Aquacultured Rock From KP Aquatics

[shred5]

I am in the middle of planning a new build. I want to use mostly dry rock so I can do a really nice and solid aquascape. I mean I have some really nice pieces that would be a felony not to use. Rods, cement, drilled for frags, lifted off the bottom …….ect. I was planning on using just a few rocks from KP and a few from TBA to seed.

Is this a good plan? Will a handful of rock be enough?

Depends on dry rock but if it is pukani, reef saver, Marco etc I find it takes longer to cure than live rock from the ocean.. I give them a bath in bleach and then a acid bach. They still leach lots of phosphate so I stick them in water for a month and change the water every few days. After they stop leaching phosphate I add live rock.

When I use 100 percent dry rock I have got dino's except when using at least some live rock, so I think your plan is fine.

 

[RichReef]

Depends on dry rock but if it is pukani, reef saver, Marco etc I find it takes longer to cure than live rock from the ocean

My build won't start until December and the rock I have has been sitting in RO for 9 months in the dark. I change it out once a month to new RO. Then I plan to dry it and build the scape. Cure the scape, add to tank. The rock is all Fiji and tonga.

EDIT. It spent an entire summer and winter on a plastic shelf on my deck.

 

[Retro Reefer]

@chipmunkofdoom2 any updates on your KP rock?

 

[Midrats]

I just ordered 30#. Pics forthcoming.

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

I got 20lbs. It's great rock!

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Apologies for not checking in on this thread for a while. The rock is doing really well. I'm still working through some dino issues, but that has nothing to do with the rock. If anything, it's probably my fault. I had a bit of an algae outbreak when I first got the rock and dosed lanthanum chloride pretty aggressively. I think as a result I stripped all the phosphates out of the rock my tank was phosphate deficient. I'm now dosing and getting things back on track. The rock is great though. There's coralline everywhere, as well as tunicates, sponges, feather dusters, and what looks like little clams. It's amazing how much life survived, even when the rock shipped dry overnight. I'll take some pictures when the lights come on today.

I'm looking for another excuse to buy more of this rock because I love it so much, but I just don't need any more. This is exactly the type of rock that was available when I first got into the hobby, and I hope that KP Aquatics stays in business for a long, long time.

 

[Retro Reefer]

Apologies for not checking in on this thread for a while. The rock is doing really well. I'm still working through some dino issues, but that has nothing to do with the rock. If anything, it's probably my fault. I had a bit of an algae outbreak when I first got the rock and dosed lanthanum chloride pretty aggressively. I think as a result I stripped all the phosphates out of the rock my tank was phosphate deficient. I'm now dosing and getting things back on track. The rock is great though. There's coralline everywhere, as well as tunicates, sponges, feather dusters, and what looks like little clams. It's amazing how much life survived, even when the rock shipped dry overnight. I'll take some pictures when the lights come on today.

I'm looking for another excuse to buy more of this rock because I love it so much, but I just don't need any more. This is exactly the type of rock that was available when I first got into the hobby, and I hope that KP Aquatics stays in business for a long, long time.

Bring on the pictures Lot of life on mine including some type of coral I spotted growing on tip of one of the rocks!

 

[KyleJ42]

Any picture updates from anyone? Looking to pick up about 20# soon! Rock looks awesome

 

[Dr. Jim]

Here is a pic of my cube. The bottom layer of rocks (3 visible along front) are from KP. The top layer is from LiveRockNReef. (25 lbs of each)

LiveRockNReef (added 5 mo ago): Loaded with life (gorgonian in top R corner; 2 Rose corals (on sand in front); loads of sponges, feather dusters, and coralline algae (look at center top rock); one sea urchin. Also had some aiptasia and a little bubble algae, but no big deal. After a lengthy discussion with them, they insisted that the rock be put into the MT immediately in order to prevent organisms from dying. I would have never considered this but I followed their instructions and everything did fine.

KP Rock: (added 1 mo ago). Very nice shape, but that is all I can say that is good. KP recommended curing rock (unless packed in water but would require picking up at airport; I used UPS Next Day). Initially, there were several tiny brittle stars, 1 hermit, and some bristle worms.....but everything died in curing tank (with skimmer and water changes; took 3 wks to cure). 1 Curly-Q anemone survived but I need to get rid of it....like aiptasia.

I would recommend a 50:50 mix of the two, to get the nice shaped KP rock but also all the life that comes with the LRNR. Also, the fact that one comes from the Keys (Atlantic) and one comes from the Gulf may give some bacterial biodiversity.

 

[KyleJ42]

Thanks for the reply!
Ive been heavily debating kp vs tbs solely because of how dense tbs apparently is, but it seems that the life you get for the slight extra cost could be well worth it in the long run.

