Real Live Rock

[Acros]

I have placed my 20lbs deco live rock order from gulf live rock. Can’t wait to see all the life forms I would get. If everything goes well, it should spend only a day and a half in shipping.

 

[JCM]

Nice! I'm sure you'll be happy.

Here's another picture of the spaghetti worm thing. It's tentacles are over 12" when extended.

 

[NashobaTek]

Man you guys are making me drool over the rock, I have to wait until the stimulus check shows up. ;Drool;Sorry

 

[JCM]

Man you guys are making me drool over the rock, I have to wait until the stimulus check shows up. ;Drool;Sorry

More stimulus money? I didnt know that. It will be worth the wait, I think gulf has a pretty inexpensive nano pack as well.

 

[NashobaTek]

More stimulus money? I didnt know that. It will be worth the wait, I think gulf has a pretty inexpensive nano pack as well.

We're still waiting for the 3rd check. But yeah worth the wait because I have several things I'm wanting to add to the tank, live rock is number 1!

 

[taulgrl]

More stimulus money? I didnt know that. It will be worth the wait, I think gulf has a pretty inexpensive nano pack as well.

JCM did you turn your lights on when you added the live rock? I'm going to put mine in the DT this week and I'm worried about an overgrowth of nuisance algae. I have ~40% live rock 60% dry rock and live sand. I love my macroalgae and sponges but have read a lot about hair algae, dinos taking over when the lights go on. So far my lights have been off and its just the dry rock and 5 fish.

 

[JCM]

JCM did you turn your lights on when you added the live rock? I'm going to put mine in the DT this week and I'm worried about an overgrowth of nuisance algae. I have ~40% live rock 60% dry rock and live sand. I love my macroalgae and sponges but have read a lot about hair algae, dinos taking over when the lights go on. So far my lights have been off and its just the dry rock and 5 fish.

Yes, my lights have been on since the beginning. There is a little nuisance algae growing and all the macros are growing as well. The fear of dinos are hair algae taking over is more based on starting with only dry rock. There's too much competition for any one thing to take over in my opinion.

 

[Acros]

Did you do acclimate the rock to your light at all?

 

[JCM]

Did you do acclimate the rock to your light at all?

Yes but I doubt it was necessary. I was still buying bulbs trying to get the right color temperature, so they weren't being blasted right off the bat.

 

[JCM]

Yesterday we found another red mithrax crab in the tank. I obviously missed it when inspecting the rock before putting it in the tank.

How dangerous are these things? It's small and timid now, I doubt I'll be able to catch it. It seems to just pick at algae, I haven't noticed it near any corals yet nor do any corals look upset.

 

[BeltedCoyote]

Yesterday we found another red mithrax crab in the tank. I obviously missed it when inspecting the rock before putting it in the tank.

How dangerous are these things? It's small and timid now, I doubt I'll be able to catch it. It seems to just pick at algae, I haven't noticed it near any corals yet nor do any corals look upset.

I believe it’s just that they have been known to sometimes go after coral. Seems like it’s an individual by individual sort of thing though?

 

[JCM]

I believe it’s just that they have been known to sometimes go after coral. Seems like it’s an individual by individual sort of thing though?

Ok thanks. I'll keep an eye on it, so far all the corals look great. I don't mind it in the tank if it leaves fish/corals alone

 

[reefinatl]

Yesterday we found another red mithrax crab in the tank. I obviously missed it when inspecting the rock before putting it in the tank.

How dangerous are these things? It's small and timid now, I doubt I'll be able to catch it. It seems to just pick at algae, I haven't noticed it near any corals yet nor do any corals look upset.

They are a color variant of the emeralds or very closely related. If you are wholly anti-crab yank it but most people buy them for CUC.

 

[JCM]

They are a color variant of the emeralds or very closely related. If you are wholly anti-crab yank it but most people buy them for CUC.

No, not anti-crab at all. I know they're closely related but seems from some research they are more likely to go after coral? That may just be a vocal internet minority though.

I'll just keep an eye on things, if the corals stay happy the crab is welcome to stay.

 

[BeltedCoyote]

No, not anti-crab at all. I know they're closely related but seems from some research they are more likely to go after coral? That may just be a vocal internet minority though.

I'll just keep an eye on things, if the corals stay happy the crab is welcome to stay.

best thing you can do if you don’t want to just yank them out. I would imagine that if there’s plenty of food available they wouldn’t be tempted to find something to eat elsewhere. But I’m not a crab so...lol

 

[JCM]

best thing you can do if you don’t want to just yank them out. I would imagine that if there’s plenty of food available they wouldn’t be tempted to find something to eat elsewhere. But I’m not a crab so...lol

Hmm that's exactly what a nefarious crab would say...

 

[TnFishwater98]

How long did you QT your rock? I separated my live rock into two separate QT tanks for well over a month. I still have two pieces in QT because it hasn’t passed the test yet. While they are in QT during water changes I would blast the rock with water because of all the ocean sand/silt. It took awhile just to get them cleaned off but it would also disengage critters so I could observe. I also went to Container Store and bought small acrylic containers and stands. When the tick is on the acrylic stands you can observe under the rock at night or during feedings to see what might be lurking around.
First three pics are two pieces of rock still in QT. One has a worm that I’m unsure about and the other there is one anemone I’m worried about. But with all that said , I’ve had my rock since Sept maybe last year and I’m still finding new things on my rock that made it in the DT. Found this ( pic 4-6) the other day...
Good Times
Tanks
BD

 

[Futuretotm]

Here’s mine from salty bottom (gulf LR)
Worth every penny, lps when it 2 weeks later, sps at 4, all alive and thriving

 

[reefinatl]

No, not anti-crab at all. I know they're closely related but seems from some research they are more likely to go after coral? That may just be a vocal internet minority though.

I'll just keep an eye on things, if the corals stay happy the crab is welcome to stay.

I had quite a few red ones come in on the rock that at first were untouched. I ordered a few emeralds from reefcleaners and one is a beast, big ol dude. I suspect he took it upon himself to resolve the population density issue. At the moment I think I just have two red ones remaining but nothing has struck me as unusual about their behavior vs the green ones.

Here’s mine from salty bottom (gulf LR)
Worth every penny, lps when it 2 weeks later, sps at 4, all alive and thriving

When I do my 180g I'm going 100% liverock. Dry rock is just such a hassle. Beautiful setup.

 

[JCM]

How long did you QT your rock? I separated my live rock into two separate QT tanks for well over a month. I still have two pieces in QT because it hasn’t passed the test yet. While they are in QT during water changes I would blast the rock with water because of all the ocean sand/silt. It took awhile just to get them cleaned off but it would also disengage critters so I could observe. I also went to Container Store and bought small acrylic containers and stands. When the tick is on the acrylic stands you can observe under the rock at night or during feedings to see what might be lurking around.
First three pics are two pieces of rock still in QT. One has a worm that I’m unsure about and the other there is one anemone I’m worried about. But with all that said , I’ve had my rock since Sept maybe last year and I’m still finding new things on my rock that made it in the DT. Found this ( pic 4-6) the other day...
Good Times
Tanks
BD

Not long, couple of days maybe. Just long enough for the ammonia to disappear and pull off a few hitchhikers.