Live Rock Price Vs. Quality

Hey everyone,

I have just about everything I need to start up my Saltwater tank except the live rock. I am struggling though with what to get, as there are many different prices to pay, cured vs uncured... etc. I'd really like to cure it myself just to be on the less expensive side.

First there is PetCo


Then there is Dr Foster and Smith Standard Fiji


And foundation Fiji


The Foundation FijI seems to be the least expensive. But why is "foundation" rock cheaper than Standard Fiji? Is it not as effective in terms of bio-filtering? Then there are the shipping costs to take into consideration, and my LFS is selling their cured rock for $7 a pound.

Anyone got any advice for me if I want to save some $? Any other resources I could look at?

I REALLY appreciate all your help!

 

What size aquarium do you have? You're looking for somewhere between 1 and 1.75 lbs of live rock per gallon (at least, that's what I can find). So if you've got a 30 gallon tank, it looks like the live rock at liveaquaria is a pretty good deal compared to your LFS. With shipping, it ends up being about 3.39 a pound.
The foundation rock (which looks like it has less stuff already grown on it because it comes from the inside of the harvested area, rather than the outside, where the coraline algae grows) is an even better deal.

 

Will the foundation rock eventually aquire coralin algae and other stuff on standard fiji?

My tank is 100gal, that's why I am trying to do this very economical.

 

I found a seller on eBay that all he sells is live rock. It runs bout $150 shipped for 50lbs, so roughly $3/pound. I should be ordering mine next week maybe...keeping fingers crossed.

 

Do you think this site would be legit? Pretty affordable.

 

That's the site I got my Coralife 125 Super Skimmer and Hydor Koralia pumps at the lowest prices I found anywhere. They're located in CA, so I guess it depends where you're located. If you're on the west coast, they'd probably be better. The seller on eBay is located in FLA, so he'd be better for east coast shipments.

 

Foundation rock does not tend to be as porous as other types, such as standard or premium. You would typically use foundation rock in a larger setup to act as a base for your standard/premium rock to be built off of. Normally you wouldn't see the foundation rock after the aquascaping is done because it is hidden by the higher end rock.

 

Foundation rock just hasn't matured as much yet, nothing wrong with it. You could technically go really cheap, buy all unlive base rock, stick a single piece of nice premium LR in there and seed the rest.

Premium Aquatics has nice rock, i've known many people that are happy with orders from them.

If you really want to go with some rock full of life (good and bad!) check out Tampa Bay Saltwater. https://www.tbsaltwater.com/liverock/index.html They pull it straight out of the Gulf of Mexico (Legally!) and it has tons of growth on it. Algae, snails, crabs, sometimes mantis shrimp. Definitely not for everyone but this rock really is live.

 

Premium Aquatics looks pretty decent for sure... I think I will go with them. THANKS FOR YOUR ADVICE!!

 

Okay - Follow up question: If I decide to save money on shipping and do GROUND instead of 2nd Day Air, I will obviously have more die off and have more curing time. Is this going to be a big problem? Or will there be too much die off? Shipping is almost as expensive as the ROCK.

Thanks

 

Shipping is expensive for LR, that's for sure!! As for the die off, that will only help your tank cycle so that's not something I'd worry about. And the rock in the long run will look the same. You may loose some hitchhikers but some will likely live through it.

Then again, the only time I actually had any was from Liveaquaria. I bought some LR from LFS to start off with plus base rock from them. I also bought a little bit from Petco. They had a couple of pieces that I liked. Then I finished it off by ordering some premium FijI stuff and that's when I got some feather dusters.