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How can I tell if the LFS sold me DEAD Live Rock?
Simply put ... this live rock looks like it's had it's day, but I can't tell
what to look for because this is the first rock I have ever purchased? ... Can somebody tell me what to look for or give me an email to send a couple of high quality pics of my rock to you? Caper |
How can I tell if the LFS sold me DEAD Live Rock?
if it looks so bad, why did you buy it?
"Noah Body" wrote in message ... Simply put ... this live rock looks like it's had it's day, but I can't tell what to look for because this is the first rock I have ever purchased? ... Can somebody tell me what to look for or give me an email to send a couple of high quality pics of my rock to you? Caper |
How can I tell if the LFS sold me DEAD Live Rock?
What you look for in live rock,is porosity, and channels
that the fish and critters can go through, pretty coralline algae, and other critters living on and in the rock. Getting live rock is like getting a grab bag. You will often find different things as time goes on that you didn't know you had. Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets Noah Body wrote on 8/11/2006 4:36 PM: Simply put ... this live rock looks like it's had it's day, but I can't tell what to look for because this is the first rock I have ever purchased? ... Can somebody tell me what to look for or give me an email to send a couple of high quality pics of my rock to you? Caper |
How can I tell if the LFS sold me DEAD Live Rock?
Noah Body wrote: Simply put ... this live rock looks like it's had it's day, but I can't tell what to look for because this is the first rock I have ever purchased? ... Hi Caper, Time and patience are your main tools for evaluating the state of your rock. When it's pulled out of the ocean a chunk of 'live rock' is home to a huge variety of flora and fauna; from bacteria to complex inverts (worms, mollusks, etc.) and plants.... Then most of that stuff dies. In some cases, things can't deal with the stress of shipping, sometimes it has to do with acclimation shock, but probably most often it's simply starvation since neither you or the natural processes in your tank can provide the variety of foods that are available to these guys in the wild. This die-off is by no means a totally bad thing since it provides raw materials for the cycling process, thus removing the need to use 'throw-away' fish for that purpose. Eventually, the things that survived the trip from ocean to your tank will start to grow. Depending on species you'll see some things bloom quickly (i.e. diatoms or other small types of algae) but most of that will also die back as they consume whatever nutrient the cycling process has made available. In time you should start seeing more persistent forms of life start to appear (coralline algae, various worms, etc.) but this all takes time, time, and more time. People often report finding new species a year or more after adding a piece of rock to their tank. The main thing you can do is monitor your various water parameters to make sure things don't get too toxic as your tank cycles - and just wait. Festinationally yours, Alex |
How can I tell if the LFS sold me DEAD Live Rock?
Sorry did I hit a nerve...
"Noah Body" wrote in message ... Do me a favor and don't reply to my posts Sandy. If your reply to me is any indication of your attitude .... we all can do without. .... and read people's posts more closely before throwing in your replies ......" this live rock looks like it's had it's day, but I can't tell " ... is what I wrote ... I Can't Tell, that is why I'm posting ... cuz I can't tell .... furthermore .. there is only ONE place to purchase rock here ...... so I don't have the luxury of running across the street to the "other" 12 pet stores and getting pristine rock. "Noah Body" wrote in message ... Simply put ... what to look for because this is the first rock I have ever purchased? ... Can somebody tell me what to look for or give me an email to send a couple of high quality pics of my rock to you? Caper |
How can I tell if the LFS sold me DEAD Live Rock?
I forgot to add that there is not one sign of any life whatsoever on this
live rock .. nothing moves, no critters, worms, etc .. nothing .... and I even have been looking at the rock with a magnifiying glass just to be sure......I do notice some " mini tentacles" but I think they are showing up now simply because my new, fresh crushed coral is so fine that there is a "dusting" of coral that gets stirred up by the fish and this must be sticking to the old, dead algae on the rock... I'm not sure .. but that's what it looks like. Again .. sending someone a couple of pics would ease my mind. Caper |
How can I tell if the LFS sold me DEAD Live Rock?
