Aqua cultured live rock

[shred5]

I posted a review under its own topic.

Should have posted a link. For some reason I can not find the thread!

 

[USMA36]

Sorry I had a delay actually posting. Here’s the link. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-tampa-bay-saltwater-aquacultured-rock-experience.441427/

 

[CC13]

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?

The main problem with using all dead rock is that there is zero biodiversity other than what you add to the tank.

I try and add a couple lbs. of live rock from 8-10 already established but different tanks in order to add bio diversity. I try and choose tanks with no pests (bubble algae, aiptasia, ect) but sometimes you get this unwanted hitch hikers anyways. I also make sure I grab some Chaeto from a few places because they are full of good pods that will grow and establish them-self in your system.

16 months is far too long for your tank to become 'alive' again, it usually takes 6-8 months at the most.

 

[USMA36]

My dead rock is now live but the tank wasn’t thriving as I thought it should despite very steady parameters. pH 8-8.3 dkh 7.5 - 8 calcium 410 temp 77. Phosphates always less than .1 and nitrates at 2 - 5 ppm. Any sps died within a month or two including branching and plating monties, pocilipora, and Acro’s. LPS and softies live but are crazy slow to grow. I am hoping the addition of the live rock will help.

 

[CC13]

My dead rock is now live but the tank wasn’t thriving as I thought it should despite very steady parameters. pH 8-8.3 dkh 7.5 - 8 calcium 410 temp 77. Phosphates always less than .1 and nitrates at 2 - 5 ppm. Any sps died within a month or two including branching and plating monties, pocilipora, and Acro’s. LPS and softies live but are crazy slow to grow. I am hoping the addition of the live rock will help.

What about your lighting?

Your tank 'thriving' when your basing it off SPS growth and survival might not be the best correlation.

SPS care more about intense light, availability of calcium, magnesium, trace elements, higher pH (which yours appears to be ad you indicated), and stable overall water conditions. I know people who add SPS after a month of their tanks cycling and have flourishing SPS growth and they start off with dead rock as well.

 

[Retro Reefer]

IMO nothing beats fresh aquacultured live rock for the biodiversity it will bring to your tank.. only real problem I have had over the years are mantis shrimp but I feel that the good outweighes the bad.. piece from a shipment I received a couple weeks ago

 

[CC13]

IMO nothing beats fresh aquacultured live rock for the biodiversity it will bring to your tank.. only real problem I have had over the years are mantis shrimp but I feel that the good outweighes the bad.. piece from a shipment I received a couple weeks ago

That rock looks amazing.

Question: Do you guys not worry about pests (fireworms, aiptasia, gorilla crabs, ect?). How do you guys deal with anything unwanted?

 

[Foothill Corals]

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.

I am also starting a new tank with dry rock, considering KP Aquatics for some seed rock. Where did you get the 600 lbs. and what is your opinion of it? That is a lot of rock what size tank?

 

[cracker]

Nice !

 

[Retro Reefer]

That rock looks amazing.

Question: Do you guys not worry about pests (fireworms, aiptasia, gorilla crabs, ect?). How do you guys deal with anything unwanted?

Thanks.. it’s from KP aquatics, Guess I have been lucky in never had any real issues with aiptasia or crabs I usually remove whatever pest I see before putting rock in tank, the KP rock is mostly if not completely free of aiptasia.. In a new setup I will spread the rock out across bare bottom tank tank and monitor it for a few weeks, If I have a suspected pest in a particular rock I can isolate it or remove it from tank, crabs can be trapped..

 

[CDavmd]

....not sure I understand the recent craze for all the “large life” on the live rock. In the old days when you could get Fiji or Marshall island rock...we cured it. What we were after was the bacterial species and microfauna and coralline that made the rock live. Curing it maintained these species and let the hitchhikers die off. It usually only took a week or so in the dark. We would check the ammonia level and do water changes to keep the microfauna alive. Then it went in your tank and you kept the lights off for a bit.

I would never want the macroalgae that is on that rock to take hold in a display tank. Some can be quite invasive and difficult to get under control. As for the stray bristleworms... they were good. Cryptic sponges would come and go. Aiptasia you dealt with via a variety of means. Rarely was there a crab or pistol that made it through the shipping and curing.

I still prefer live rock but as stated; for the bacteria and microfauna. All the rest I never want in my tank.

 

[Oliver d]

IMO nothing beats fresh aquacultured live rock for the biodiversity it will bring to your tank.. only real problem I have had over the years are mantis shrimp but I feel that the good outweighes the bad.. piece from a shipment I received a couple weeks ago

I fully agree with every marine tank i have started was started with live rock collected or cultured and the worst I ever got was a mantis shrimp.

 

[vetteguy53081]

That rock looks amazing.

Question: Do you guys not worry about pests (fireworms, aiptasia, gorilla crabs, ect?). How do you guys deal with anything unwanted?

When you have a tank set up natural the way mine is (see pic below), Pests are Impossible to reach/get to especially one such as a mantis.

 

[Oliver d]

That looks amazing.

 

[CC13]

When you have a tank set up natural the way mine is (see pic below), Pests are Impossible to reach/get to especially one such as a mantis.

Beautiful Tank

 

[vetteguy53081]

Beautiful Tank

Thank you. Just in the midst of changing filter socks and adding my magic stuff to tank and sump to help sustain the colors

 

[CC13]

Just in the midst of adding my magic stuff to tank

What do you add? Trace elements?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Trace, iron, Refill dosing bottle (Ca, Mag,Alk), Aquaforest build and mineral salts, Aquaforest lifesource, Iodine, Amino acid, potassium and strontium.

I have a mix of SPS, LPS and softies.

 

[CC13]

Trace, iron, Refill dosing bottle (Ca, Mag,Alk), Aquaforest build and mineral salts, Aquaforest lifesource, Iodine, Amino acid, potassium and strontium.

I have a mix of SPS, LPS and softies.

Buy the supplements in bulk and dose on a schedule daily? or just dose manually.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Buy the supplements in bulk and dose on a schedule daily? or just dose manually.

The three part dosing is accomplish by doser. The remaining is done weekly and manually using 1.5ml with a plastic pipette. On My main tank ( I have 4 tanks), I use triton method , so these are supplements to the core7 program.
My large cube is all manual with exception of calc and Mag done via doser also