What's the best live rock?

Wind · 08/14/2008, 03:18 PM

I've read diff't things. I've always thought FIJI rock was best, but they said it has gone subpar, whatever that means.

I'm looking for very porous rocks. Have narrowed down to the following. Anybody w/ confirmations?

Fiji
Bali
Timora

Diatome · 08/14/2008, 03:28 PM

From seeing what is being shipped these days, Florida Live Rock is all I can go with.

Wind · 08/14/2008, 03:34 PM

What do you mean by that?

Chef Reef · 08/14/2008, 04:27 PM

the more porous rock the better the rock. i guess it just depends on the piece. are you going to hand pick them or just order a bunch?

Wind · 08/14/2008, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Chef Reef
the more porous rock the better the rock. i guess it just depends on the piece. are you going to hand pick them or just order a bunch?

Not too particular, but wondering which area or location of rocks were more porous.

Mykel Obvious · 08/14/2008, 06:44 PM

Not sure about more porous than other types (nothing to compare it to), but I'm very pleased with the mix I got from Premium Aquatics... Timora, Bali and Tonga... a good percentage of the rock was obviously coral skeletons and has tons of passages and folds in the formation...

It looked a bit dull at first, but there is so much life I'm even finding new things months later (including about 4 hitchhiker crabs)
so far I've noticed:

1 Sun Polyp (single polyp that I'm going to try and feed into a colony... I'd have to say this is my personal favorite hitchhiker

)
2 small patches of briarum
1 Yellow Polyp
1 tiny patch of Anthelia (maybe 8 tiny polyps)
several patches of encrusting orange sponge (survived surprisingly well)
2 Nassarius snails
several types of tunicate/sea squirt/wazzerface (two types I've never seen before and haven't been able to identify yet)
ton of Rice/Pineapple Sponge
several types of fan worms
and every kind of flippin' algae in the book it seems (could have done without the Bryopsis)

Very pleased and will order from them for upgrades or new tank setups

Chef Reef · 08/14/2008, 06:50 PM

Well if you got to hand pick them just pick out the pieces that are the most porous from the selection you have. unless you are trying to go for a certain aquascape that would require a different shape or what not. Honestly unless you go buy a solid rock it wont make to much of a difference it filtration if that is what you are going for. Find pieces you like, you might have two rocks one is very porous but cant fit into your aquascape and just looks ugly, while you have another one that is only half as porous but would fit perfectly in with what you want to do. Go with the second one, you will be happier with your finished product.

Honestly i have no idea what half my rock is in my tank. i know i have some fiji and tonga. but there are other types i dunno what it is.

Saltz Creep · 08/14/2008, 07:03 PM

Florida live rocks are aquacultured limestone boulders. You just can't beat the porosity and shapes of live rock from ancient Indo-Pacific reefs. Fiji is cheap but not very exciting. Tonga fusion, Pukani, Kaelini, are the shizzle.

virginiadiver69 · 08/14/2008, 07:26 PM

Ditto on the Pukani.
Florida rock is very dense and you really have to be careful with nuisance hitchhikers.

cmart28 · 08/14/2008, 07:32 PM

I picked up around 225lbs of the Pukani, some of the nicest I have seen.

goboltz · 08/14/2008, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by cmart28
I picked up around 225lbs of the Pukani, some of the nicest I have seen.

Where did you purchase the Pukani? Any pics? I'm setting up a new tank and was looking up for LR also.

cmart28 · 08/14/2008, 08:26 PM

http://seatrademarine.com

Can't beat the price and quality.

kfisc · 08/14/2008, 08:54 PM

Some things are worth spending on 'til they hurt, at least a bit. I went for cured Kaelini; not the most expensive, but great rock. I'd really affirm the notion of hand-picking whatever you choose, and having a fair idea of what you want your rockscaping to look like before hand.

skey44 · 08/14/2008, 09:16 PM

i got nui/tonga fusion and i love it. you should be able to special order walt smith fiji right now for 2.99-3.99/ lb from your lfs. ask them to check it.

widmer · 08/14/2008, 10:25 PM

I've got no idea what the website was, I'm sure someone on here will chime in, but the best stuff I've ever seen was called spaghetti rock . Super duper porous, like a kitchen dish sponge, and something like $2.89 a pound dry.