It takes awhile to actually get the rock "up and going". Everything looks
like it's dead but pretty soon you'll notice things on the rock that are living. It just takes awhile. You can leave your light off to help with the algae problem but it seems like no matter what you'll get brown algae that will start taking over everything. You'll feel like your tank is a mess than it goes away as quick as it came. It's part of the cycling. Just takes alot of patience. You may not even notice any cycling in your tank. I've put cured rocks in my tanks before and never noticed it going through all the cycling process. Good-Luck Susan :) "Noah Body" wrote in message ... I forgot to add that there is not one sign of any life whatsoever on this live rock .. nothing moves, no critters, worms, etc .. nothing .... and I even have been looking at the rock with a magnifiying glass just to be sure......I do notice some " mini tentacles" but I think they are showing up now simply because my new, fresh crushed coral is so fine that there is a "dusting" of coral that gets stirred up by the fish and this must be sticking to the old, dead algae on the rock... I'm not sure .. but that's what it looks like. Again .. sending someone a couple of pics would ease my mind. Caper |
How can I tell if the LFS sold me DEAD Live Rock?
Noah Body wrote: would it be alright for me to send you a very high quality picture of the rock to get your opinion? Hi Caper, Much as I'd like to help you evaluate your rock, I'm just about certain that I can't. Two reasons: 1. However it looks to your eye is pretty much how it's going to look photographically. Unless you can bring a microscope to bear on it any life present would almost certainly be invisible at this point. 2. I'm really not all that knowledgeable about how tropical live rock should look. My interest and any small expertise I might have center around cold water aquariums and their inhabitants. The nature of the cold water hobby is that virtually everything is collected rather than purchased and, at least at present, most of that collecting is done locally such that any specimens, rock, or sand can be moved from the wild to the aquarium in an hour or two - totally different from the tropical situation. My personal opinion agrees with Susan and Wayne; your rock is, almost without doubt, far more 'alive' than it looks right now. You may be able to speed things up a bit by inoculating your sand bed with some sort of detrivore kit in the faint hope of migration between sand and rock. Here's a list of suppliers that was recently posted on another forum (IOW: I haven't got a clue if any of these places is any better than any other): http://ipsf.com/ http://inlandaquatics.com/ http://billsreef.safeshopper.com/ http://www.essentiallivefeeds.com/ http://www.garf.org/ Optimistically yours, Alex |
How can I tell if the LFS sold me DEAD Live Rock?
Look at the post below this with the picture of teh Leather coral - does
your rock look like this? If yes then your rock is perfectly healthy. If not take a picture and we will have a look and let you have an oppinion... ~m "Noah Body" wrote in message ... Simply put ... this live rock looks like it's had it's day, but I can't tell what to look for because this is the first rock I have ever purchased? ... Can somebody tell me what to look for or give me an email to send a couple of high quality pics of my rock to you? Caper |
How can I tell if the LFS sold me DEAD Live Rock?
If you have a web site, you can post a picture for
everyone to look at. Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets Noah Body wrote on 8/13/2006 8:24 PM: Thank you for your reply Alex. I understand what you mean by having patience and waiting for the rock to mature. I have had freshwater tanks for years and waiting for a tank to cycle is common practice here. ;) I just didn't want to go though this process, only to find out that my rock was dead in the first place. I know that there will be "die off" of the live rock and then the water parameters will normaize and I'll be able to add to it. I just don't see any difference in colors on my rock at all, except for maybe a couple of spots that are bluish. ( a good thing). My two Mollies that are in the tank just today had another set of live babies, so I'm assuming that's a good sign as far as water quality ... the first ones were removed to lessen the bio-load on the tank, and these ones are going in my hospital tank to be given away later. Alex, would it be alright for me to send you a very high quality picture of the rock to get your opinion? I am just remembering reading that I should NOT have the lights on while cycling the tank, but I'm going to read up on that after posting this message here. The reason I say this is I think there is a light coating of algae forming on the live rock ... and for all I know ... this might be bad by not allowing the coraline to grow. By the way, the tank has been running with mollies in it for three months before introducing the live rock. I have been monitoring my water parameters closely and everything seems fine, but it's hard to get real help from the LFS because they refuse to accept that fact that a nano tank can be set up and run with a "noobie" in charge, but I have this tank beside my computer desk in the rec room where the whole family spends most of their time... so I'm always on top of the tank checking and testing. Anyway .. sending you or anybody who reads this a 5 meg dig pic would put my mind at ease as to weather I have purchased good rock or not. One thing about this rock is .. it was on sale for 30 % off and then the guy did not add tax to it ... so I got 10.5 pounds of rock for $85.00 Canadian. I know that I should have at least another 5 or more pounds in there .. but I just didn't have that much to spend. Caper |
How can I tell if the LFS sold me DEAD Live Rock?
