Live Rock

[William]

This ones for whacky really I know in the US its $2-4 for a pound of liverock right GL ?

But how much in the UK my semi local marine place is selling 22kg for £179, I was reasoning something more around £100. Whats the regular price whackey and know any places I can get some deals

Cheers

 

[StiX]

U goin marine then willis ? ...just thinkin of the price makes my head hurt!

 

[William]

I have been thinking about it for a while I can't set it up just yet as I am about to move house (again!) just want to get the figures straight so I can save for it

 

[StiX]

Ah kool...u should have enough money by 2004 LOL

 

[Great Lakes]

Will, I know you were looking for a reply from whacky, but thought I would chime in antway with an idea of what a good deal is here....Live Rock

 

[William]

I have been there all ready and drooled shame I don't live in the US though Wonder does the FEDex mean they'll ship to the UK I'll read their terms... but then I have taxes which is 2/3 the value of the shipment I believe I need 1 pound LS and 2 pounds LR per gallon don't I ?

 

[StiX]

It doesnt say anything about shipping to UK on their 'shipping info'

Jsut looking at afew fish pics, the mandarin fish looks like a pint spill LOL, super colours the Bluehead Wrasse looks nice and i love all the different shrimps ...U got me jellouse now B)

 

[William]

Try this one: http/www.tampabaysaltwater.com it looks very nice. B)

 

[tyvex]

hey will,
you will be looking at paying from £170 to £190 for a full box (20kilo)44lbs
i just received a box from http/www.fantasea.co.uk/
at £169 for the box, which was the best price around.
the rock was not as good as the last time, but you dont see the results for a long long time, 6 months or so, so its kinda hard to tell
here are some more mail order places.
bye the way the prices have increases recently due to import bans and restrictions
http/www.reefkeeper.co.uk
http/www.uda.co.uk/
http/www.s-t-m.co.uk/
these are all well known suppliers whome i would trust
hope this is off use
stay fluffy
ty

ps that is a good price, and i would go for that, if you can get to pick the pieces you want. thats the best way

 

[William]

I forgot you did reefs

Thanks a lot very useful information and links I will check it all out. Just out of curiosity are there many critters on the rocks and much growth? I know you said the quality was not the best. Thanks for the really speedy reply

 

[tyvex]

hey, no probs,
you wont get many creatures on the rock, to be honest, i would advise going for "cured" rock, which is what i suspect you have been quoted at that price,
this is kept in large tanks usualy and kinda rinsed for about a month, taking all the dieback, off the rock, along with nasties such as bristle worms, mantis shrimp etc, so when you get the rock it looks pretty bare.
there may be small stubs of algae, which dont take too long to re-develope, but, you are looking for rock which has a good covering of coraline(purple, green, white, yellow) algae, which is hard to the touch, with a slight smell of seaweed (not too strong tho)
you wont get alot of corals, (which i thought at first, you did ),
you may get a couple of polips or something but dont expect too much, then you wont be disapointed as i was at first.

the second option is "un-cured" rock, this is the same rock, just not rinsed (i cant think of a better word, but you get what i mean)
this will have alot more on it alive, but also alot more dead stuff, and will absolutely stink
it also means you need to cure it youself which is alot of work with water changes etc, and alot more time before you can stock the tank.

the quality of my new rock was ok, just a bit lacking in coraline alge, but its starting to come back now, after a week, so not too bad, i had asked then for odd shapes for decor, so they had to go for that first, rather than colour i suppose
i got my 2nd box from fantasea too, which had more coraline on it, thats all.

here is a link you might find usefull for all aspects of reef keeping, lots of info
http/www.reefs.org/
the key thing you get from live rock is the bacteria living in it, this acts as a filter and is the most usefull park of having live rock,
this is why i have three and a bit boxes in my tank and will be adding more at xmas, i use a skimmer and my rock and that is all i have for water purification.
stay fluffy
ty

 

[whacky]

Sorry for my late replies in this but a general price per kg is £10 its best to buy a few bixes to start cos it works out cheaper and then but particular pieces to suit your aqua scaping.

www.reefs.org is a good site for info, theres afew others aswell,

I wouldnt bother with uncured rock personally lfs can cure it in there systems a lot better than you will be able to at home and like tyvex said it absolutely stinks if you cure it yourself.

A lot of people say fantaseas rock is good, STM to they sell boxes in halfs aswell so you can save a bit and not fork out huge amounts,

The bacteria is really what your looking fo th less dense the rock the more the bacteria in theory but from what i can tell in the uk anyway FIJI live rock is the way to go

Along with live rock you can look at having a DSB using live sand this will also help with filtration

 

[Great Lakes]

Will, you need four inches minimum of sand for your bed. What that works out to in pounds, I have no idea.

Start out with a pound per gallon live rock, then add a little piece here and there as you find ones that catch your eye.

Here is my favorite fish,,,,Flame Angel

 

[wonder371]

i get my live rock for $4-5 US dollars a lb. It's okay quailty... nothing special. Its got okay growth. i have no idea on how u could get some accoss the atlantic.

 

[William]

well we're looking at about triple the price you get and the rock is probably worse quality as well, oh to live in the US lol . I think the rock will be fine when I get it set up, we don't have anywhere near the variety you have in the US you probably have already seen GreatLakes doing a bit of gloating at us mere amateurs