LIVE ROCK

[Mozzie]

As a salt appy I've got a few questions regarding live rock.
We see live rock forsale on the forum, Gumtree, petshops and we'll in your friends tank.
My question is what do you need to really look for when purchasing live rock?
How can you tell if it's mature?
How do you avoid unwanted hitch hikers?
How should it be handled?
How can you transport it to insure it's still live when you get it home.
Will there be die off when you introduce it to your tank?
If there is any die off will it restart your amonnia cycle?
Yip...just about any info a salt appy would need to consider or look out for when purchasing live rock.

 

[TaahirS]

You look for no nuisance algae and check if the tank has high phosphates.

If it comes out of a running system it's most likely mature.

Hitchhikers, well just inspect the rock thoroughly and see if there's anything unwanted.

If the ride is short just put it in drums l/Buckets with saltwater to ensure no die off. Try and keep it dry for as little time as possible.

If you keep it wet there will be no die off. If there is alot of die off it will add ammonia to your tank.

 

[DCSA]

If you don't want pests...Buy dried rock (Live Rock that was been left to dry out) and cure it yourself.

 

[DCSA]

Or dry out the rock before putting it in your tank. I've always had pests when adding live rock...takes a lot of time to get rid of them.

 

[Russel]

Seen a post where the guy washed the Live Rock with pool acid and water. You have to dilute the pool acid with a certain amount of water if you suspect the live rock has unwanted guests. I'm busy with my first tank and have been looking for Live rock to get things going. Hopefully people will answer your post as it is the same questions I was asking. Good Post!!!

 

[Subtech]

Hi There, in reply to your questions i listed them below and inserted the answers:

My question is what do you need to really look for when purchasing live rock?
Look for porous rock, the more porous the rock the higher the surface area for bacteria.
How can you tell if it's mature?
There is no sure fire way to tell if live rock is fully cured unless you test the water of the tank it is in. But a good amount of natural growth on the rock is a good indicator.
How do you avoid unwanted hitch hikers?
Place the rock in bucket with a bit of tank water, elevate the rock out of the water. The put a pump in the bottom of the bucket with a hose and run the discharge over the rock. All the little critters will run or wash to the bottom of the bucket after a few minutes. I normally do this for a half hour.
How should it be handled?
Just don't drop the rock or bash it against one another other surfaces. It will break.
How can you transport it to insure it's still live when you get it home.
In a perfect world you would want to keep the rock submerged and cushioned in tank water, this is almost never possible. If you wrap the LR in some wet newspaper and put it in a box or crate that should be just fine and die off will be minimal.
Will there be die off when you introduce it to your tank?
Yes there will be no matter what you do.
If there is any die off will it restart your amonnia cycle?
If the rock has been handled as described above you should not see a huge ammonia spike, your system should be able to handle a small spike
Yip...just about any info a salt appy would need to consider or look out for when purchasing live rock.
Check the LR for nuance algae! If there is any please remove it off the rock before adding it to your system.

 

[DCSA]

Seen a post where the guy washed the Live Rock with pool acid and water. You have to dilute the pool acid with a certain amount of water if you suspect the live rock has unwanted guests. I'm busy with my first tank and have been looking for Live rock to get things going. Hopefully people will answer your post as it is the same questions I was asking. Good Post!!!

Eish...No. Follow Subtech's advice.