I miss the really good Florida live rock back before it
became illegal. It was some really nice live rock. There is aquacultured Florida live rock, but it's often not that great - depends on how long it was down, not (how long it was buried under 100 tons of rock :-). Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets Tidepool Geek wrote on 8/14/2006 12:31 AM: Noah Body wrote: would it be alright for me to send you a very high quality picture of the rock to get your opinion? Hi Caper, Much as I'd like to help you evaluate your rock, I'm just about certain that I can't. Two reasons: 1. However it looks to your eye is pretty much how it's going to look photographically. Unless you can bring a microscope to bear on it any life present would almost certainly be invisible at this point. 2. I'm really not all that knowledgeable about how tropical live rock should look. My interest and any small expertise I might have center around cold water aquariums and their inhabitants. The nature of the cold water hobby is that virtually everything is collected rather than purchased and, at least at present, most of that collecting is done locally such that any specimens, rock, or sand can be moved from the wild to the aquarium in an hour or two - totally different from the tropical situation. My personal opinion agrees with Susan and Wayne; your rock is, almost without doubt, far more 'alive' than it looks right now. You may be able to speed things up a bit by inoculating your sand bed with some sort of detrivore kit in the faint hope of migration between sand and rock. Here's a list of suppliers that was recently posted on another forum (IOW: I haven't got a clue if any of these places is any better than any other): http://ipsf.com/ http://inlandaquatics.com/ http://billsreef.safeshopper.com/ http://www.essentiallivefeeds.com/ http://www.garf.org/ Optimistically yours, Alex |
How can I tell if the LFS sold me DEAD Live Rock?
"Wayne Sallee" wrote in message ...
If you have a web site, you can post a picture for everyone to look at. And if you do not have a website you can use one of many services like photobucket.com etc. |
How can I tell if the LFS sold me DEAD Live Rock?
Okay .. I have just learned how to put pics on a website and add URL's to
them so that you can click on them. . . and I thought I knew everything. :) .... anyway's .. here's the links to the pics for my live rock. http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06243.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06242.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06241.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06239.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06238.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06237.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06236.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06235.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06234.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06232.jpg PS: the water level is low in the pic because I am doing a water change and can't find the salt to make up some more.. so I'm off to the LFS now. Also ... I just put in a powerhead and it just blasted into the crushed coral, sending a covering of white "sand" all over my live rock, so now I have to shake it off of everything. Does this happen to other setup's? ... I feel like I should have washed all the fine's out of the coral before putting it in ... if I distrub the bed in the slightest .. I get white crushed coral all over everything .... which I don't like. Caper |
How can I tell if the LFS sold me DEAD Live Rock?
Yea most people usually like to wash the coral sand before
putting it in the aquarium. But bacteria will slowly grow and will reduce the amount of this, as the bacteria helps hold it together, and helps filter it out. Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets Noah Body wrote on 8/15/2006 10:15 AM: Okay .. I have just learned how to put pics on a website and add URL's to them so that you can click on them. . . and I thought I knew everything. :) .... anyway's .. here's the links to the pics for my live rock. http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06243.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06242.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06241.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06239.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06238.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06237.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06236.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06235.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06234.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06232.jpg PS: the water level is low in the pic because I am doing a water change and can't find the salt to make up some more.. so I'm off to the LFS now. Also ... I just put in a powerhead and it just blasted into the crushed coral, sending a covering of white "sand" all over my live rock, so now I have to shake it off of everything. Does this happen to other setup's? ... I feel like I should have washed all the fine's out of the coral before putting it in ... if I distrub the bed in the slightest .. I get white crushed coral all over everything .... which I don't like. Caper |
How can I tell if the LFS sold me DEAD Live Rock?