Next up as far as quality and porosity would be my DIY rock I made from directions at garf.org, cost me ~$1/lb to make and I used the expensive ingredients...again, super porous.

grimmjohn · 08/14/2008, 10:55 PM

Enjoy your tonga rock boys, when the wholesalers run out of it it is gone until the government decides to open back up again.

Peter Eichler · 08/14/2008, 11:17 PM

Uaniva and Bali rock is the best I've seen of the rock that is currently available. Personally I would never put Florida rock in one of my reefs. For one, most of what we keep in our reefs is Indo-Pacific, secondly it's full of sponge and lots of nasty hitchhiker crabs IME. I rip any sponge off my rocks when I get them before I cure, and I suggest others do the same. It usually just creates a lot of pollution and extends the cure process.

madadi · 08/15/2008, 01:21 AM

good advice here. my tank is half vanuatu and figi. if i would do it all over again, i would get kaelini from premiumaquatics. im more into coralin coverage and shape. i also agree that florida rock has many bad critters in it.

08/14/2008, 03:18 PM	#1
Wind Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: In an extension Posts: 1,378	What's the best live rock? I've read diff't things. I've always thought FIJI rock was best, but they said it has gone subpar, whatever that means. I'm looking for very porous rocks. Have narrowed down to the following. Anybody w/ confirmations? Fiji Bali Timora

08/14/2008, 06:44 PM	#6
Mykel Obvious Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Huntsvegas, Alabama Posts: 907	Not sure about more porous than other types (nothing to compare it to), but I'm very pleased with the mix I got from Premium Aquatics... Timora, Bali and Tonga... a good percentage of the rock was obviously coral skeletons and has tons of passages and folds in the formation... It looked a bit dull at first, but there is so much life I'm even finding new things months later (including about 4 hitchhiker crabs) so far I've noticed: 1 Sun Polyp (single polyp that I'm going to try and feed into a colony... I'd have to say this is my personal favorite hitchhiker ) 2 small patches of briarum 1 Yellow Polyp 1 tiny patch of Anthelia (maybe 8 tiny polyps) several patches of encrusting orange sponge (survived surprisingly well) 2 Nassarius snails several types of tunicate/sea squirt/wazzerface (two types I've never seen before and haven't been able to identify yet) ton of Rice/Pineapple Sponge several types of fan worms and every kind of flippin' algae in the book it seems (could have done without the Bryopsis) Very pleased and will order from them for upgrades or new tank setups __________________ Mykel Obvious - "I have a total irreverence for anything connected with society except that which makes the roads safer, the beer stronger, the food cheaper and the old men and old women warmer in the winter and happier in the summer." Brendan Behan Current Tank Info: 65 gallon mixed reef

08/14/2008, 07:03 PM	#8
Saltz Creep Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Hickville, FL Posts: 3,728	Florida live rocks are aquacultured limestone boulders. You just can't beat the porosity and shapes of live rock from ancient Indo-Pacific reefs. Fiji is cheap but not very exciting. Tonga fusion, Pukani, Kaelini, are the shizzle. __________________ veni, vidi, vici piscis merda

08/14/2008, 07:26 PM	#9
virginiadiver69 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Va. Posts: 4,400	Ditto on the Pukani. Florida rock is very dense and you really have to be careful with nuisance hitchhikers. __________________ Semi-aggressive mixed reef w/ shallow sand bed 96x30x27 310gal custom acrylic w/ ext. "fail safe" overflow 125gal sump/cryptic fuge w/ 6" DSB 3 400w Plus Rite 20k MH in Lumembrights 2 250w Plus Rite 20k MH in spider reflectors VHO actinic supplementation 2 Tunze wave boxes 2 Tunze 6060 in Tunze Rocks 2 Tunze 6125 Reeflo 250 skimmer Hammerhead return on OM 4 way Aqua controller lll Leviton power panel Deltec Eco-Cooler Randy's Two part 6.5 kw generator

