the livest LR available.

[luvthereefer]

so im starting a new tank from scratch. i wish to have the livest live rock possible.

is there a local supplier in particular that brings in really good rock?

or is the best bet going through someone like tampabaysalt.....(whoever untamed got his amazing rock from).

if i do get it from a local supplier, i plan on coordinating it so i pick up the rock either the day of or the day after arrival to minimize die-off.

TIA,
matt

[Myka]

Many LFS have pretty decent rock. Ask when a new shipment is coming in, and get your pieces right out of the box. That is about as live as you will get these days. Then it is up to you to keep the ammonia low enough while curing to keep it from killing itself.

[untamed]

I got mine directly from TBS.. But I may have broken some importation laws. I don't recommend it.

[lastlight]

Knew I'd see Brad in here. He's got the 'livest' rock you can get for sure!

[untamed]

Knew I'd see Brad in here. He's got the 'livest' rock you can get for sure!

I'm not so sure about that... It is almost 5 years now and there has likely been a lot of extinction. Conditions haven't always been perfect, and I'm sure a lot of stuff doesn't live for that long and can't reproduce. I need to introduce some more rock/life.

[piusma]

You would want to know why you wanted the liveliest rock, to sustain the fish / reef tank you don't need the liveliest rock. In fact a lot of the hitch hikers might not be wanted. I.e. Crabs, bad snails / Stars.

And even if you did got the most diverse live form from your rocks, a lot of them will eventually die off because our tank just isn't perfect for them. I believe as long as the rocks has the good bacteria in them, they are good. And focus on getting the right shape and size for your aquascaping!

Steven

[lastlight]

I'm not so sure about that... It is almost 5 years now and there has likely been a lot of extinction. Conditions haven't always been perfect, and I'm sure a lot of stuff doesn't live for that long and can't reproduce. I need to introduce some more rock/life.

Sorry meant you got the livest rock ;) not surprising that a lot of the life on it doesn't last long term. Makes for really neat discoveries for the first few months I'm sure.

[Mrfish55]

Not so sure it's all about how fresh the rock is as much as the conditions it's exposed too, I've not added anything new to my tanks in over a year and I am still finding new stuff pop up here and there. Personally if I was shopping for new rock I would be inclined to look for clean rock that has no pest critters or algae on it.

[untamed]

You would want to know why you wanted the liveliest rock, to sustain the fish / reef tank you don't need the liveliest rock. In fact a lot of the hitch hikers might not be wanted. I.e. Crabs, bad snails / Stars.

And even if you did got the most diverse live form from your rocks, a lot of them will eventually die off because our tank just isn't perfect for them. I believe as long as the rocks has the good bacteria in them, they are good. And focus on getting the right shape and size for your aquascaping!

Steven

...because it isn't just about trying to keep fish/reef only (for me). I made as much effort as possible to keep most everything alive. I never removed a crab, and had as many as 6 mantis in the tank at the beginning. The only critter I hunted out was ciranolid(s)

Too much has died off. I would want to improve that if that life were reintroduced.

Really, if it is only about bacteria, I think one would be better with artificial rock. You can't prevent bacteria from happening.