Which rock would you choose
- Thread starter ging
- Start date
uncured gets my vote. the type is up to you but i won't get fuji again....just don't like it well the stuff i got anyhow. i like the looks of happia or vavau.
just up to you
heard tampa bay has good stuff...can't remembe the other one
later
Lunchbucket
just up to you
heard tampa bay has good stuff...can't remembe the other one
later
Lunchbucket
I cannot advise as I imagine we get our rock from different sources.
I would recommend however that you only get 2/3 to 3/4 of the amount needed. In that way you can add special pieces that you find here and there.
It's fun much like hunting for corals and fish.
I would recommend however that you only get 2/3 to 3/4 of the amount needed. In that way you can add special pieces that you find here and there.
It's fun much like hunting for corals and fish.
Get Aquacultered and if you really feel frogy turn it into a long weekend adventure. Drive to Tampa and pick it up, spend all the money you would on frieght on gas money and buy some memories.
ROAD TRIP!!!!!!!
www.tampabaysaltwater.com
www.gulf-view.com
[ August 04, 2001: Message edited by: Fishaholic ]
ROAD TRIP!!!!!!!
www.tampabaysaltwater.com
www.gulf-view.com
[ August 04, 2001: Message edited by: Fishaholic ]
Ging, I've found that I like the look of my tank with slightly less then 1.5 pounds per gallon tank capacity. I have 250 pounds in my 180.
It really depends on what look you are trying to achieve. In your case, I'd recommend that you start with about 150 pounds and then go from there. Until you know what look you want to achieve, it's a lot easier working with a little less LR than with too much, because otherwise you run out of places to put pieces of LR that you haven't stacked yet. I'm pretty picky about my aquascape, though, and it took me about 12 hours over the course of two days to get my LR stacked in the new tank, and now I'm thinking of rearranging it again.
As far as type, get what looks good to you. Look for rock with good coralline coverage to seed your tank. I am partial to Fiji rock, as that's what I use. Like you, I started with LR from the LFS (it was Fiji) and didn't realize how crappy it was until I got some Fiji by mail-order. I had all LFS rock in my 115 gallon system and then got an additional 100 pounds from Paragon when I moved into the new system. I was really surprised by how much better the mail order rock looked than the rock I got from the LFS. So I wouldn't recommend filling your tank with rock from the LFS unless the rock really looks impressive.
I don't have any experience with the aquacultured rock but people seem to like it. It is denser than natural LR, however, so you'd need more pounds of aquacultured rock than natural rock to get the same effect. I like the natural rock because it's really light and porous and is not too heavy when you're working with it and stacking it.
I'd actually be interested to hear from people who have experience with both Fiji rock and aquacultured rock, to see what their opinions are. Also, if you start with aquacultured rock you'd probably want to stick with it because it will look a little different than the natural rock, and mixing them might make things look funny. (Anyone out there done this?)
Hope this helps. Good luck with the new system.
It really depends on what look you are trying to achieve. In your case, I'd recommend that you start with about 150 pounds and then go from there. Until you know what look you want to achieve, it's a lot easier working with a little less LR than with too much, because otherwise you run out of places to put pieces of LR that you haven't stacked yet. I'm pretty picky about my aquascape, though, and it took me about 12 hours over the course of two days to get my LR stacked in the new tank, and now I'm thinking of rearranging it again.
As far as type, get what looks good to you. Look for rock with good coralline coverage to seed your tank. I am partial to Fiji rock, as that's what I use. Like you, I started with LR from the LFS (it was Fiji) and didn't realize how crappy it was until I got some Fiji by mail-order. I had all LFS rock in my 115 gallon system and then got an additional 100 pounds from Paragon when I moved into the new system. I was really surprised by how much better the mail order rock looked than the rock I got from the LFS. So I wouldn't recommend filling your tank with rock from the LFS unless the rock really looks impressive.
I don't have any experience with the aquacultured rock but people seem to like it. It is denser than natural LR, however, so you'd need more pounds of aquacultured rock than natural rock to get the same effect. I like the natural rock because it's really light and porous and is not too heavy when you're working with it and stacking it.
I'd actually be interested to hear from people who have experience with both Fiji rock and aquacultured rock, to see what their opinions are. Also, if you start with aquacultured rock you'd probably want to stick with it because it will look a little different than the natural rock, and mixing them might make things look funny. (Anyone out there done this?)
Hope this helps. Good luck with the new system.
