florida live rock, vs the rest of the world

[offdapeggs]

there is so much information here I thought I had my mind made up. but now I have more questions.
I saw a post where someone said that ,, Yes, Tampa bay or gulf view does have more live on it when you get it,, but it will mostly die off in 6 months anyway.

Is this true? If so I am thinking that maybe I should get marshall island rock that has nice shapes to it.........

If you have some experience with both please let me know..
would you go for the shapes of the marshal, or the life on the tbs and the gulf

thanks

[offdapeggs]

bump

[etech]

IMO florida rock has a record of too many bad hitchhikers (mantis ect.) for me to consider it Plus it is denser than pacific rock (figi)
so you will not get as much as you would with figi. Less bang for your buck !

[jrsydevi1]

All i can say is I've had Gulf view LR in my reef for over 2 years now.. and just about everything that was there when I got it is still there.. sponges.. numerous featherdusters, a couple mussels, clams, brilliant corraline of every color that has spread nicely, a few types of macroalgae that wax and wane from time to time..

Out of everything in my reef.. i find the Gulf view LR the most interesting.. always something going on in the neighborhood!

[mogurnda]

I agree with jrsydevl. I have TBS rock, and it's absolutely fascinating. I am thinking of typing a list of all the cool stuff that was and still is on it, and just pasting it every time someone asks about florida rock. JMO

[SPC]

Well this is a hard question to give a yes or no answer to, many variables can dictate how much die off the rock will have. I have all Fla rock in my 180. The main die off culprit I have had is chicken liver sponge, and some rocks have alot of this sponge on them. If you don't count this particular sponge, then IMO you will not have much die off.
Steve

[alonks]

if you use it to initially cycle your virgin tank(as I did), most stuff will likely die off, especially for the very early beginner with not much experience, such as myself at the time. I have added this rock in small quantities to my already established tank later on, with mimimal die off.

also, the interesting stuff that survived the cycle, survived for the long run (3+ years) so far. And yes, my 30gal package , (don't remember the exact number of lbs) had a total of 3 mantis shrimp and a whole assortment of other hitchhikers, but that makes it more interesting to me.

[offdapeggs]

thanks for your input,

has anyone bought marshal islands, or some of the other good rocks. The ones I see at the lfs don't have anything at all on them.
they say it will all grow back,,,,and it s only 16. dollars a lb. lol

But I have never seen what is on these rocks when someone actually gets them from an online store. is there half as much, less than that.

is getting good shape worth not getting any good life on the rock?

[jrsydevi1]

Thats a matter of personal preference.. Good shape is nice.. and there WILL be some interesting life on it (once you buy it and place it there).

But for my money.. I enjoy the sense of discovery involved with FLA rock. It's teeming with life man.. redefined "live rock" for me.

I think it was Forrest Gump who said.. "Gulf-View rock is like a box of chocolates... You never know what you're gonna get"

For me.. thats the fun of it.

-Devil

[justletmein]

My Gulf-View rock is really ugly... I kalk aiptasia off of it at least twice a week. So, now I have GV LR to thank for an aiptasia problem and I don't even like the rock

[lllosingit]

I bought TBS rock twice and the first batch was only 10lbs that I bought out of someone's shippment, I also bought some fiji.
There is very little difference in size. 10 vs 10lbs they took up the same space.
The TBS rock was loaded with life and after 8 months it still looks much as It did when I bought it.
I recently bought 50lbs from TBS and again it was loaded with life, Yes, I got 2 mantis but they were so easy to catch I can't call them a problem.

I have 200+ plus pounds of rock of all types and sizes and any time someone comments on the tank its usually to ask what is on one of the TBS rocks.


I put the 50lbs in my 90 gallon sump, that way if there are any unwanted hitchhikers they will be isolated from the main tank
So far I have found
2 Mantis
1 Hairy crab (extra large )
1 striped Goby (yes its a fish)
2 urchins
4 porcelain crabs
2 decorator crabs
2 Nudibranchs
1 pistol shrimp
? snails

There are also several species of coral,
"red yellow orange puple brown black sponges",
feather dusters,
spaghetti worms,
bristle worms,
barnacles,
There are many critters that I have yet to ID.

[McSierra]

tag along to see what others reply...

[phdezra]

Interesting thread. Here's my $2 (adjusted for inflation).

