Aqua cultured live rock

[USMA36]

i started my tank 18 months ago with 100 lbs of dry rock. It just isn’t thriving as it should be. I am planning on ordering 20lbs of Tampa Bay live rock. Since it ships in water, Can I add this rock directly to my tank? How big a risk are the bad hitchhikers to my already established fish and coral?

 

[jda]

They are a real risk. Some people do not have many problems and some have a lot... it is kind of a crapshoot.

If you are worried about the hitchhikers, then ship it dry and cure it once you receive it. The crabs, shrimp and other potential nasty stuff will die off along with the sensitive inverts. Most of the sensitive inverts will eventually end up dying anyway. The coralline, hardy stuff and bacteria will all live if it is just out of water for a day or two and kept damp with newspaper or in a bag.

 

[Instigate]

i started my tank 18 months ago with 100 lbs of dry rock. It just isn’t thriving as it should be. I am planning on ordering 20lbs of Tampa Bay live rock. Since it ships in water, Can I add this rock directly to my tank? How big a risk are the bad hitchhikers to my already established fish and coral?

I'm in the same boat and planning to do the same. I would QT it for 45 days before adding to my DT, 76 if you can stand it. You can set traps for crabs and shrimp, and gives you time to become aware of and eradicate anything like bryopsis or aptasia. No need to leave it out of water.

 

[fish farmer]

I purchased gulfview rock once, 30 lbs, they ship it with wet paper. I cured it separately for about a month. Right out of the box I found a couple of crabs. I hade some snails I wasn't sure about and over time I had about eight sea urchins grow off that rock.

 

[DesertReefT4r]

I would still cure it separate from the display tank, set taps for pests and remove all crabs and macro algae. I always found some unwanted pests like crabs and algae on my new from the ocean live rock.

 

[USMA36]

Tampa Bay live rock ships in water. You pick it up from your local airport the same day they ship it. I emailed them, they recommend adding the rock directly to the main display and using traps to catch any bad hitch hikers. I just ordered 25 lbs. I’ll post here when I get it.

 

[kashman100]

+1....Talk to Richard at Tampa Bay Saltwater. He will help you out

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

They are a real risk. Some people do not have many problems and some have a lot... it is kind of a crapshoot.

If you are worried about the hitchhikers, then ship it dry and cure it once you receive it. The crabs, shrimp and other potential nasty stuff will die off along with the sensitive inverts. Most of the sensitive inverts will eventually end up dying anyway. The coralline, hardy stuff and bacteria will all live if it is just out of water for a day or two and kept damp with newspaper or in a bag.

This. I feel like more complex hitchhikers will have a hard time making it 24 hours out of water, and you'll still get a surprising amount of life despite the fact that it's shipped damp and not submerged.

I would (and did) go with KP Aquatics and get their overnighted rock. It's shipped damp in wet news paper. On the bottom of the box, I found several dead crabs as well as a (barely) alive 1" mantis shrimp. I discarded the crab carcasses, added the mantis to its own 2.5g tank, and cured the rock for a few weeks before adding it to my display.

It's not a guarantee that you won't get hitchhikers, and you will have to cure the rock. But, I feel like it's a decent compromise in price, life on the rock, and hitchhiker risk. The rock is reasonably priced (especially when you consider it's shipped overnight), and you don't have to pick the rock up from the airport.

 

[jda]

Why do people fear curing rock. It is named that for a reason... it cures the rock of all of the bad stuff that is either going to be a menace or going to die anyway. Nearly all of the stuff that comes alive on shipped-in-water rock is fools gold and many wish that they did not have it.

 

[offtropic]

Why do people fear curing rock. It is named that for a reason... it cures the rock of all of the bad stuff that is either going to be a menace or going to die anyway. Nearly all of the stuff that comes alive on shipped-in-water rock is fools gold and many wish that they did not have it.

Because biodiversity is the key to stability in all natural systems. This is why we always here "new tank problems" and "established system" differences. Whether or not we try to start with ultrapurified materials for our tank, a host of organisms will eventually find their way in. If these r-type organisms find this environment with no checks and balances (and since it is "pure", it won't have any) their population explodes - hence "new tank problems", "natural maturation", "another new tank phase". That isn't to say that starting with a biodiverse system will always work out - it might not be the right mix of biodiversity so there is some unpredictability to the whole thing.

 

[malacoda]

+1....Talk to Richard at Tampa Bay Saltwater. He will help you out

On 20 lbs, I would say the risk is rather low.

Of course, nothing in this hobby is a guarantee. And "what's the risk" is too complex a question for a short two-line response...

I started my now 2.5-year-old 24g with TBS live rock. To this day I still find new life popping up in the tank ... and love the wonder and surprise of it.

There will be very little ... if any ... die-off on the rock since it ships overnight submerged in water. He ships it submerged in water precisely so you won't have to cure it for purposes of ammonia prevention. Just double check to make sure no big patches of sponge died (not likely to happen, but pick 'em off if there is), then add to your tank.

You will get both good and bad hitchhikers. But it's very unlikely the bad will be 'immediately' damaging to exiting corals and I doubt any will pose a threat to your fish. More-so if you're only getting 20lbs.

The most 'feared' hitchhiker that might show up is mantis shrimp. (I saw none in the 20lbs of rock I got.)

IF you should happen to get one, many people spear them with a skewer if they spot them after rock is in the tank. Preventive option would be to inspect the holes of the rock very closely before putting it your display and, if you suspect there may be mantis hiding in one, pour some sparkling water (e.g. seltzer) in it. Usually causes them to bail right out.

