base rock or live?

RoadkillRich · 01/15/2007, 09:00 PM

Hi All
is it better to buy all live rock or base rock.
i want the best filtering for my tank.
Thanks for your time.

Rich

46bfinGA · 01/15/2007, 09:30 PM

Depends on how much you need or can afford.

nyvp · 01/15/2007, 10:05 PM

buy all base rock and then get one pcs of live. It will all grow to be live in 6 months. Dont waste your money

CTS · 01/15/2007, 10:54 PM

vuvp - that is exactly what i am going to say. I would but about 75% base then have 25% live rock. It will then all become live rock after a while. I can't tell what was live and what was base in my tank anymore.

Kennyboy1984 · 01/16/2007, 05:08 PM

Where does one get base rock? All of these websites cheapest rock is premium fiji.

svb57 · 01/16/2007, 05:17 PM

I purchased about 150lbs of base rock from here 2 years ago. They took pictures of the rock before they sent it to make sure I was happy with sizes of the rocks.

http://www.reeferrocks.com/index.htm

Jim Mc

jimrawr · 01/16/2007, 05:35 PM

I would look for live rock from a local reef club. I just bought 40lbs of live rock fully cured for $3/lb. Much better doing that.. If you cant find someone local to buy the LR from, then I guess get a mix of both.

LR is much better than base rock though

TekCat · 01/16/2007, 05:45 PM

I agree on mixing DR and LR. For DR I went to www.marcorocks.com and got some awesome rocks!!!

A sea K · 01/16/2007, 06:08 PM

After starting w/ all live rock (350 + lbs) I would do differently if I started over again. I feel it would be much cheaper and easier to control alot of nuisance problems using mainly dry rock,and then you can simply add what you want. I guess the biggest downside would be extended time in establishing stability in the system.

clekchau · 01/17/2007, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by TekCat
I agree on mixing DR and LR. For DR I went to www.marcorocks.com and got some awesome rocks!!!

i concur with marco rocks. reeferrocks is closed for now, i corresponded with captain jer a few weeks ago and he said they didn't have any base rock due to the hurrricanes.

marco's rocks however are huge and awesome, very light and porous you get alot for your money compared to "live" rock.

05Xrunner · 01/17/2007, 09:24 AM

Thats what i did.
I got about 40lb of baserock so far..And 3 pieces of live rock ontop of it..Also lastnight I just bought a 6lb chunk of live rock that isnt pictured. I put it solo in the right side of the tank cause its a nice round one with a big cave in it. I figure maybe get about 10lb more live rock and that should be good.

at 1.59lb at my LFS for the base rock....sure beats the price of the live and it will grow in due time

nhlives · 01/17/2007, 12:14 PM

Marco Rock is pretty unbelievable stuff.

I am also setting up a new tank (my first). I bought 100# of Marco with 25# of the Tongo shelf rock. The shelf rock is much more dense and more expensive but I have a piece with fossilized brain coral in it with embedded shells and other fossilized critters. Too much.

I will be getting about 10# of LR to inoculate the dead rock.

drummereef · 01/17/2007, 01:26 PM

I agree about using 95% base rock and seeding with a couple of choice pieces of l/r. Other than the price factor, you limit introducing hitchhickers on the rock by doing so. Some of the crap that comes on l/r just isn't worth the risk to me, especially in larger systems.

RoadkillRich · 01/17/2007, 09:12 PM

Thanks for all the in put, you guys are the best.
Take care.

Rich

Impala1964 · 01/17/2007, 10:02 PM

I can't do this can some one post some pics of tanks mostly base rock seeded with liverock/ before and after

05Xrunner · 01/17/2007, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Impala1964
I can't do this can some one post some pics of tanks mostly base rock seeded with liverock/ before and after

LOL give me 6months

Saddler · 01/20/2007, 05:36 PM

Man, this is great! I'm definitely going this route. I was obsessed w/ reef tanks a few years back but couldn't get one due to being stuck in a small apartment in L.A. Hopefully I'll be getting my first tank for a reef tomorrow. It's 110 gallons which is larger than I planned to start with, but it's a great deal. But I had forgotten how much it costs for live rock! So I'll probably get something like 125 lbs of the marco fiji, maybe a nice 25 piece of the marco tonga shelf, and then 15 or 20lbs of live rock. I'd like to have varied rock that's not just purple like Fiji, so I'm thinking of doing a mix, like 5lb of Fiji, 5lb of Gulf, 5lb of uaniva, and 5lb of tonga, vanuatu, bali, or whatever. Can anyone comment on how this would work for me? I mean, would having fiji rock cover everything with purple coralline before the gulf or uaniva rocks had a chance to seed with the other colors and lifeforms?

Saddler · 01/20/2007, 06:08 PM

Hmm, does live rock have to be in the main tank and touching the base rock to seed it? How would it work out if I bought only base rock for the tank and then filled a lit sump or refugium with a bunch of cured live rubble rock bought at $1.50/lb?

Also, does this work for live sand as well? I would like to have a six inch sand bed for both filtering, and to allow me to have a couple of yellow headed jawfish. If I used 5 inches of dead sand and 1 inch of live, would the live sand seed the dead sand? Would I want the live sand underneath or on top of the dead sand?

