WILD COLLECTED LIVE ROCK

[wlyonan]

I live in South Orange County California

starting a 200 gallon reef tank

would like to hear from anyone with first hand personal experience using field collected live rock with either good or bad results

 

[CoralB]

Live rock is like a box of chocolates, you never know what your going to get critter wise , or sponge , other than that good to go

 

[Utubereefer]

Looking for live rock? I think he’s over 200 lbs tho

 

[jhuntstl]

 

[DaJMasta]

If you mean collecting your own live rock, it's not likely legal to do. I don't know if there are any countries around that still allow for just harvesting of live natural reef substrate, and I don't believe any US collection permits allow for it.

If you mean maricultured live rock that starts as dry, is left in the ocean for a few years, and then shipped to you quickly to preserve the life on it - that's definitely around and I'm generally a fan. You will get bad hitchhikers in every batch, but you will get a huge amount of diversity and beneficial or fascinating hitchhikers.

The caveat being that you still have to deal with the bad ones, so personally, I would recommend some portion of this genuine live rock for smaller tanks, and I wouldn't for large ones. For a 200G, if you wanted true live rock, I would get some and put it in a smaller tank with all the normal flow, lighting, some feeding, etc. for observation, and then when you think you've noticed most of the potential crabs, mantis shrimp, flatworms, or other things, then transfer it to the full sized tank.

I started my E170 (~45g AIO) with 30 pounds of live rock and some dry and I managed to get several xanthid crabs, three smasher type mantis shrimp, a bunch of lightbulb anemones, a polyclad flatworm that ate feather dusters, and a giant collection of beneficial or just interesting stuff... but if my tank was so big that I couldn't have spotted or caught the mantises and other things, it could have turned real bad in trying to remedy. For a 200G my strategy would be maybe 50 pounds of live rock in a sort of quarantine tank for itself, then after a few months in there, moving that rock to some additional dry rock in the display. That way you have a buffer against potentially dangerous hitchhikers and some time to find out what actually came in on it before it's impossible to find and catch.

To be clear, I still would want maricultured live rock in my next presumably larger tank, but I would put it through that process first. I absolutely love the diversity of life my tank has and all the things I'm still discovering growing in as hitchhikers.

 

[J.D.]

As a fellow So Cal reefer and avid diver I can verify that collection of local live rock is not legal. It's a violation of MPA (Marine Protected Area) for all areas that have accessible reefs (within dive limits).

 

[fish farmer]

Looking for live rock? I think he’s over 200 lbs tho

Actually that is DEAD rock... .

 

[2000se]

If you mean collecting your own live rock, it's not likely legal to do. I don't know if there are any countries around that still allow for just harvesting of live natural reef substrate, and I don't believe any US collection permits allow for it.

If you mean maricultured live rock that starts as dry, is left in the ocean for a few years, and then shipped to you quickly to preserve the life on it - that's definitely around and I'm generally a fan. You will get bad hitchhikers in every batch, but you will get a huge amount of diversity and beneficial or fascinating hitchhikers.

The caveat being that you still have to deal with the bad ones, so personally, I would recommend some portion of this genuine live rock for smaller tanks, and I wouldn't for large ones. For a 200G, if you wanted true live rock, I would get some and put it in a smaller tank with all the normal flow, lighting, some feeding, etc. for observation, and then when you think you've noticed most of the potential crabs, mantis shrimp, flatworms, or other things, then transfer it to the full sized tank.

I started my E170 (~45g AIO) with 30 pounds of live rock and some dry and I managed to get several xanthid crabs, three smasher type mantis shrimp, a bunch of lightbulb anemones, a polyclad flatworm that ate feather dusters, and a giant collection of beneficial or just interesting stuff... but if my tank was so big that I couldn't have spotted or caught the mantises and other things, it could have turned real bad in trying to remedy. For a 200G my strategy would be maybe 50 pounds of live rock in a sort of quarantine tank for itself, then after a few months in there, moving that rock to some additional dry rock in the display. That way you have a buffer against potentially dangerous hitchhikers and some time to find out what actually came in on it before it's impossible to find and catch.

