/31/2004, 10:32 PM
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well,
I gues I like using dry reef rock for the aesthetics,(it already looks like dead coral) and natural porosity, although i don't know how important porosity is...just my guess.
I also like using natural reef rocks because they are natural buffers for the system...and becuase I know what i'm getting. mystery rocks may have undesirable elements in them that might leech over time....I'd just rather be sure about the elements that make up the rock....I think limestone is fine, too and is also a natural buffer i believe....but never used it myself so don't take my word. But you mentioned you had no problems... |
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#46
08/31/2004, 10:33 PM
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http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-0...ture/index.htm
a cool article i rmember reading a month or so ago...
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Got Salt! |
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#47
08/31/2004, 10:50 PM
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Yes i believe limestone is also CaC03 just in a different form. Hence limewater (kalkwasser) i assume. I have used a 20 lb or so piece of lava rock that had a real cool cave built into the top and it never leached or built up hair algae even on a near-skimmerless system due to a DSB and low nutrient input. Within a year it was the prettiest rock in the tank and was a perfect table to set everything else on.
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#48
08/31/2004, 10:51 PM
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I would be willing to use a little dry/dead rock as base, but still think that the diversity you get off of live rock is worth it. While seeding it from your friend's tank will help, I think that the more diversity you can get, the better. It still amazes me to see new creatures emerging from my live rock that I didn't even know were there. I don't see how you could attain that kind of diversity from seeding. I'm talking more about the macro than the microfauna/flora. JMHO. I've got some very cool purple encrusting sponge, great feather worms, bivalves, tunicates, and teeny little dunnowhattheyares that I can't imagine acquiring through a handful of sand or gravel. Little larvae hitch a ride in on the live rock and several months later--Ta Daa! new critters!
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Christy Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms. -George Eliot |
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#49
09/01/2004, 12:42 AM
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Interesting thread. I've considered the same thing, but always had trouble finding rock that I trusted. Lava rock is plentiful around here, but I don't trust what might leach from the rock.
The hirocks stuff looks good. It sounds like it is old reef rock that just got beached. Their site says it has shells, etc. in it. About my only concern with it would be the length of time (if ever) that it would take for the denitrifying bacteria to get into the center areas of the rock. A good benefit here would also be the lesser impact to the reefs. I know most live rock is from the rubble zones, but the less taken the better.
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Chris |
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#50
09/01/2004, 12:47 AM
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I like live rock for multiple reasons, but I think that you can add base rock to live rock although I would worry about base rock being more easily colonized by problem algae as well as not having as much diversity of live as live rock unless it's from an established tank with good biodiversity.
I plan to order some LR from Tampa Bay in the next month. I like that it is aquacultured as opposed to collected from natural reefs, that it has a lot of biodiversity, and it is shipped in water to maintain that biodiversity. I like that there is less need to worry about cycling that way, and that you can get a basic reef going in a shorter period of time and have it look more like a true "reef." I don't like it that I may end up with mantis shrimps and/or gorilla crabs (or other "bad stuff"), and I hope that it doesn't have Caulerpa! I hate Caulerpa (took over and ruined my last tank).
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Mark (on AOL: Orm Embar) Quotes from my friends upon seeing my tank: "Hey, fresh sushi!" |
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