I have set up two tanks with two diff't types of rock. For my 37g reef, I used a total of 85 lbs. of Fiji and Marshall Islands LR from Premium Aquatics. For my 20g FOwLR I used 20 lbs. of Florida LR from Tampa Bay Saltwater. The following are the Pros and Cons, IMHO:

Indo-Pacific Rock (Fiji/Marshall/Tonga)
- Few hitchikers, but those that hitchike are *usually* not pests
- More porous
- Less life than Florida rock
- Long delays from Indo-Pac region to Wholesaler to Retailer to Your front door. (There is NO way around this.)
- Nice gnarled shapes
- Actual rock from the reef

Florida
- Lots of life yoru eyes will pop from viewing it all night.
- Plenty of good hitchikers, but some hairy crabs and shrimp acc. to some. You can catch the shrimps; harder to catch the crabs (but they serve a pupose too).
- Excellent shades of coralline algae that usually spreads nicely
- Sponges and other not-so-hardy creatures usually die off (unless you add the LR one piece at a time to an already established tank)
- Much, much better to use if establishing tank from start (cycling)
- From the Ocean floor to your door in lightning speed.
- Nice shapes; some gnarled
- Aquacultured rock (deposited years ago on the reef so that the natural reef is not depleted)

You can (and will) go crazy trying to make up your mind on which rock to go for. Personally, I think we're all a little selfish for removing LR from Indo-Pac region for our hobby. This is a part of nature. TBS on the other hand uses rock they dumped in the ocean a number of years ago. Not to get up on a soap box, but if we all honestly cared about the reef and ecosystem, we would consider using more aquacultured rock from the various sources and less Indo-Pac rock ripped away from the reef. No flames please!

Whichever rock you choose, you will grow to love it. They each have their plusses and minuses. If this is yoru first tank, I would suggest TBS. It will help you really cycle the tank, and you'll be amazed at the diff't sea life you see.

[phdezra]

One more thing...

I am currently ordering a 135g tank that I will use as a FOwLR and keep a few easy corals (Star Polyps, etc.). Which LR do I plan on using? TBS.

[SPC]

Posted by phdezra:
Actual rock from the reef

-Well not necessarily, I have read where the collectors say they get most of the rock in 6' or less water that is half buried in the mud.
Steve

[ADHybrid]

Would you suggest against florida rock if you are planning to go the sps route? (because of softy hitchhiking corals) Just curious because I too am bent about which rock to buy.

[RalphP]

Hi
Years ago I had Florida rock and I liked it .In my new tank I got premium Fiji.Nice colors nice shapes no life,oh yes lots and lots of Dictoya algae that I cant get rid of.If the choice was a few mantis or dictoya I would pick mantis every time.Just my 2 cents

[ClownBoy]

I have a bunch of Fl rock in one of my tanks and its nice stuff. Unfortunately most of the life on it dies off over a month or two and you are left with some pretty heavy / dense rock that may not be the best choice for a biological filter. I would spend my money on Marshall of Fiji.

JMO

CS

[offdapeggs]

As a follow up,

I did end up getting live rock from Gulf View, I thought the shapes were pretty good, I have one red crab, and so far that is the only bad hitchhiker besides some aipastia which I expected. Here is a pic of 30lbs[

[Laura D]

Originally posted by ADHybrid
Would you suggest against florida rock if you are planning to go the sps route? (because of softy hitchhiking corals) Just curious because I too am bent about which rock to buy.

I haven't found any softie hitchhiker corals on my florida rock. Not to say some won't show up though, I've only had it about 6 months. All the corals I have found, and yes, there are many, are hard corals.

Many are SPS.

[GreenGoblin]

a wile ago i drove the long distince of 15 miles to tbsalt hq. i bought 7 lbs for a nano reef and some how a fish was on it and i didnt noe till i got the rock home in the tank...
dose that seem wierd???
nothing speacial i cant tell what kind it was but its brown and ugly.. and cute as a bugger!!!

[Newreeflady]

I had gulf view in my 65g reef, and minus the mantis shrimp, it was awesome. I saw life i'd never seen, and kept it alive. You have NO idea! Amazing! I have a 10g with some smaller pieces from Dale as well and in this unskimmed 10g tank I have a couple of really neat sponges that came on this rock as not even visible and made a complete comeback! I still see new life forms all the time!

On another note, I wouldn't personally go with only one type of rock. Some people like to do just one type, but I like to mix it up. I like the carribean rock and haitian rock as well. I don't much like fiji, but the marshall looks nice (never seen in person). I love Tonga branch rock! I'd mix it up, but thats just me maybe.

hth.
Angela.

[offdapeggs]

I think your right, different types of rock is the way to go

[Newreeflady]

You're rock looks nice, I just looked at the pic. I love how it comes with so many color coralline algaes.


Angela.

[mojodeli]

I like my TBS. If you don't want the hitch hikers then pour some club soda in each of the hole before you put it in your tank.

Do what ever you want with the hitchhikers. One two small sponges died.

Here's 40 lbs of rock in my 55. I have another 130 in a 125. I will order from them again.