Live Rock in South Florida

[Ocyurus]

I live in West Palm Beach, FL and after a time of un-use we are setting up the 37 gallon reef once more. All the things that are still around from the last use of the tank are cooling their heels in a temporary tank in the office-room.

My problem and question are that both of the LFS that we frequent (Jewels from the Sea and Coral Sea) have a very sorry LR selection, dead looking, flat, white and ugly. I wondered if anyone from the general area had any sugguestions for good stores and specifically their LR.

We would like to make the purchase this weekend so any tips as soon as possible will be helpful. Thanks.

 

[Ben1]

gulfview.com, tampbaysaltwater.com both have top notch rock.

tampabay saltwater may have a different addy then that. You may also be able to try reeftopia.com all three are from florida.

 

[dgasmd]

Spare yourself some mysery and don't get any FL aquacultured rock. There is a store a bit on the north end of town called Oceans Below that carries in rock. They get pacific rock like fiji and such and also get Haiti rock, which is more like tonga branch and flat/slab rock. Check it out.

 

[Ben1]

Spare yourself some mysery and don't get any FL aquacultured rock

Whats wrong with the fl rock. I have only gotten a few pieces but loved it. I also have had figi, tonga ect and dont think they are any better. The density of fl rock isn't bad.

 

[dgasmd]

If you talk to anyone that has had it for about a year or more you'll find out a couple of things. First, most things that come with it will die over the next 6 months. Which is fine, since by then you would want to see the animals you put in the tank and not the rock itself. The second thing is that people start having algae blooms they can't get rid of. It is because mos tof these rocks are cured and "grown" in FL in places that are very polluted and so they soak up a lot of phosphates. It is one reasons all kinds of things are growing on them in the first place. However, those are not things you would buy at the store anyway. If you go to a lot of the LFS that are worth visiting in FL, most do not even carry it.

This is just one man's opinion anyway.

 

[Ben1]

because mos tof these rocks are cured and "grown" in FL in places that are very polluted and so they soak up a lot of phosphates. It is one reasons all kinds of things are growing on them in the first place

The area these are grown are miles off shore. The land is leased from the government and is so far off shore it is not effected by localized pollution. Seems these algae blooms must be from non-rock related probelms,Ibhave seen many amazing tanks using fl rock.

 

[dgasmd]

The area these are grown are miles off shore. The land is leased from the government and is so far off shore it is not effected by localized pollution. Seems these algae blooms must be from non-rock related probelms,Ibhave seen many amazing tanks using fl rock.

Wishfull thinking. Pollution from land into the FL waters go pretty far out. You'd be surprised. The first 2 lines of the above quote is what they say, I don't know how much weight I 'd put into that. Anyway, this is one man's opinion. I wish you the best of luck.

 

[rabagley]

Wishfull thinking. Pollution from land into the FL waters go pretty far out. You'd be surprised. The first 2 lines of the above quote is what they say, I don't know how much weight I 'd put into that. Anyway, this is one man's opinion. I wish you the best of luck.

This sounds a lot like post-decision justification. Not that Pacific "live" rock isn't a perfectly good foundation for an SPS garden, but these stories about how bad aquacultured live rock is don't do anyone any good except for sellers of Pacific live rock. The worst I've heard from twelve people who've actually used aquacultured live rock for more than a few months (including myself with purchases of both kinds of rock) is that:

1) The aquacultured rock is more dense than Pacific rock, anywhere from 1.5x to 2x the density of various kinds of Pacfic rock (which may be a good thing or a bad thing depending on individual aquarist's goals).

2) The rock is so alive that it is difficult to locate good places for coral frag mounts.

3) There most definitely are malicious hitchikers, including gorilla crabs and mantis shrimp.

4) Die-off continues for longer than Pacific rock, though this appears to be limited to the mussels, clams, and the occasional sponge slowly starving in the unfriendly conditions. Since it's the mussels and clams that make it more difficult to locate coral frags, (2) tends to work itself out in the first year.

Positive aspects consistently mentioned include:

1) "instant" tank cycles. Tiny diatom and algae blooms that are barely noticed if at all. I dose silica and I still haven't seen a true bloom like other people describe. My sand occasionally gets a reddish "blush", but that's gone by the next morning...

2) Incredibly rich variety of life. The rock and all of the various hitchikers makes for a very attractive and interesting tank while the tank is maturing with just the rock present.

3) Apparent long term stability with very few of the common problems mentioned by aquarists on various message boards and newsgroups. In fact, no unexplained persistent blooms at all.

Your description of pollution laden rocks causing untold grief for the aquarists who buy them just doesn't match up with anything I've heard from people who've actually bought and used the rock for any length of time. In fact, it sounds like spoiling.

If you've got a negative first hand account of using the rock or know someone willing to post a negative first hand account, I'd love to read about it. But your claim that that's "what they say" just doesn't hold any water. So to speak

Regards,
Ross

 

[dgasmd]

rabagley:

Like I said, it is a man's opinion and take it for what it is.

 

[rabagley]

Like I said, it is a man's opinion and take it for what it is.

"opinion"

Got it.

Thanks,
Ross

 

[Anonymous]

I love Florida aquacultured rock.

I have had it in my tank for two years, and would not buy anything else if I had the choice.

Sometime I would like to get a shipment and set a tank up just for the rock, to see how it develops with no predation from fish and other inhabitants.

 

[hypertexas]

I've been saltwater aquarium keeping since 1972 and I have never had more fun than with Florida aquacultured live rock encrusted with hundreds of clams, etc. Yes the sponges die off and yes you do have to catch a crab or mantis or two if you're going to use it in a "community" tank. But, a little homemade crab trap caught several of these guys so they weren't a problem.

You definitely need to have a cycled and prepared tank to let the initial die-off complete (about 3 weeks). It's amazing how much survives! I now have a 20 gal with just Florida live rock it's so much fun to watch. I feed DTs and a powdered protein made by a LFS here in Denver. Adding calcium and plenty of light is important, too.

Go for it!
John