I just did a 20 % water change, added another AquaClear 150 to the back of
the tank, and also added a 201 powerhead. I know can see the difference in the water movement., but one thing I did notice is that now I have a so called "pest" clinging to the side of my glass. I think it's called Aptasia. I know that this type is a pest and to kill it as soon as you find it, but since this is my very first living thing in the tank as far as the live rock is concerned .. I'm going to watch it for a few days before removing it. I'll post a pic of it and you tell me for sure if it's a pest or not. :) Caper |
How can I tell if the LFS sold me DEAD Live Rock?
I hope you didn't get charged for more than base rock prices....
It's probably live, but not very lively :-) Noah Body wrote: Okay .. I have just learned how to put pics on a website and add URL's to them so that you can click on them. . . and I thought I knew everything. :) ... anyway's .. here's the links to the pics for my live rock. http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06243.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06242.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06241.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06239.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06238.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06237.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06236.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06235.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06234.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06232.jpg PS: the water level is low in the pic because I am doing a water change and can't find the salt to make up some more.. so I'm off to the LFS now. Also .. I just put in a powerhead and it just blasted into the crushed coral, sending a covering of white "sand" all over my live rock, so now I have to shake it off of everything. Does this happen to other setup's? ... I feel like I should have washed all the fine's out of the coral before putting it in ... if I distrub the bed in the slightest .. I get white crushed coral all over everything .... which I don't like. Caper -- Ric Seyler Online Racing: RicSeyler GPL Handicap 6.35 http://www.pcola.gulf.net/~ricseyler remove –SPAM- from email address -------------------------------------- "Homer no function beer well without." - H.J. Simpson |
How can I tell if the LFS sold me DEAD Live Rock?
Thanks for taking a peek at the pics Ric. :) On the glass was a big " 30
% OFF" sticker and after telling the guy my life story about just getting into reef tanks, he didn't charge me any tax either.... so I paid $83.00 Canadian for 10.5 pounds of rock. and as far as getting it "lively" .. I can only assume from you looking at my pics that it's not exactly TEAMING with life? ..;) "RicSeyler" wrote in message .. . I hope you didn't get charged for more than base rock prices.... It's probably live, but not very lively :-) Noah Body wrote: Okay .. I have just learned how to put pics on a website and add URL's to them so that you can click on them. . . and I thought I knew everything. :) ... anyway's .. here's the links to the pics for my live rock. http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06243.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06242.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06241.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06239.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06238.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06237.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06236.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06235.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06234.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06232.jpg PS: the water level is low in the pic because I am doing a water change and can't find the salt to make up some more.. so I'm off to the LFS now. Also .. I just put in a powerhead and it just blasted into the crushed coral, sending a covering of white "sand" all over my live rock, so now I have to shake it off of everything. Does this happen to other setup's? ... I feel like I should have washed all the fine's out of the coral before putting it in ... if I distrub the bed in the slightest .. I get white crushed coral all over everything .... which I don't like. Caper -- Ric Seyler Online Racing: RicSeyler GPL Handicap 6.35 http://www.pcola.gulf.net/~ricseyler remove –SPAM- from email address -------------------------------------- "Homer no function beer well without." - H.J. Simpson |
How can I tell if the LFS sold me DEAD Live Rock?
