Live Rock

[gman0526]

There's many types of LR available to us in this hobby and I was wondering what kind do you use and why? Which do you believe is better for filtration?

There's so many out there and some are so expensive per pound and don't really look like they can help improve the overall health of our tanks.

[Sugar Magnolia]

Ack! I have to choose one? I use a mix of Fiji and Tonga for biodiversity. The fiji tends to be about $1-$2 dollars more per pound here, but I really like the fiji better for the main rock formation and fill in with the tonga.

I have a good mix of live rock in my collections, Kaelini(@250 lbs), Tonga/Eva(70lbs), Marshall Islands(7.5 lbs), Fiji(60 lbs) and Agrocrete type rock(100 lbs).

Overall, I would rate Kaelini the best. It has good shape, fairly light, and good variety of Coralline algae colors. An excellent type of rock for the price in my opinion.

My second Choice is the Tonga/Eva or Marshall Islands rock. The price nearly broke my back, though! Its the best shaped in my opinion. Decent colors on coralline algae but not as good as all of the Kaelini I have bought. Not sure I can really justify the price though.

Of the rock I have, Fiji is probably my least favorite. Most I have seen for sale is ho-hum boulder shaped and for the most part about 1/2 the Fiji I do have is hand picked and well shaped, but pieces like that seem to be few and far between.

The Agrocrete, which I have made about 600 lbs to date is pretty nice shape wise. Most of mine is seeded with Kaelini rock though for the most part. Out of the 600 or so pounds I have made most has been seeded and sold locally. About 200 of the agrocrete I have is reef rubble used in sumps and to attach coral frags too. The fact that it can be molded into caves, ledges and custom fitted to those hard to fill spots in your tank I think is the biggest advantage. Then there is the fact that it can be made for about 10 cents a pound and it doesnt make a negative impact on natraul reefs.

Just my thoughts on this topic....

[gman0526]

I currently use a mix also for the same reason as yours SM, biodiversity/"look". Basically my base rock is Fiji premium, couple of pieces of Marshall, Keys, and a big Fiji branch piece.

I started this thread because, at least here, Tonga branch is just too expensive ($11.50/pnd sometimes) and honestly I don't see how other than looking "pretty" it's any better than the other kinds. I've seen so many tanks with only TB and I cannot see that rock providing enough surface area to really be used by itself as a main part of the tank's biofilter. JMHO

[newtofish]

I have mostly agrocrete that I made myself, I was able to make pieces just the way I needed them to fit in just right. It took alot longer but I was broke and was saving up some money anyway.

[MikeS]

I have a mix of Florida aquacultured, Fiji, Marshall, and Gulf....

Based on everything I've read on the subject, Fiji is generally considered the "best"...mainly because of its low density versus volume....

Mike

newtofish, I agree with you there whole heartedly. Thats mainly what got me started in that endevor. Not a bad way to go in my opinion.

Wow Gman thats outragous!!! The LFS ( a few blocks away) here doesnt even carry it, of course with the mark up he has on Fiji I can just only imagine what he would charge for it, but I guarentee it would be more than your paying there! Its nice but it aint that nice in my opinion.

I have been tempted to buy off on some TB rock but again, it looks like just boulder shaped chunks although it does seem to have a lot of life on its surface though. While its cheaper per a pound, its also denser from what I have seen and using the pounds per a gallon formula would take almost twice as much to stock a tank and I just dont see that saving much in the way of fun dollars.

I think too that all of my tanks have a littel bit of variety as far as rock. Most of the rock in my tanks is Kaelini but I have some other rock mixed in there to add some texture and some diversity. There are a couple of tanks that are the exception though.

BTW...Good thread you started here! I am interested to see how it pans out in the end....

[mdmaquatic]

Hey i am curious, why do alot of the LFS's charge so much for cured live rock?? I charge $7.05 for cured for Kaelini and $6.15 for fiji premium both cured, it's way way cheaper uncured. I know these places buy it for around the same prices i do, so i can't understnad why such a mark up?? If anyone has any insite i am curiuos. We love the kaelini live rock here at MDM Aquatic Management, it's more expensive than fiji premium, but i like the shapes and color and i think you get more for the money. Just my 2 cents.

[PJW]

I have florida Keys Live Rock in my tank. I love the color it produces.