Pest-free live rock?

[HawkeyeDJ]

I was talked into placing some live rock early on to help my tank mature. I was rewarded with aiptasia, bubble algae, green hair algae, and God knows what else.

I was patient and persistent and eventually managed all these challenges, so I guess it wasn't a complete waste. I learned a lot and was able to control my frustration.

Now I am wondering if there would be a market for pest-free live rock. I've got a couple of empty 10 gallon tanks available. I could set these up with dry rock and cycle them.

Any thoughts?

 

[cpschult]

I was talked into placing some live rock early on to help my tank mature. I was rewarded with aiptasia, bubble algae, green hair algae, and God knows what else.

I was patient and persistent and eventually managed all these challenges, so I guess it wasn't a complete waste. I learned a lot and was able to control my frustration.

Now I am wondering if there would be a market for pest-free live rock. I've got a couple of empty 10 gallon tanks available. I could set these up with dry rock and cycle them.

Any thoughts?

Depends on your area really. There may be a market for it, may not.

 

[LordofCinder]

depends how much you want to sell it for, I guess. I see peeps selling their "live rock from their tanks" about $10/lbs. I won't pay someone for that.

New dry rock costs about $4/lbs. So between $4 and $10, how much money can you make for your efforts with a 10 gallon tank? Not much IMO.

But your idea is a good one. I built a 20 gallon damsel tank and filled it with dry rock. Anytime I add something into that tank, I bleach it first, so I know the rocks are completely pest free. and fully live and matured rock. I swap them in and out of my tanks as I need, they never grow algae. But IMO it takes at least 8-10 months to get this "fully mature" point.

It works for me and my purpose, but I don't think I would be successful trying to sell it

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

How would this differ from the dry rock cycled at every LFS though?

 

[fish farmer]

How would this differ from the dry rock cycled at every LFS though?

Many of those LFS's may have offending pests.

 

[JCM]

Many of those LFS's may have offending pests.

Has anyone ever achieved a mature, stocked reef tank without having to deal with a pest at some point? Seems like a fools errand to me.

Maybe there's a market though, probably depends on your area.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Many of those LFS's may have offending pests.

I mean, pests will be introduced inevitably...just buy from a good shop and do your best to inspect the rock and take precautions before just dumping it in the tank

 

[TnFishwater98]

I was talked into placing some live rock early on to help my tank mature. I was rewarded with aiptasia, bubble algae, green hair algae, and God knows what else.

I was patient and persistent and eventually managed all these challenges, so I guess it wasn't a complete waste. I learned a lot and was able to control my frustration.

Now I am wondering if there would be a market for pest-free live rock. I've got a couple of empty 10 gallon tanks available. I could set these up with dry rock and cycle them.

Any thoughts?

Where did you order you LR from originally?

 

[TnFishwater98]

Wet rock isn’t LR…. Are you talking about cycling dry rock for people…?

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Y

Wet rock isn’t LR…. Are you talking about cycling dry rock rock for people…?

Yeah, i think thats the general idea ...a lot of people refer to cycled rock as live rock

 

[HawkeyeDJ]

Where did you order you LR from originally?

My LFS.

 

[GatorGreg]

Wet rock isn’t LR…. Are you talking about cycling dry rock for people…?

Bingo. I’ll never build another tank without actual ocean rock. Don’t care what comes in on it. I still would love to know the secret that these magicians are using to have awesome dry rock tanks in 6 months

 

[HawkeyeDJ]

Wet rock isn’t LR…. Are you talking about cycling dry rock for people…?

Perhaps I don't understand the term "live rock." I'm thinking that I would try to produce rock that was fully cycled and matured minus the pests that arrived once I placed it in my tank. Is that possible? Or does the term "live rock" necessarily include the pests?

I'm not thinking of providing an entire rockscape for someone, just a quality piece of rock that could seed a new tank without introducing the various pests. Is that a contradictory statement?

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Perhaps I don't understand the term "live rock." I'm thinking that I would try to produce rock that was fully cycled and matured minus the pests that arrived once I placed it in my tank. Is that possible? Or does the term "live rock" necessarily include the pests?