08/14/2008, 09:16 PM	#14
skey44 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Taylors, SC Posts: 929	i got nui/tonga fusion and i love it. you should be able to special order walt smith fiji right now for 2.99-3.99/ lb from your lfs. ask them to check it. __________________ Just trying to enjoy a delicious slice of reef pie in the suburban jungle. -Scott Current Tank Info: 40 Breeder Dining Room Tank- 2 Kessil A160, Vortech MP10, Tunze Nanostream, Tunze 9004 skimmer, Marineland HOB, Eheim heater 34g Office Honeymoon Shallow Reef

08/14/2008, 03:28 PM	#2
Diatome Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Gainesville, Florida Posts: 215	From seeing what is being shipped these days, Florida Live Rock is all I can go with.

08/14/2008, 03:34 PM	#3
Wind Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: In an extension Posts: 1,378	What do you mean by that?

08/14/2008, 04:27 PM	#4
Chef Reef Moved On Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Hallandale, FL Posts: 2,189	the more porous rock the better the rock. i guess it just depends on the piece. are you going to hand pick them or just order a bunch?

08/14/2008, 06:50 PM	#7
Chef Reef Moved On Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Hallandale, FL Posts: 2,189	Well if you got to hand pick them just pick out the pieces that are the most porous from the selection you have. unless you are trying to go for a certain aquascape that would require a different shape or what not. Honestly unless you go buy a solid rock it wont make to much of a difference it filtration if that is what you are going for. Find pieces you like, you might have two rocks one is very porous but cant fit into your aquascape and just looks ugly, while you have another one that is only half as porous but would fit perfectly in with what you want to do. Go with the second one, you will be happier with your finished product. Honestly i have no idea what half my rock is in my tank. i know i have some fiji and tonga. but there are other types i dunno what it is.

08/14/2008, 07:32 PM	#10
cmart28 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: NJ Posts: 269	I picked up around 225lbs of the Pukani, some of the nicest I have seen.

08/14/2008, 08:26 PM	#12
cmart28 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: NJ Posts: 269	http://seatrademarine.com Can't beat the price and quality.

08/14/2008, 08:54 PM	#13
kfisc Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 2,020	Some things are worth spending on 'til they hurt, at least a bit. I went for cured Kaelini; not the most expensive, but great rock. I'd really affirm the notion of hand-picking whatever you choose, and having a fair idea of what you want your rockscaping to look like before hand.

08/14/2008, 10:25 PM	#15
widmer Drug Enthusiast Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Rochester, MN Posts: 2,958	I've got no idea what the website was, I'm sure someone on here will chime in, but the best stuff I've ever seen was called spaghetti rock . Super duper porous, like a kitchen dish sponge, and something like $2.89 a pound dry. Next up as far as quality and porosity would be my DIY rock I made from directions at garf.org, cost me ~$1/lb to make and I used the expensive ingredients...again, super porous.

08/14/2008, 10:55 PM	#16
grimmjohn Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 1,388	Enjoy your tonga rock boys, when the wholesalers run out of it it is gone until the government decides to open back up again. __________________ They always come back Oh Lord...I'm not ready for this sort of thing.

08/14/2008, 11:17 PM	#17
Peter Eichler Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Milwaukee Posts: 6,081	Uaniva and Bali rock is the best I've seen of the rock that is currently available. Personally I would never put Florida rock in one of my reefs. For one, most of what we keep in our reefs is Indo-Pacific, secondly it's full of sponge and lots of nasty hitchhiker crabs IME. I rip any sponge off my rocks when I get them before I cure, and I suggest others do the same. It usually just creates a lot of pollution and extends the cure process. __________________ April 2015 TOTM

08/15/2008, 01:21 AM	#18
madadi ReefOG Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Morton grove, IL Posts: 3,976	good advice here. my tank is half vanuatu and figi. if i would do it all over again, i would get kaelini from premiumaquatics. im more into coralin coverage and shape. i also agree that florida rock has many bad critters in it. __________________ -~adrian~- LETS TRADE YUMAS Current Tank Info: Glass box.