01/15/2007, 09:00 PM	#1
RoadkillRich Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: RI Posts: 47	base rock or live? Hi All is it better to buy all live rock or base rock. i want the best filtering for my tank. Thanks for your time. Rich

01/16/2007, 05:08 PM	#5
Kennyboy1984 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: SLC, UTAH Posts: 376	Where does one get base rock? All of these websites cheapest rock is premium fiji. __________________ Anti-Tang Police Current Tank Info: 24g nano cube, 125 g

01/16/2007, 05:35 PM	#7
jimrawr Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Palm Beach County, FL Posts: 1,887	I would look for live rock from a local reef club. I just bought 40lbs of live rock fully cured for $3/lb. Much better doing that.. If you cant find someone local to buy the LR from, then I guess get a mix of both. LR is much better than base rock though __________________ Tank Info: 75g, 40g Sump, AquaMaxx Skimmer, Two Tunze 6095, ATI 8x52", Bubble Magus Dosing Pump, Apex Controller, Tunze ATO.

01/16/2007, 06:08 PM	#9
A sea K Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Branford Fl Posts: 3,024	After starting w/ all live rock (350 + lbs) I would do differently if I started over again. I feel it would be much cheaper and easier to control alot of nuisance problems using mainly dry rock,and then you can simply add what you want. I guess the biggest downside would be extended time in establishing stability in the system. __________________ I am not a pro so excuse me if I'm wrong. Current Tank Info: 30gal Deep Blue rimless 9/10/2014, 80gal Deep Blue rimless 40gal sump/refugium 9/11/16 LPS reef, 2 x Kessil A160 with a single Maxspect Razor, RO Prime 150INT skimmer, Sicce 3 return pump, Vortech MP40 and MP10

01/17/2007, 01:26 PM	#13
drummereef Team RC Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: STL Posts: 14,754	I agree about using 95% base rock and seeding with a couple of choice pieces of l/r. Other than the price factor, you limit introducing hitchhickers on the rock by doing so. Some of the crap that comes on l/r just isn't worth the risk to me, especially in larger systems. __________________ -Brett 180g Marineland Starfire In-Wall 278 gallon system

01/15/2007, 09:30 PM	#2
46bfinGA Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Ball Ground, Ga. Posts: 1,333	Depends on how much you need or can afford.

01/15/2007, 10:05 PM	#3
nyvp Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Hollywood Florida Posts: 3,633	buy all base rock and then get one pcs of live. It will all grow to be live in 6 months. Dont waste your money

01/15/2007, 10:54 PM	#4
CTS Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Manitoba, Canada Posts: 132	vuvp - that is exactly what i am going to say. I would but about 75% base then have 25% live rock. It will then all become live rock after a while. I can't tell what was live and what was base in my tank anymore.

01/16/2007, 05:17 PM	#6
svb57 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Romeoville, Ill Posts: 1,907	I purchased about 150lbs of base rock from here 2 years ago. They took pictures of the rock before they sent it to make sure I was happy with sizes of the rocks. http://www.reeferrocks.com/index.htm Jim Mc

01/16/2007, 05:45 PM	#8
TekCat Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: MN Posts: 3,130	I agree on mixing DR and LR. For DR I went to www.marcorocks.com and got some awesome rocks!!!

01/17/2007, 09:24 AM	#11
05Xrunner Moved On Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Pittsburgh PA Posts: 768	Thats what i did. I got about 40lb of baserock so far..And 3 pieces of live rock ontop of it..Also lastnight I just bought a 6lb chunk of live rock that isnt pictured. I put it solo in the right side of the tank cause its a nice round one with a big cave in it. I figure maybe get about 10lb more live rock and that should be good. at 1.59lb at my LFS for the base rock....sure beats the price of the live and it will grow in due time

01/17/2007, 12:14 PM	#12
nhlives Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Florida Posts: 247	Marco Rock is pretty unbelievable stuff. I am also setting up a new tank (my first). I bought 100# of Marco with 25# of the Tongo shelf rock. The shelf rock is much more dense and more expensive but I have a piece with fossilized brain coral in it with embedded shells and other fossilized critters. Too much. I will be getting about 10# of LR to inoculate the dead rock.

01/17/2007, 09:12 PM	#14
RoadkillRich Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: RI Posts: 47	Thanks for all the in put, you guys are the best. Take care. Rich

01/17/2007, 10:02 PM	#15
Impala1964 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Modesto Ca Posts: 126	I can't do this can some one post some pics of tanks mostly base rock seeded with liverock/ before and after

01/20/2007, 05:36 PM	#17
Saddler Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 776	Man, this is great! I'm definitely going this route. I was obsessed w/ reef tanks a few years back but couldn't get one due to being stuck in a small apartment in L.A. Hopefully I'll be getting my first tank for a reef tomorrow. It's 110 gallons which is larger than I planned to start with, but it's a great deal. But I had forgotten how much it costs for live rock! So I'll probably get something like 125 lbs of the marco fiji, maybe a nice 25 piece of the marco tonga shelf, and then 15 or 20lbs of live rock. I'd like to have varied rock that's not just purple like Fiji, so I'm thinking of doing a mix, like 5lb of Fiji, 5lb of Gulf, 5lb of uaniva, and 5lb of tonga, vanuatu, bali, or whatever. Can anyone comment on how this would work for me? I mean, would having fiji rock cover everything with purple coralline before the gulf or uaniva rocks had a chance to seed with the other colors and lifeforms?

01/20/2007, 06:08 PM	#18
Saddler Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 776	Hmm, does live rock have to be in the main tank and touching the base rock to seed it? How would it work out if I bought only base rock for the tank and then filled a lit sump or refugium with a bunch of cured live rubble rock bought at $1.50/lb? Also, does this work for live sand as well? I would like to have a six inch sand bed for both filtering, and to allow me to have a couple of yellow headed jawfish. If I used 5 inches of dead sand and 1 inch of live, would the live sand seed the dead sand? Would I want the live sand underneath or on top of the dead sand?