Live Rock collected from beaches

[NL146]

Has anybody added beach rocks to their tank without killing livestock? I've heard that you have to be careful because of possible contaminants. Is there a location that you would recommend?

 

[James]

Not Brooklyn!

Seriously, I have no clue but I am curious to see what the better informed members would say.

 

[TRIGGERMAN]

yea the bahamas or any other tropical island lol I wouldn't put nothing from here..too much pollution. Prob wipeout your whole tank w/in 24 hours

 

[masterswimmer]

Be careful of the laws protecting even Live Rock. If it was as simple as walking along the beach and picking up your own LR, everyone would be doing it and the prices wouldn't be as high as $12-$14 at some LFS.

swimmer

 

[NL146]

I've come to terms that this is an expensive hobby, but the cost of LR seems pretty hight to me. If I had added up all the costs upfront then, even though I'm just a newbie, maybe I would have stuck to fresh water. (just kidding - I've always wanted a marine aquarium). I'm real happy for a site like MR where from time to time members offer fantastic deals on LR. Just in case anybody is giving away free LR I'm in the market :splitspin. As swimmer said, if it were as easy as walking on a beach and picking up rocks then we would all be doing it.

 

[NL146]

I appreciate the various responses. Unlikely though it may be, if anybody knows any beach in our area where you've found good rocks that could be taken legally, I would be happy to hear from you. Thanks.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Local collecting threads are available. Just try searching for them. I would link them but my blackberry isn't as easy to do it with.

 

[tosiek]

I've come to terms that this is an expensive hobby, but the cost of LR seems pretty hight to me.

I don't know much about local collecting, or the rules and regulations. So i can't give you advice on that area. But, your going to be getting regular rocks anywhere locally and not the calcium built very porous rocks your going to find anywhere there is a reef or animals producing that type of rock. Unless you find a hidden mecca for LR or people are finding special things and not sayig anything. If there was some holy grail of local live rock you would be seeing ALOT more people with local live rock around. As far as i remember i know maybe 1 person using local rock for their reef tank.

In a fish only tank, you can get away with that, but on a reef tank bacteria populations/variety matters. The only way your going to produce and sustain the variety of bacteria that a reef tank and its inhabitants is going to be through that very porous type of rock. The slate type heavy dense rock your going to find here won't work as well. Corals utilize bacteria for growth, energy, and color. Bacteria populations, as far as most corals go, is about as important as giving them light, and people tend to forget that in their tanks. In most coral, spot feeding only works when there is ample bacteria to break down and make the food nutritious and beneficial to the coral, or to photosynthesize the light into energy for the coral. Im not saying you can't get away with using a dense low surface area rock, but its going to take away from how colorful, or how healthy the coral actually is. Their overall health depends alot on bacteria, and not providing as much surface area as possible in your tank is going to hinder the end result. Any of the systems such as zeovit base their system completely on bacteria, feeding it, and culturing it.

That beeing said, you can get LR at 1.25-1.50 per lb if you look around and are patient. The LR needs to be farmed or collected, shipped from somewhere 15-20 hours away by plane, which comes by a ship not by a plane, which has port costs and fee's, and then needs to be held in a wet system in a fish store till you buy it to keep it "live" i don't think 1.50$ or even 2$ costs so much per lb. It costs to ship it from these areas, and the people working there have to get payed although most work for pennies, and the fish stores put on their % for rent and electric, ect. The LR you see in stores provides the surface area for the bacteria to flourish. Plus your going to diversify your tank bacteria through the LR you buy from these reef places.

Keep looking around, people break down their tanks and sell their LR for pennies, and you can always find a very good deal off our vendors. Your getting what you pay for, its not overpricing, unless of course your paying 7+$ a lb.

 

[dubs]

trust me there is not any thing good coming out of the water any were near here except for fish the best thing for u to to save ur self the the problem that going to come along with collecting lr locally and wait till u see someone breaking dowin there system and u get the lr any were between a 1$ an 2$ a pound ...i would not put any thing local in my tank it not worth taking the chance

 

[Lionfish718]

I have collected rocks from all of my trips to the Caribbean and Florida and I put them in my tank. I usually bring them wet in zip lock bags. I keep them in a bucket of water in the hotel room until I have to go. Then I pack them up. I never had a problem. I would NOT put any rocks from the NY/NJ beaches.

 

[NL146]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the info toseik.

 

[Bob 1000]

I have colected macro and had rock attach to it and just threw it all in my tank with no problem... It was a brick like rock.. Coralined up and I forgot it was what it was until recently when I cut the frag that had grown on it off..