If I were to just be starting out again, I would have taken a completely different approach to acquiring my live rock.

When I first set up my initial tank, wide eyed and wet behind the ear, I was enthralled to find live rock at the LFS thriving with life. I purchased many pounds of rock containing brown star polyps, button polyps, mushrooms and other interesting treats.

As my reefing experience grew, I found I wanted to lean toward the LPS and SPS. But, by now my tank was infested with the formally desired life. There wasn't much available real estate. Many rock scrubbings, inverting rocks into the sandbed, anything short of cooking or nuking the rock was the choice of action.

To this day, I have not completely eliminated them, but have them under control with flow and I believe more intense lighting helps too. If I find myself overrun again, I believe I'll just try to trade in on cleaner rock. I think those dusty, dirty, not much coraline rocks sitting unwanted by others would be my first pick as long as the shape and porousness (is that a word) were nice. I'd look at that rock as I saw it months in the future, not in it's current state.

That's just my story, and I guess the moral is look to the future and what you see yourself wanting to keep as a reef years down the road.

That's what makes this hobby so great. There is no single "right" way to do things. It's about figuring out what kind of tank you want to have and then figuring out what sort of rock you need to make it happen.

I have a theory that the small rubble that sits at the bottom of the tanks at LFS's is worth it's weight in gold :D

especially for nano-ers

Is your theory that most of that rubble has sat there unsold through shipment after shipment and was seeded from rocks all over the world???

Whoops, did I let the cat out of the bag?????

<insert evil laugh here>

How expensive?

$ 10/lb. Have some too and its lively alright.

Thanks
 

Great info guys, thanks.

I agree that if your going for a pure SPS tank it is probably best to go with well cured live rock but personally I want all the potentially destructive life.

Howdy and Untamed, thanks for the info on bringing it into Canada and for the cites stuff. I have a good month and a half before I need it, so I will try to get the cites taken care of before I order it.

The Red coral rock did look good and I am tempted to just go get that because its easier but that Florida aquacultured is just amazing rock and I think I am willing to go through the pain of getting it. It’s going to involve some very careful timing but I think I can do it.

Thanks again for all the help everyone.

Jon

Cites
 

I found this at the CITES web page. Hope this helps. Scroll down to the last FAQ on the page. http://www.cites.ec.gc.ca/eng/sct9/index_e.cfm#11

According to the last sentence of the second paragraph it states that ""live rock" is not regulated by CITES, unless organisms from CITES-listed species are attached to the substrate". So basically it is stating that you can import live rock into Canada without a CITES permit.