Question About Buying Live Rock

[wayne1421]

I'm in the process of getting ready to start my first marine tank (I have a journal in the other sub-forum this is a 120 litre tank) and I think I'm getting closer to been ready having collected some of the equipment needed.

I have started looking at the live rock that I'm going to need, has anyone used, got nay advice or got any recommendations in regards to buying live rock from an online retailer, I'm looking to buy about 10kg of live rock and I have seen it online for around £100 but my Local Fish Shops are charging £40-£50 more for 10kg.

Also kind of connected are there are any general rules about how much live sand/substrate is required for a marine tank, the bags I was looking at come in 10 and 20Lb bags but I wasn't sure how much would be needed,

 

[Aquascaper]

Forget wasting money on live sand and spend it on live rock. Live sand is not always live depending on how long it has been sat with the retailer and any sand in the tank will become live over time anyway. Crushed coral or aragonite sand will do exactly the same job given time at much less cost.

Online live rock retailers charge less but you don't get to see the rock before you buy (most of the time) so it's pot luck what you get. Also, buying online will usually mean there is more die-off in transit so you need to 'cure' it again before you can start to add fish, etc. Buying from an LFS means you can choose the pieces and transport it under water (if you plan ahead) therefore less die-off.

As for where to get it....cheapest option is to look in local adverts for people shutting down tanks (with the benefit of getting coral frags attached too) other than that just search online as prices change all the time.

 

[wayne1421]

Thanks, in regards to the substrate how much do you typically need is an inch deep enough or would I need more

 

[Aquascaper]

Really depends on what your preference is, what sand sifters you're planning on keeping and how you're supporting your live rock on the tank base. Some people have bare glass with just a scattering of crushed coral whereas others setup DSB's (deep sand bed).

Personally I choose the route of supporting the live rock on eggcrate/polystyrene and then around 2" of substrate.