What's your process when you order live rock/sand?

[Daniel@R2R]

Getting an order of live rock and sand later this month from TBS, and couldn't be more excited! This will be my first order of this type as all of my other tanks have been started with dry rock or with rock taken from another tank.

What do you guys usually do when you get new live rock/sand from an ocean source?

Is there a quarantine process? Do you prep your tank somehow?

What are some of the coolest things you've gotten in live rock/sand orders like this?

 

[steveschuerger]

I admit I’m the rinse in a tub of prepped water to get rid of gross detritus and removal of dead macro algae and anything else loose and plop in tank. But then I love hitchhikers

 

[Daniel@R2R]

I admit I’m the rinse in a tub of prepped water to get rid of gross detritus and removal of dead macro algae and anything else loose and plop in tank. But then I love hitchhikers

Yes! I feel like you kind of have to love hitchhikers if you go this route. I'm planning to watch for anything that isn't reef safe, but I want to be sure I mostly do right by the awesome stuff that will come in with it.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

Getting an order of live rock and sand later this month from TBS, and couldn't be more excited! This will be my first order of this type as all of my other tanks have been started with dry rock or with rock taken from another tank.

What do you guys usually do when you get new live rock/sand from an ocean source?

Is there a quarantine process? Do you prep your tank somehow?

What are some of the coolest things you've gotten in live rock/sand orders like this?

pretty much the same as Steve, but there are some hitchhikers that are not so great. I hear a lot about mantis shrimp coming from there. If you are at all concerned, make your mix hyper salinity, like 1.035 instead of 1.025. this will make all critters leave the rock trying to get away from the hyper salinity. then remove the rocks, and see what you have. Then pick and choose what you want in the tank.

 

[Olefreebe]

Following as this is the route I'm taking with the new tank. What type of rock are you going with?

 

[X-37B]

On my 150lb GLR order, 2 weeks ago yesterday, I dipped in hypo salinity brute container. I then inspected and removed anything dead. Then into another brute container and into the system.
I did not get sand as I run BB.

So my rock was premium and many say not to use for startup but its just like getting rock from the 90's. Mine was out of the ocean and at my door in 24hrs wrapped in paper towels.

I added 2 4oz bottles of Turbo start to help with the initial ammonia spike.

I removed a few rocks on day 3 and removed dying sponge along with a few dying bivalves.

I ended up removing the orange tree sponge as it was not looking good.

So today at 15 days the system is using 0.5 alk per day per my morning test.
I also ran some phosgaurd to bring po4 down from 0.5 to 0.2 and just replaced it as it started to go up.

Also have been running my Ozone reactor from day one. This has kept the uglies down and I am now seeing green film algae on the glass.

I added at week one.
25 astria snails
5 Turbo's
20 Trochus
10 red leg hermits
8 emerald crabs
5 yellow tail damsels
1 six line
1 falco hawk.
1 damsel and the 6 line swam into the 6255.
1 Turbo died
Several of the astrea snails have been killed by the hermits which now wear the shell.
Added a Jacko lepto and a green milli frag as testers. The frag was fresh cut so?
There is one piece of hard coral that was damaged on one rock but looks to be recovering.
I have 12 healthy bivalves and 2 large red sponge that are doing well.
The cleanup crew has cleaned 90% of the rocks.

Thats my first 2 weeks in.