 

[bevo5]

Reviving this thread for a quick question. I just ordered 20pounds for rock to help seed my 200g with some extra biodiversity (hoping it's a tool to help battle dinos).

Do you all typically QT this rock? I have a coral QT that I could toss it in no problem. Just not sure what all I'd be qt'ing against. My main concerns would be parasites like ich and then any nasty hitchhikers?

 

[SuaSponte]

Reviving this thread for a quick question. I just ordered 20pounds for rock to help seed my 200g with some extra biodiversity (hoping it's a tool to help battle dinos).

Do you all typically QT this rock? I have a coral QT that I could toss it in no problem. Just not sure what all I'd be qt'ing against. My main concerns would be parasites like ich and then any nasty hitchhikers?

I would QT to make sure the rock doesn't have cirolanid isopods -- mostly everything else can be managed.

 

[bevo5]

I would QT to make sure the rock doesn't have cirolanid isopods -- mostly everything else can be managed.

Other than just shining a light and looking for those suckers - what's the process for ensuring the rock is safe to go? I could just leave it in the QT for a month? Would that starve them out?

I just got the rock today and it's super cool. Totally covered in orange (which I love) and a ton of little bits of life. There was one little clear shrimp in the bottom the bag. Should I put him in or leave him out? I also saw two little crabs but I'm leaving them out.

Generally speaking, is there anything I should pick off for sure? Halimida?

 

[Nano sapiens]

Other than just shining a light and looking for those suckers - what's the process for ensuring the rock is safe to go? I could just leave it in the QT for a month? Would that starve them out?

I just got the rock today and it's super cool. Totally covered in orange (which I love) and a ton of little bits of life. There was one little clear shrimp in the bottom the bag. Should I put him in or leave him out? I also saw two little crabs but I'm leaving them out.

Generally speaking, is there anything I should pick off for sure? Halimida?

Put your hand in with the rock and see if any little buggers go for it . Seriously, not sure how long Isopods can go without food, but I suspect you'd need a long fallow period to starve them out.

Good money paid for that live rock, so I wouldn't be too quick to get rid of everything! The shrimp is very likely harmless and the crabs can be either good (algae eaters like Emeralds/Rubys), or bad (Gorillas, etc.), so you might want to ID them first before getting rid of them. Halimeda is great stuff.

 

[SuaSponte]

Other than just shining a light and looking for those suckers - what's the process for ensuring the rock is safe to go? I could just leave it in the QT for a month? Would that starve them out?

I just got the rock today and it's super cool. Totally covered in orange (which I love) and a ton of little bits of life. There was one little clear shrimp in the bottom the bag. Should I put him in or leave him out? I also saw two little crabs but I'm leaving them out.

Generally speaking, is there anything I should pick off for sure? Halimida?

Cool! It is great rock! That being said...

A month is not long enough -- my cirolanid isopods survived for several months in a fallow tank. I would use a bottle trap and trap for several nights to see what you catch -- hopefully you won't catch anything. Here is a link for the bottle trap (see The Ultimate Capture Technique): http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/bp/index.php
Tip: You don't have to use a jar, you can use the other part of the water bottle.

Generally speaking, I would make a concerted attempt to pick off the gorrilla crabs and mantis shrimp before you put the rock in your display tank, so you don't have to tear down your aquascape hunting them.

I hope this advice helps!

 

[bevo5]

Awesome. Thank you for the advice.

I can fashion a trap and see what happens.

I'm going to just leave the little shrimps and crabs at the bottom of the box.

My plan is just to let it live in my coral QT tank (with good light) for a while. Definitely plenty of nutrients in there to keep things alive.

 

[SuaSponte]

Awesome. Thank you for the advice.

I can fashion a trap and see what happens.

I'm going to just leave the little shrimps and crabs at the bottom of the box.

My plan is just to let it live in my coral QT tank (with good light) for a while. Definitely plenty of nutrients in there to keep things alive.

Hey, I also forgot to mention that you should take it easy on the lighting (duration and intensity) for the first few days -- you don't want to light shock your new live rock.

 

[GlassMunky]

Reviving this thread for a quick question. I just ordered 20pounds for rock to help seed my 200g with some extra biodiversity (hoping it's a tool to help battle dinos).

Do you all typically QT this rock? I have a coral QT that I could toss it in no problem. Just not sure what all I'd be qt'ing against. My main concerns would be parasites like ich and then any nasty hitchhikers?

If your concern is ich then yes it’s have to be QT just like corals to make sure there’s no dormant ich parasites on the rock