Noah Body wrote: Thanks for taking a peek at the pics Ric. :) On the glass was a big " 30 % OFF" sticker and after telling the guy my life story about just getting into reef tanks, he didn't charge me any tax either.... so I paid $83.00 Canadian for 10.5 pounds of rock. and as far as getting it "lively" .. I can only assume from you looking at my pics that it's not exactly TEAMING with life? ..;) I looks like what is sold generally as "base rock". But I'll tell you one thing, you never know what might pop out of it in the future, even a year or more later. And after a while with proper CAL levels you will get coralline on it. And you got plenty of places to attach corals :-) "RicSeyler" wrote in message . .. I hope you didn't get charged for more than base rock prices.... It's probably live, but not very lively :-) Noah Body wrote: Okay .. I have just learned how to put pics on a website and add URL's to them so that you can click on them. . . and I thought I knew everything. :) ... anyway's .. here's the links to the pics for my live rock. http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06243.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06242.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06241.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06239.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06238.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06237.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06236.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06235.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06234.jpg http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/DSC06232.jpg PS: the water level is low in the pic because I am doing a water change and can't find the salt to make up some more.. so I'm off to the LFS now. Also .. I just put in a powerhead and it just blasted into the crushed coral, sending a covering of white "sand" all over my live rock, so now I have to shake it off of everything. Does this happen to other setup's? ... I feel like I should have washed all the fine's out of the coral before putting it in ... if I distrub the bed in the slightest .. I get white crushed coral all over everything .... which I don't like. Caper -- Ric Seyler Online Racing: RicSeyler GPL Handicap 6.35 http://www.pcola.gulf.net/~ricseyler remove -SPAM- from email address -------------------------------------- "Homer no function beer well without." - H.J. Simpson -- Ric Seyler Online Racing: RicSeyler GPL Handicap 6.35 http://www.pcola.gulf.net/~ricseyler remove -SPAM- from email address -------------------------------------- "Homer no function beer well without." - H.J. Simpson |
How can I tell if the LFS sold me DEAD Live Rock?
* Noah Body wrote, On 8/15/2006 9:15 AM:
Okay .. I have just learned how to put pics on a website and add URL's to them so that you can click on them. . . and I thought I knew everything. :) ... anyway's .. here's the links to the pics for my live rock. Good job. :) Maybe someday I'll learn how to do that.... Not too lively, is it...but nice-shaped pieces! PS: the water level is low in the pic because I am doing a water change and can't find the salt to make up some more.. so I'm off to the LFS now. Also .. I just put in a powerhead and it just blasted into the crushed coral, sending a covering of white "sand" all over my live rock, so now I have to shake it off of everything. Does this happen to other setup's? ... I feel like I should have washed all the fine's out of the coral before putting it in ... if I distrub the bed in the slightest .. I get white crushed coral all over everything .... which I don't like. Yeah, rinse, rinse and rinse again. Even rinse SAND. I set up a 150 FO tank years and years ago using crushed oyster shell from a feed store over an under-gravel filter. Rinsed it outside in winter in Montana, froze my FINGERS off, among other things. What a mess. Stuff compacted nastily, too, but I had a nice well-buffered healthy tank for a long time. Cindy |
How can I tell if the LFS sold me DEAD Live Rock?
Just a quick update. I have now found worms ... long worms with protruding
"feathers" down it's side in even clumps, and also .. "fleas" .. they look like fleas on a dog, but have long "feelers" on it's head. ps: this is through a cheap magnifying glass by the way ... not with the naked eye. I'm going to search the wonderful net now and see if I can find a pic of the worm |
How can I tell if the LFS sold me DEAD Live Rock?
The worm is a bristle worm. The "flea" is an amphipod.
Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets Noah Body wrote on 8/20/2006 7:53 PM: Just a quick update. I have now found worms ... long worms with protruding "feathers" down it's side in even clumps, and also .. "fleas" .. they look like fleas on a dog, but have long "feelers" on it's head. ps: this is through a cheap magnifying glass by the way ... not with the naked eye. I'm going to search the wonderful net now and see if I can find a pic of the worm |
How can I tell if the LFS sold me DEAD Live Rock?
if it stinks, then some stuff in it is dead.
otherwise it's bleached and dry heh heh base rock "Noah Body" wrote in message ... Simply put ... this live rock looks like it's had it's day, but I can't tell what to look for because this is the first rock I have ever purchased? ... Can somebody tell me what to look for or give me an email to send a couple of high quality pics of my rock to you? Caper |
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