To be clear, I still would want maricultured live rock in my next presumably larger tank, but I would put it through that process first. I absolutely love the diversity of life my tank has and all the things I'm still discovering growing in as hitchhikers.

What he said. No doubt.

 

[Tcook]

It's also dense non-calcarious rock which won't do much for a tropical reef tank.

 

[Tamberav]

I would think they mean rock you can buy? The rock in California is legit rock and not old reef skeletons so I imagine no one would use that for a tropical reef tank.

Anyways, I used KPA and loved it. Didn't get anything bad... lots of cool sponge, dusters, and tunicates. The bad crabs died in shipping as I didn't have it shipped in water. You will probably get plenty of crabs, pistols, mantis and starfish alive if shipped in water. Putting bait inside a glass and leaving it against the rock is good for catching crabs.

 

[melonheadorion]

I would think they mean rock you can buy? The rock in California is legit rock and not old reef skeletons so I imagine no one would use that for a tropical reef tank.

Anyways, I used KPA and loved it. Didn't get anything bad... lots of cool sponge, dusters, and tunicates. The bad crabs died in shipping as I didn't have it shipped in water. You will probably get plenty of crabs, pistols, mantis and starfish alive if shipped in water. Putting bait inside a glass and leaving it against the rock is good for catching crabs.

based on the title "wild collected live rock", so it seems that their original thought was to go pull rock from the water.

 

[Reefing102]

I’ve used KP Aquatics for my “aquacultured” live rock. Many have had success with Tampa Bay Saltwater and Gulf Live Rock. Unique corals did get in some Australian live rock a bit ago (likely sold out by now)

That said, I will always reccomend live over dead as the bacterial benefit alone is good enough for me

 

[Lavey29]

Another option is some local LFS maybe have some established reef rock that they have cultured for some years that they may sell in smaller amounts from time to time. Probably would get the good bacteria benefits without the bad hitch hikers. I do not think this is as good as real ocean rock though.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Real ocean rock is definitely the best... personally I think it helps to avoid a lot of the "ugly" phase and helps to promote natural stability due to the diverse microbiome

 

[Timfish]

It's not easy to find but wild live rock is available. Maricultured live rock from FLorida is readily available. Here's AquaBiomics paper on establisihing healthy microbiomes

Establishing a Healthy Microbiome in a New Aquarium Using Live Rock

Studying the effects of live rock in a newly established aquarium shows that high-quality live rock promotes the rapid establishment of an effective biological filter and a microbial community similar to those found in mature reef tanks.

www.reef2reef.com

I would't set up a system without it and have been very happy with GulfLiveROck.com.

Whatever source you use make sure you get it shipped air freight or overnight.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

It's not easy to find but wild live rock is available. Maricultured live rock from FLorida is readily available. Here's AquaBiomics paper on establisihing healthy microbiomes

Establishing a Healthy Microbiome in a New Aquarium Using Live Rock

Studying the effects of live rock in a newly established aquarium shows that high-quality live rock promotes the rapid establishment of an effective biological filter and a microbial community similar to those found in mature reef tanks.

www.reef2reef.com

I would't set up a system without it and have been very happy with GulfLiveROck.com.

Whatever source you use make sure you get it shipped air freight or overnight.

I saw a video from Aquabiomics on that very topic! It's pretty convincing to use live ocean rock after you learn how different the microbiome is if you use dry rock even after some time has passed.

 

[brahm]

Being in SoCal (OC/LA) area you shouldn't have any problem finding people tearing down their tanks on a semi-regular basis. Either classifieds here, CL, or any of the socal FB groups/forums. Find someone tearing down and buy their established rock

 

[ZoWhat]

Since you live in the Land Of Fruits And Nuts... you better call your local Wildlife office and get the low down on LAWS.