I'm not thinking of providing an entire rockscape for someone, just a quality piece of rock that could seed a new tank without introducing the various pests. Is that a contradictory statement?

When people say "seed their tank" it usually refers to the use of ocean live rock (not the pest necessarily) that have like10,000x more strains of bacteria than you can get with bottled bac. If you're just going to be adding bottled bac and ammonia to cycle the rock, there's not much of an advantage over people just buying their own dry rock and pouring bottled bac in themselves.

 

[GatorGreg]

I’m years out from building my dream tank. But I took about 6lbs of the ocean rock from my current build and have a 5 gallon bucket in my laundry room with about 20lbs of dry rock in it soaking in saltwater. I do a water change once a month and top off once a week and drop a little food in it. It’s got a cheap heater and cheap filter. I pay it no mind and plan on keeping it that way for an undetermined amount of time. I’ll probably expand and add more rock and bigger container one day. Hoping it will jump start my 90 cube dream build. I dream small I know

 

[HawkeyeDJ]

depends how much you want to sell it for, I guess. I see peeps selling their "live rock from their tanks" about $10/lbs. I won't pay someone for that.

New dry rock costs about $4/lbs. So between $4 and $10, how much money can you make for your efforts with a 10 gallon tank? Not much IMO.

But your idea is a good one. I built a 20 gallon damsel tank and filled it with dry rock. Anytime I add something into that tank, I bleach it first, so I know the rocks are completely pest free. and fully live and matured rock. I swap them in and out of my tanks as I need, they never grow algae. But IMO it takes at least 8-10 months to get this "fully mature" point.

It works for me and my purpose, but I don't think I would be successful trying to sell it

Like everything in this hobby, patience is key. That's what I was thinking. 8-10 months to get a quality biome established. Not looking to get into a full-time business, just wondering if there is a market niche I could fill to offset the costs of my hobby.

 

[GatorGreg]

Perhaps I don't understand the term "live rock." I'm thinking that I would try to produce rock that was fully cycled and matured minus the pests that arrived once I placed it in my tank. Is that possible? Or does the term "live rock" necessarily include the pests?

I'm not thinking of providing an entire rockscape for someone, just a quality piece of rock that could seed a new tank without introducing the various pests. Is that a contradictory statement?

Live rock has sponges, feather dusters, coraline, various filter feeders, pods, corals, critters and creatures all beneficial to a reef tank.

what you’re talking about is just boring rock with a bio filter. You’ll never be able to mature it to the point of a rock that’s been submerged in the ocean. in your terrified chicken little sterile biome and make it worth your time. Won’t happen.

 

[GatorGreg]

Like everything in this hobby, patience is key. That's what I was thinking. 8-10 months to get a quality bionome established. Not looking to get into a full-time business, just wondering if there is a market niche I could fill to offset the costs of my hobby.

8 to 10 month old dry rock that’s been soaking is absolutely not what I’d consider mature. Especially in the sterile “biome” you’re trying to create

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

8 to 10 month old dry is absolutely not what I’d consider mature.

My definition of mature means that it's been in contact with a wide diversity of organisms which all contribute something (making it "live")...8 month dry rock in bottled bac for 8 months will give you the same several strains of bacteria in the bottle...nothing more. If you're just adding bottled bac to dry rock in a tank to isolate it from everything except bacteria, it certainly won't take 8 months for those few strains of bacteria to colonize the rock

 

[HawkeyeDJ]

When people say "seed their tank" it usually refers to the use of ocean live rock (not the pest necessarily) that have like10,000x more strains of bacteria than you can get with bottled bac. If you're just going to be adding bottled bac and ammonia to cycle the rock, there's not much of an advantage over people just buying their own dry rock and pouring bottled bac in themselves.

So, if I have a mature tank and I take a scoop of sand from that tank, I quarantine that sand for several weeks, seeing that it has no undesirable life, then place that in a tank full of dry rock, along with heat, flow, filtration, and food, just like any typical DT, minus fish and coral would I expect that rock to mature and become live rock that is pest-free? Is there any value in that rock to other hobbyists?