Just to clarify,
Aquacultered rock is natural rock. It is mined from places in Florida that at one time were under the ocean and part of the reefs. It is heavier than Fiji but that has more to do with the fact that Fiji reefs started from Lava and Florida reefs started from Limestone. The rock is simpy returned to the ocean and seeded over 18 months. I have yet to see any south pacific rock that has more life, I think this is due to shipping rather than location.
It is also personal taste. I happen to think Tonga branch is an eyesore but that is just me, if you want advice from someone who's favorite band is a toss up between Bob Marley and Oingo Boingo, I will gladly give it
Aquacultered rock is natural rock. It is mined from places in Florida that at one time were under the ocean and part of the reefs. It is heavier than Fiji but that has more to do with the fact that Fiji reefs started from Lava and Florida reefs started from Limestone. The rock is simpy returned to the ocean and seeded over 18 months. I have yet to see any south pacific rock that has more life, I think this is due to shipping rather than location.
It is also personal taste. I happen to think Tonga branch is an eyesore but that is just me, if you want advice from someone who's favorite band is a toss up between Bob Marley and Oingo Boingo, I will gladly give it
Hi ging, these are difficult questions to give a yes or no answer to for me, there are alot of variables, but I'll give it a shot.
1. Weight, there is quite a bit of difference between Fiji and Aquacultured. Fiji can weigh about three times less for the same sq inches than some Aquacultured rock. There may be some Aquacultured rock that weighs less than others but I would say that twice the weight would be a safe bet. If I was going with Fiji I would get the 150 lbs mentioned above.
2. Life on rock, I have seen Fiji rock with NO life on it, and some with alot of life but have yet to see any of it with as much life as Aquacultured rock. Paragon Aquatics and some others do sell nice looking rock (have only seen pictures), but without seeing it in person I wouldn't say if it has the diversity of life that aquacultured rock does.
3. Branching Tonga rock, I have seen some of this rock in person and what I saw was deviod of life.
I just got finished a couple of months ago setting up a 180, this is what I did. Purchased about 80 lbs of cheap dead Fiji rock from my LFS, I got a great deal on it because they never know what they are going to get in , and they couldn't sell this (its really just base rock). I then ordered 150 lbs of Aquacultured rock from my LFS and the life on it is incredible. It comes from Florida and the rock I recieved was maybe twice the weight of Fiji and about 90% of it is round in nature, the Fiji had some flat shapes which allows for some different looks.
Having said all of this, I would buy all Aquacultured next time if I could pick out some more flat shapes.
Steve
[ August 05, 2001: Message edited by: SPC ]
1. Weight, there is quite a bit of difference between Fiji and Aquacultured. Fiji can weigh about three times less for the same sq inches than some Aquacultured rock. There may be some Aquacultured rock that weighs less than others but I would say that twice the weight would be a safe bet. If I was going with Fiji I would get the 150 lbs mentioned above.
2. Life on rock, I have seen Fiji rock with NO life on it, and some with alot of life but have yet to see any of it with as much life as Aquacultured rock. Paragon Aquatics and some others do sell nice looking rock (have only seen pictures), but without seeing it in person I wouldn't say if it has the diversity of life that aquacultured rock does.
3. Branching Tonga rock, I have seen some of this rock in person and what I saw was deviod of life.
I just got finished a couple of months ago setting up a 180, this is what I did. Purchased about 80 lbs of cheap dead Fiji rock from my LFS, I got a great deal on it because they never know what they are going to get in , and they couldn't sell this (its really just base rock). I then ordered 150 lbs of Aquacultured rock from my LFS and the life on it is incredible. It comes from Florida and the rock I recieved was maybe twice the weight of Fiji and about 90% of it is round in nature, the Fiji had some flat shapes which allows for some different looks.
Having said all of this, I would buy all Aquacultured next time if I could pick out some more flat shapes.
Steve
[ August 05, 2001: Message edited by: SPC ]
I like aquacultured. But think it's a great idea to get a little of this and a little of that. We do it with our live sand. That way you have a more bio-diverse atmosphere for your critters.
I have had rock from Tampa Bay shipped with loads of life left. I have also picked up Fiji from the LFS and didn't find near as much animal life on it. Lots of plant life came out of the Fiji though. Cool thing about Tampa Bay is you can pick it up from DFW around noon and save a load on Fed Ex. I did that!
Cindy
I have had rock from Tampa Bay shipped with loads of life left. I have also picked up Fiji from the LFS and didn't find near as much animal life on it. Lots of plant life came out of the Fiji though. Cool thing about Tampa Bay is you can pick it up from DFW around noon and save a load on Fed Ex. I did that!
Cindy
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