live rock

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cizanie

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mossel bay, sa
hi guys

can i dump some rock in a pool (in the sea) for a few weeks. Will it come alive?
I am living in mossel bay. Or is this not a good idea. We dont have any petshops selling any marine stock.
 
It could work.
Just make sure that you put them in a pool that has a constant water level.
You also need a very porous rock like some sandstone types or base rock, no solid rocks or any rocks that can leach chemicals or anything like that!
You can also expect some of the creatures that settled on the rock to die after you moved them to your tank the water at mosselbay is much colder than your tanks water.

Oh, & welcome to masa!
Why dont you take a drive to gouritsmond or stillbay east etc where you can find some sandstone type liverock already filled with life in some of the pools! (thats where i used to get some LR a couple years ago)
 
generally our local rocks are not as porous than the Kenyan or Fiji rocks at the LFS. But being imported, they do cost a lot of money.

Problem with placing own rocks in the sea is that you most likely will not find them again. Either stolen or washed away.
 
RiaanP said:
generally our local rocks are not as porous than the Kenyan or Fiji rocks at the LFS. But being imported, they do cost a lot of money.

Problem with placing own rocks in the sea is that you most likely will not find them again. Either stolen or washed away.
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I was just about to say that. Either stolen or washed away with spring tide.
 
So you guys want to tell me that you can take a good, porous live rock and put it right in your tank???
What about all the stuff that's going to die of the heat? BTW what is a good way of curing live rock?
Can it be to blast it with a high-pressure cleaner, putting it in a isolated container with a heater, airstone and power head and leave it for a month or so? How does that sound?
;)
 
Omnitank said:
So you guys want to tell me that you can take a good, porous live rock and put it right in your tank???
What about all the stuff that's going to die of the heat? BTW what is a good way of curing live rock?
Can it be to blast it with a high-pressure cleaner, putting it in a isolated container with a heater, airstone and power head and leave it for a month or so? How does that sound?
;)
Click to expand...

Blasting with high pressure cleaner is a big NO NO!
Firstly, they work with fresh water that will instantly kill all the Living creatures on the "live rock"...
Secondly, the pressure will blast any remaining critters out of the rock & then you basically have dead rock left.

Easiest way of curing liverock is to add it to a bucket with a heater & powerhead (in marine saltwater) & leave it in there for a couple weeks.
You can speed up the curing process by adding a bacterial additive like microbelift special blend, seachem stability or prodibio bio-digest...

Adding LR directly from the ocean is not really recommended when taking it from a coldwater area like the cape as there will be lots of die-off that needs to decompose first.
 
Thanks Visser, it sounds logical, but I still have a question: If I snorkel for good, porous LR and it comes out of the sea, there are usually a lot of growth (i.e. plants and stuff) on there. How can I get rid of that?
 
Well, to tell you the truth, almost all liverock that you buy in petstores was taken directly out of the ocean, so whether you take it out of the ocean yourself or buy it from the LPS, you are goong to get the same growth & creatures on it. (Thats actually the fun part as you never know what you're getting.)
The best is to first put it in a quarantine tank to see if there are any pests on it.
 
lr

thanks visser, can anyone send me a pic of sandstone liverock, just so that i dont
take the wrong ones.
thanks guys
 
Visser said:
Why dont you take a drive to gouritsmond or stillbay east etc where you can find some sandstone type liverock already filled with life in some of the pools! (thats where i used to get some LR a couple years ago)
Click to expand...

well that would be illegal....
 
Trust me it is illegal now. MCM recently fined a CT reefer for collecting sand stone on a beach.
 
cizanie said:
thanks visser, can anyone send me a pic of sandstone liverock, just so that i dont
take the wrong ones.
thanks guys
Click to expand...

F324341F-34DB-4B89-B735-5919CE80199C-18230-00000212D7461D4C_zpsed8d7ba4.jpg

@cizanie, this is one of the limestone rocks that ive had for about 3years now.
They are normally a brownish red color & are quite porous. (Solid rocks wort work)
And please just get yourself the neccesary permits before you collect & make sure with fauna & flora that you arent collecting in a restricted zone!
 
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HenkHugo said:
Trust me it is illegal now. MCM recently fined a CT reefer for collecting sand stone on a beach.
Click to expand...

Definitely wasnt illegal a couple years ago...
I know because the guy i was collecting with was working for natal parks board back then.
Since when is it illegal?
Wasnt the guy just collecting without a permit?
 
You can collect rock that is lose. Not allowed to use hammer or tool to break off rock, that's illegal, has been for many years!!
 
carlosdeandrade said:
You can collect rock that is lose. Not allowed to use hammer or tool to break off rock, that's illegal, has been for many years!!
Click to expand...

Thats how i understood it as well.
Still remember it was classified under "collection of rock & seashells"
 
It's been illegal for a long time.

MCM mentioned that technically a mining permit is needed to collect anything on a beach - shells and sand included.
 
Guys, guys, cool down. Please leave the legal stuff and get back to the point. If I take a rock with living stuff that's growing on it, including some seaweed etc., how do I clean it to let the rock cure in a safe place?

:rockon:
 
When collecting from our coastline, we cannot ignore all the legal issues.
If you are concerned with the life that comes on rock, why not consider buying base rock?
 
Base rock would be the best option if you're concerned about pests.
Many guys start their tanks with only base rock...
 
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