live rock cheap with free shipping

nib420247 · 01/04/2007, 04:20 PM

has anyone bought live rock from the marine center? A 50 lb box is only $169, its uncured but very cheap. I was looking into buying some in the near future and my lfs wants $5.99 a pound for cured rock but for the price I would rather cure it myself. Anyway for the price anyone looking to buy some should look into this place. I dont know how to paste a link, but its at themarinecenter.com

papagimp · 01/04/2007, 04:25 PM

fwiw, most "cured" rock you'll get from a LFS isn't going to be nearly as nice as some stuff you can order online. As long as it's directly shipped to you from the reef (drop shipped, or close to). The only benefit I see to using LiveRock over getting dead rock and seeding it, would be the variety of hitchikers and other goodies you may get on it. If the rock has been stored for awhile by a 3rd or 4th party member than it's really not going to be as good as it can be. Sure it'll filter just the same, but why pay the extra price for something not as good. Just my opinions though.

wickeddroptop · 01/04/2007, 04:45 PM

If you want uncured live rock, make your own or dig some up

papagimp · 01/04/2007, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by wickeddroptop
If you want uncured live rock, make your own or dig some up

uuuhhh, how bout 'NO'. The only rock I would ever consider using from the ground would be Limestone, and even then, be careful it doesn't have other mineral chunked in with it. and for making your own, wouldn't be uncrued live rock then. it would simply be dry base rock. And dry base rock as well as the DIY stuff is awesome and saves a crapload of cash, but you do miss out on some nice hitchikers and potential goodies. I prefer a mix of the two, some dry base, with nice live rock on top.

swjim · 01/04/2007, 04:54 PM

I agree with papagimp, I'm going to be restarting my tank from scratch after moving across country. I'm going to try to save some $$$ by using primarily base rock and seeding it with a smaller amount of high quality live rock, sand from an existing reef tank and/or maybe some garf grunge (never used it, but I'm thinking about ordering some). I used a lot of base rock when upgrading from a 50 gal to a 135 and it worked very well, I consider this the same idea but on a larger scale. It takes some time, but the bacteria, coralline, pods, worms, stars, etc will work their way onto the base rock and you won't be able to tell the difference between it and the live rock you paid the full price for.

Best of luck to you.

Jim

kass03 · 01/04/2007, 05:07 PM

I don't think wickeddroptop knows what uncured live rock is. It takes a few years in the ocean to make your own lol.

Theres alot of live rock out there f/s and the life on it depends on alot things such as how long it's been in the ocean, where it came from etc.
Also some rock is much more dense than others so costs more for the same size rock.
You want to try to get more porous rock.

Uncured usually has alot of life along with macro algae in which alot of it dies in shipping so needs to be cured longer.
Cured is already cured from where you order it from but still has die off during shipping so it is'nt really cured anymore but usually takes less curing time cuz some die off had already been removed.

kass

SaltyDr · 01/04/2007, 06:47 PM

Look on E-bay. There are a couple of vendors there that are selling Fiji for $2.25/lb plus shipping, but that probably comes out to the same. If you want awesome base rock, look at Marcorocks.com

BreefMe · 01/04/2007, 07:12 PM

^ SaltyDr is right. I have bought live rock from ebay and have been very happy with it.

The only caveat right now is the weather. With winter temperatures soon to hit, the temperature changes that the rock will go through in transit will take a toll. A big one.

You will have a huge amount of detritis and a prolonged cycle time. If you can hold off until the warmer weather hits you will be better off if you go the ebay route. If you need a large quantity of rock, ebay will cut cost a lot.

I know the prices for live rock at the LFS are astronomical.

Emps · 01/05/2007, 10:43 AM

Marine Depot Live has live Fiji Premium for 159.00 shipped for 44lbs. I just bought 88lbs and it looks great.

01/04/2007, 04:20 PM	#1
nib420247 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 32	live rock cheap with free shipping has anyone bought live rock from the marine center? A 50 lb box is only $169, its uncured but very cheap. I was looking into buying some in the near future and my lfs wants $5.99 a pound for cured rock but for the price I would rather cure it myself. Anyway for the price anyone looking to buy some should look into this place. I dont know how to paste a link, but its at themarinecenter.com

01/04/2007, 04:25 PM	#2
papagimp COMAS Rocks! Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 8,185 Blog Entries: 2	fwiw, most "cured" rock you'll get from a LFS isn't going to be nearly as nice as some stuff you can order online. As long as it's directly shipped to you from the reef (drop shipped, or close to). The only benefit I see to using LiveRock over getting dead rock and seeding it, would be the variety of hitchikers and other goodies you may get on it. If the rock has been stored for awhile by a 3rd or 4th party member than it's really not going to be as good as it can be. Sure it'll filter just the same, but why pay the extra price for something not as good. Just my opinions though. __________________ 58g Softie & 75g Stoney Member, Central Oklahoma Marine Aquarium Society Current Tank Info: 58g Mixed Reef Project - Started June 2011

01/04/2007, 06:47 PM	#7
SaltyDr Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Southwest Florida Posts: 1,191	cheap LR Look on E-bay. There are a couple of vendors there that are selling Fiji for $2.25/lb plus shipping, but that probably comes out to the same. If you want awesome base rock, look at Marcorocks.com

01/04/2007, 04:45 PM	#3
wickeddroptop Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: San Marcos, CA Posts: 53	If you want uncured live rock, make your own or dig some up

01/04/2007, 04:54 PM	#5
swjim Registered Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Boerne, TX Posts: 884	I agree with papagimp, I'm going to be restarting my tank from scratch after moving across country. I'm going to try to save some $$$ by using primarily base rock and seeding it with a smaller amount of high quality live rock, sand from an existing reef tank and/or maybe some garf grunge (never used it, but I'm thinking about ordering some). I used a lot of base rock when upgrading from a 50 gal to a 135 and it worked very well, I consider this the same idea but on a larger scale. It takes some time, but the bacteria, coralline, pods, worms, stars, etc will work their way onto the base rock and you won't be able to tell the difference between it and the live rock you paid the full price for. Best of luck to you. Jim

01/04/2007, 05:07 PM	#6
kass03 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Kaukauna, Wi Posts: 2,937	I don't think wickeddroptop knows what uncured live rock is. It takes a few years in the ocean to make your own lol. Theres alot of live rock out there f/s and the life on it depends on alot things such as how long it's been in the ocean, where it came from etc. Also some rock is much more dense than others so costs more for the same size rock. You want to try to get more porous rock. Uncured usually has alot of life along with macro algae in which alot of it dies in shipping so needs to be cured longer. Cured is already cured from where you order it from but still has die off during shipping so it is'nt really cured anymore but usually takes less curing time cuz some die off had already been removed. kass

01/04/2007, 07:12 PM	#8
BreefMe Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: West Central NJ Posts: 194	^ SaltyDr is right. I have bought live rock from ebay and have been very happy with it. The only caveat right now is the weather. With winter temperatures soon to hit, the temperature changes that the rock will go through in transit will take a toll. A big one. You will have a huge amount of detritis and a prolonged cycle time. If you can hold off until the warmer weather hits you will be better off if you go the ebay route. If you need a large quantity of rock, ebay will cut cost a lot. I know the prices for live rock at the LFS are astronomical.

01/05/2007, 10:43 AM	#9
Emps Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: NJ Posts: 24	Marine Depot Live has live Fiji Premium for 159.00 shipped for 44lbs. I just bought 88lbs and it looks great.