Super confused..

[Tweakfish]

From what i've read, it sounds like you just dump live rock in salt water.. and.. Hope for the best?.. I dont really understand what comes from it.. How long does it take for it to .. Come to life again. Is there different kinds of liverock, can you . erm, Choose what your gonna get lol. I really dont understand any of this. If something bad comes from the liverock, or.. something you cant take care of, What would I do with it? .. I wouldnt want to kill anything. Thanks, This is all so confusing haha

[TranZ]

Welcome to CF!! Tweakfish....LR is alive because of the bacteria that are present in it not the critters that comes with it. LR acts as biological filtration that breakdowns ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. if you just dump a LR in your tank you might end up killing your inhabitants due too ammonia spike if the rocks are not fully cured. uncured LR will have die off that will increase ammonia in your tank.
there are different types of rocks form Fiji, Tonga, Gulf...and so on
the difference is just the shape of the rocks but all liverocks have the same function. about choosing....you can chose what kind of rocks you want if your LFS have them in the display but if you order it online no you can't.

[MikeS]

Hi there

TransZ is basically on the mark here. If possible, you want to get cured LR or cure it yourself before adding it to your tank. On the difference between LR based on where it came from, it goes far beyond shape...gulf rock compared to Fiji rock for example...Fiji rock tends to be much less dense on a lb/lb comparison, so it is a more effective media for bacterial reduction...something to consider when picking LR....

MikeS