Man-made Live Rock - really?

[Anonymous]

The place I was hoping to get my live rock from is currently sold out. So I'm considering a place that sells man-made live rock, aquacultured in Okinawa. I still can't quite get my head round the idea that it's as good as the real stuff, so I wanted to get your opinions. It's not so much the diversity of life on the rock I'm worried about (though I think the aquacultured stuff is probably marginally less likely to have hitchhiker corals on it, given the shorter amount of time in the ocean), more the physical limitations of the medium itself. How can a chunk of concrete have the same bio-processing capability as dead coral, with all its minute pores inside the rock. Or does concrete somehow have the same properties?

Anyway, these are some pictures from a site which produces this stuff.

The rock as it starts out.

This is the rock set out in the ocean.

This is the finished product.

These are a couple of examples of the rock from the place I'm considering ordering from (which doesn't have the process pictures that the other site does, but I assume is made in the same way - the first site also sells rock from this place).

 

[Anonymous]

Wow that is some nice man made rock. I've been using man mad rock for years, no different.

 

[Anonymous]

Tom, if its anything like the rock this company sells:
http://www.tampabaysaltwater.com/

It should be fine. The only thing you might worry about is unwanted hitchhikers that would be native to that area. The Tampa bay stuff is notorious for 'gorilla crabs' and pistol shrimp being found on the rock.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks both for your take. I'm reasonably sure this will come with its share of crabs/mantis shrimp etc, but then so would the stuff from the first place, so that's not a particular disadvantage in this case. I'll have to deal with them no matter what anyway.

In the end, my wife rang the first place and they're sending me 10kg (22lb) of around 10 "fist-sized pieces" on Saturday. I think I'll order 2 rocks from the man-made place as well, to ensure I have a couple of good sized rocks for aquascaping. My wife's resisting, asking me to wait until I've seen the rocks they send me, but I'm reluctant, as I doubt 10 fist-sized rocks are going to cut in a 64g tank. Anyway, if I have slightly too many, I'll put a couple in the 'fuge. Do you think I'm right? If I order from the man-made place tomorrow, I can also get them delivered on Saturday.

 

[blackcloudmedia]

You could always quarantine the rocks in an octopus tank when it comes in

 

[Anonymous]

That's all very well, but what do I do with the octopus once it's eaten all the mantis and crabs?

Actually, your timing isn't bad. I've got my second shipment of live rock coming in this morning, from the place that provided the last two pictures above. Let's see if it's anywhere near as nice as those pics.

 

[blackcloudmedia]

Well?....

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry, I posted pics in my tank build thread, but forgot to update here. I got two pretty nice pieces in the end. Apologies for the poor quality of the photos, down to the poor skills of the owner and not particularly effective camera. The new pieces are the pieces on top in these two photos.

[rimg]http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/ab238/TheEscapedApe/Long%20awaited/P1010576.jpg[/rimg]

[rimg]http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/ab238/TheEscapedApe/Long%20awaited/P1010578.jpg[/rimg]

Now, a week or so after adding the pieces to the tank, there have been about 3 notable hitchhikers. No clear coral as yet, but some interesting invertebrates.

First off, an almost completely transparent tunicate (there's another one as well, but in a hard to photograph part of the tank).

[rimg]http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/ab238/TheEscapedApe/Long%20awaited/P1010575.jpg[/rimg]

Next I found a snail which got banished to the sump until he was identified as likely a harmless grazer - probably a columbellid snail, possibly a juvenile Euplica scripta.

[rimg]http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/ab238/TheEscapedApe/Long%20awaited/P1010588.jpg[/rimg]

Finally, and possibly coolest of all, is a nudibranch, which I'm reasonably confident is from the order Sacoglossa, possibly Thuridilla flavomaculata, which would be good news, as it would likely be a harmless algae grazer if that's the case.

[rimg]http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/ab238/TheEscapedApe/Long%20awaited/P1010602.jpg[/rimg]

 

[Anonymous]

Nice looking rock Tom

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Gresh. I might order another couple of pieces again from them at some point. Though maybe when I'm feeling flush (it's not a cheap way of buying rock...).

 

[jamesw]

Well, to answer your original question: live rock is made up of calcium carbonate. Concrete/cement is made up of calcium silicate.

Cheers
James

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks James - would that make a huge difference to the way it works?

I confess to not knowing whether the rock is made of concrete or something else...

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks James - would that make a huge difference to the way it works?

I confess to not knowing whether the rock is made of concrete or something else...

The life that grows on it cares not which one it is (silicate/carbonate) for the most part. Non issue IMO.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Gresh.

 

[Anonymous]

I took my kids to the beach below the house yesterday, and bumped into 4 mates that were collecting LR at low tide in the tidal pools there. They dropped by afterwards for a beer and showed me the rock and I thought of you Tom. For less than $5 a kilo or around 2USD a Lb you could have picked up around 100kg of stunning LR, straight outta the ocean. I would have taken pics, but I didnt want to make you feel bad. Sorry. I did think of you though.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Andy. One day maybe I'll be lucky enough to live somewhere that's possible (it's not even possible in Okinawa - removal of natural live rock is illegal). As it is, I'll have to live with whatever can be shipped to me. Given the range of interesting hitchhikers I've seen so far, I'm not complaining! Yet another one I found today, what I think is a Dwarf Sea Hare, Aplysia parvula. Not bad for aquacultured rock! I think they leave it in the sea for a period of years, rather than months, and it shows. 8)

[rimg]http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/ab238/TheEscapedApe/Long%20awaited/P1010634.jpg[/rimg]

[rimg]http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/ab238/TheEscapedApe/Long%20awaited/P1010639.jpg[/rimg]

[rimg]http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/ab238/TheEscapedApe/Long%20awaited/P1010637.jpg[/rimg]

 

[Anonymous]

Cool rock Tom. I love the 'Easter egg hunt' for hitchhikers with new live rock.

You are in Japan and wonder what to do with an octopus?

 

[Anonymous]

Well, if it's Japan I guess you either shag it or eat it.

 

[Anonymous]

8O

I was thinking eating it...

 

[brandon4291]

Id do a backflip with no prior training for rock like that, nice post for sure