calcium carbonate rock...
 

hey guys,

i think i will forgo the idea of getting some more live rock in favor of the cheaper calcium carbonate rock (i think thats what its called)...anyways does anyone know where i can pick this stuff up and how much it will cost me? thanks.

Go to Riverfront :lol: Yea I know it may be funny that I say that :lol:

Anyway they have a big tub of it in their drygoods section that you can pick through. I got a couple buckets there once for pretty cheep as I remember.

hey what does this rock do ?
is id like just dried out live rock and sold cheaper or ...?

no it is less pouros and actualy minned. basicly a old reef that was covered with land and compressed and petrafied.

it is good for baserock but i would still buy live rock for on top of it.

Steve

I am not sure about being less porous. Ross just picked me up a chunk, and it is surprisingly porous. I was impressed, and am getting more. I think he said it is $8.00/Kg. That is a lot better than $9.00/Lb. I have an older piece that is covered with Coraline algae. It looks a lot like other base type rock. :wink:

Well for once Bob I agree with something you are saying :wink: :P :lol:

I think this rock is more porus than any of the "Actual" live rock I have in my tank. JMO
I have no proof of this other than the odd observation of taking a piece out of the water and watching how much water pours out of it.

ahh i guess less pouros is a bad term.. it is subjective.. I have large chunks of rock (about say 12" x 8" x 8") that you would expect to weigh about 30 lbs actualy weighs about 5lbs then I have a chunk that is 1/2 the size that weighs 15 lbs so there is a large varence in density of LR depending on the type of coral that made it.. I have looked at the stuff you are talking about and it is fairly light but I didn't find it atractive or interesting.. like I said I concider it good stuff to put under the real rock to make it look like you have more.

J&L sells it as CARIBSEA REEF ROCK for 1.50 / lb in a 50 lb box and there is a pic of it under the "Sand and substrate" section of aquarium supplies

the bigest problem I have with it is that it looks like mined rocks.
but now that I think of it I might buy a few lbs to break up more and mount some frags to. :wink:

Steve

**edited**

The rock I picked up is *($10)* $5.00 a kilogram . It is rather white but if you could visualize it with some crystaline algae on it (or in my case heavy diatom growth :shock: ) you would be hard pressed to tell the difference from real "live" rock. It has the added advantage/disadvantage of not carrying critters (nasty or nice) with it. It does not look at all mined and has interesting fossilized things of most of it.

ok some question and as you know by now most of my questions a pretty lame but here goes.
ok for live rock oyu all pay 8 or 9 $ a pound? if so just a tip if you didnt know but golds when they have rock is only 6.99 a pound cured.
also i thought it was better to have rock that is porous and less dense(dont know why less dense but i thought i heard it some were)
ok this last question is unrelated really but i thought i read some where there a organisms or creatures or what ever that actually make live rock (like construct and make reef) is this true and if it is wouldnt it be possible to put some into yuour tank and eventualy habve more rock. because that would be nice to see the ever changing rock formations

KGB, Live rock is dead corals, as the grow and die they increase the size of the reef, it isn;t realy rock per say but rather skelitons.. and depending on the type of coral that make it will determan how dense it is.

so unless you have live corals (hard corals) growing in your tank you will not grow live rock.

Steve

Steve, if I am not mistaken, you can make your own LR. Concrete can be used and shaped to your liking.

yup, but that isn't live rock.. it is pourous cement that given time in a good tank will become live rock.. I contenplated making all my own this way but it was to long of a curing process and still a little bit of a risk

Steve

Our guy Ross has made a bunch of it, and is using it in his new 180. From what I uderstand it has to be soaked in fresh water for quite some time, because the pH gets really high. It is interesting material, quite light and porous. In my OPINION it is very ugly :shock: at the start. That is because it is grey and bland. I am sure though that when it gets Coraline algae growth, it will be just ducky. :D :D :D

Making live rock is a bit of a long process...and it is ugly to start. I have the recipe and one does need patience. It is a combination of crushed oyster shell, concrete and aragonite. It has to cure for a day (in a moist environment) then sit in fresh water for about 5 weeks (with regular changes) and then it needs 2 weeks in salt water before you can add it to your aquarium. After more than 4 months the rock is now starting to get a bit of color and growth on it and some pieces are virtually indistinguishable from the live rock I bought…and have the added advantage of not having nasty critters on them. The real plus is the cost. It was $8.50 each for 2 50 pound bags of oyster shell, $6 for a 50 pound bag of concrete, silica sand that was $8 bucks each for 50 pounds and 25 pounds of course aragonite. This made about 120 pounds of rock in all…so far.

Most people concider this a disadvantage as it is the critters that add diversity to your tank and a very smal persentage of them are actualy "Nasty" I look in my tank and any given moment and I see hundreds of bugs runnign around and bristle worms out foragaing for food, to me this is a helthy diverse tank and the lack of such critters would be more of a cause for concern in my opinion.

Steve

Steve I'm afraid I am coming across all wrong here. I think the concrete rocks are perfect for base rocks...and cheap . When you are getting into his hobby it helps to save cash where you can….but… If you don't buy some real live rock you absolutely miss out on the cool critters (I also have lots of those). Let me add this caveat, buy live rock, treat it just like you would live fish…it is not always safe.


Rant on***
I’m a bit jaded … and I miss my all my hermits, and old sally… and my favorite shrimps that ate out of my hand and all my nassarius snails…
Rant off***

Ok thanks for the tips :cry: :( :) :D

Yes but do you have Mantis Shrimp eating everything like Ross has?

I wish I did, I have a tank set up and waiting for one....

Steve

dang your about 47 hours too late. 2 nights ago I would have shipped the tank out to you. :lol:

I forgot one thing about the ugly home made rocks...I have two rear 8"X12" built in overflows. I made a mold out of wood and created a 1" fake rock covering that hids them quite well. When they are covered in algae they are going to look great (whenever that is).

It is not really the rocks that are ugly, I mean who has ever seen a pretty rock? I think it is the grey concrete color that needs a covering. After that happens (I would say a month or three), they will look great. :D :D