The more likely 'bad' hitchhikers include whelks, limpets, and gorilla crabs.

When the whelks come out at night, just pick off the rock and flush 'em. Many consider keyhole limpets reef safe, but I had one eat some acans. Many people consider gorilla crabs troublesome hitchhikers ... but they failed to live up the fear-hype to me. To this day I still find one occasionally. I used to trap 'em in a shot glass (using scallop as bait) but no longer bother. Never had one harm anything. They act as CUC for a while. But then usually disappear. Not sure if my hermits take them out or they simply starve to death since I feed my tank lightly.

That said, TBS rock is FILLED with amazing life: sponges, little corals, tons of barnacles, tiny pistol shrimp (the size of a peanut if that, hear them but almost never see them, non-symbiotic with gobies), porcelain crabs, etc. - and most of it will die if you do a normal curing process.

If your dead-set on not having hitchhikers, a better bet would to QT it for several weeks, or just get standard 'live rock' from a LFS or someplace like Premium Aquatics (You pay $$$ in shipping for TBS to get the life. If you don't want the life, it'd be cheaper to this route.)

 

[ReefWithCare]

Quick noob question - do I need a light to cure live rock or can I cure in a Brute can?

 

[lzrlvr]

Arrrrgh there are alternatives to live rock and dry rock.

 

[jda]

Which biodiversity that you are losing in a cure is beneficial? Pods (all forms and sizes), sure, but they come back. Coralline, sure, but it lives. Bacteria, sure, but it lives quite well. Low-light cryptic sponges, yup, they live too. Most of the rest of the stuff like the colorful sponges, gorgs, sea fans, etc. are all probably going to die in your tank over time... you cannot feed them or give them enough light. It is better to get them out before they go in. The cure will do this. The cure will also kill all of the nasty isopods, gastropods, crabs and shrimp that can live - it can also kill some of the good crabs and shrimp, but at some point, you need to choose.

Keep in mind that all pacific rock ships dry and gets cured and nobody complains about biodiversity from this stuff.

I think that the the appeal to shipped-wet live rock is mostly from people that are new to the hobby. Most of my friends in the hobby have a lot of experience and none of them would want any of that stuff in their tank, but the cured rock would probably be OK if it was porous enough.

BTW - I ordered 600 lbs of rock for the tank that I am going to set up soon. There is a lot of nasty stuff that comes on that much rock and it is not easy to pick through it all.

 

[reefwiser]

One of the main reasons the hobby was possible was Live Rock. Once hobbyist learned what Live Rock brought to the table in bacteria and Life itself.
Everyone wanted it. With the banning of collection of rock outside the US and only farming in the US. Hobbyist have moved away from live rock COST and hitchhikers, are the excuses. Then hobbyist spend the first couple years of their aquariums life fighting Algaes and hitchhikers like Aiptasia that come off of corals purchased to stock their aquariums.

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

I used TBS rock to start my 120g over a year ago. The tank was processing ammonia and nitrates to zero within two weeks and I experienced none of the new tank uglies most folks deal with. What problems I had with unwanted hitchhikers were minimal when compared to my overall experience. To this day I still find something new on the rocks I didn't see before, and I still have many of the barnacles, bivalves, feather dusters, sponges and tunicates alive after 15 months. Speaking for myself I would not do it differently.

 

[shred5]

Tampa Bay saltwater is shipped with water and there is little die off . I would quarantine it even though there really not allot of bad hitchhikers except some crabs and a possible mantis shrimp. Once removed from water there will be some die off no matter what. Some sponges can not be exposed to air.

Shipped with water is the best way because the rock comes with sponges and corals and less will die off.

Shipping it with wet news paper will have more die off but allot still makes it if shipped overnight. The longer the shipping the more dies.

 

[vetteguy53081]

UNLESS. . . . .UNLESS. . . . . UNLESS - you like crabs of the UNknown ( possibly gorilla crabs, mantis shrimp and possible fireworm and sea cucumbers....... for your safety and enjoyment dip in a bucket for a little bit or even freshwater dip to force out any future nightmare of hitchhikers into your system you are working so hard to beautify.

 

[USMA36]

I posted a review under its own topic.

 

[shred5]

UNLESS. . . . .UNLESS. . . . . UNLESS - you like crabs of the UNknown ( possibly gorilla crabs, mantis shrimp and possible fireworm and sea cucumbers....... for your safety and enjoyment dip in a bucket for a little bit or even freshwater dip to force out any future nightmare of hitchhikers into your system you are working so hard to beautify.

Dipping in fresh water would hurt good things and the whole reason you get live rocks. Funny I have been using live rock for 30+ and never had a issue. A few mantis shrimp and crabs which are easy to catch.

I got 100 pounds of Gulfview aqua cultured rock right now in a vat and nothing bad at all. Not one crab or mantis, only thing was a few small urchins.

In 30 + years I have never seen anyone get a actual fireworm. Some people get bristleworms but again never a issue with them most are good.

Funny how people now a days are so afraid of live rock and most of it is from misinformation because companies want to sell dead rock.

I have actually had more issues with dry rock. I always get a dino bloom for a while when using all dry rock. I mix live and dead rock now and cycle them together.

Look at how long the dino threads are and how many threads there are since the shift to dead rock. That is more scary to most than a few bristle worms that are detritivores. Yes it can be over come but it is such a pain.