So I am new to all of this and currently I have a 75 gallon tank with about 6 or 7 pounds of live rock in it and a lil bity green crab. I was gonna purchased 65 lbs. of cured live rock from someone on Ebay however they are a few states away from me so I was told that it may not be so “live” once I recieve it. I also got a deal on 100 lbs. of dead rock from a local hobbyist. If I was to purchase the rock from both people that is 165 lbs. of live rock (not counting my 6 or 7 lbs.)!! Will my 75 gallon tank hold that much and how do I go about seeding the rock? How long will it take? Should I wait until the rock is fully seeded before I add fish and what about my crab?? Will he be able to survive it all?
:-?
I would go with the dry rock, it is gonna be cheaper. 100 lbs is probably more than you need(I’d go with around 65lbs dry), so maybe you can sell a bit to recoup some cost. As far as seeding, I would purchase an additional 15 lbs of high quality live rock (80 lbs total) and throw it in with it. It will cycle a bit, the seeding process will take a couple of months. Keep the fish load really low until then. Your crab will probably be okay. Hope this helps, and of course just my opinion.
[quote=“lagoler, post:1, topic:1190”]
I was gonna purchased 65 lbs. of cured live rock from someone on Ebay however they are a few states away[/quote]
If it is truely LR, the shipment should not kill it unless you have it sent via the Pony Express. Just lightly brush off the dead/decaying stuff on the surface in a seperate container of salt water and place in the tank.
[quote=“lagoler, post:1, topic:1190”]
Will my 75 gallon tank hold that much and how do I go about seeding the rock?[/quote]
Yes it will fit ( I like a lot of rock) and if you can get a couple of pieces from a local reefer to put it that would help but IMO not necessary. Check parameters since you might have a little spike at first. Should be back to normal range in about a week or two.
Im not sure a 75 would hold 165 pounds of rock and have room for the fish to swim and corals to grow. 100-120 is quite a bit. I guess you are talking to tattoo. he has a good deal on 100 pounds for sale here on the forum. the advantage of buying some good used live rock locally is it should be ready to add to the tank. no dry shipping, no die off. so add some rock, 100 pounds should be pretty much enough. and let it settle a week with the filtration running and lights. then start adding your fish. one or two small ones at a time a week or two apart. no hurry , enjoy the process. your perspective will change with each new addition. you will observe how they live and interact together, then look for the next good thing to add that will fit in. a good reef tank is a happy community tank.
[quote=“Gotasplinter, post:2, topic:1190”]
Iv used Garf grunge before and like it. www.garf.org [/quote]
does it have the same porosity as live rock from the ocean?? wondering if i could use this in my tank as well[/quote]
Garf grunge isn’t live rock. It’s more like live sand, but on steriods. Lots of life. Never used it personally, but I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews about it.
I bought 5 pounds of GARF GRUNGE 9 years ago to start my 75. it was great. seeded my dead rock and jump started the plenum sand bed. its got a lot of mud in it too. so its a little like a mud bomb for a few days. but it will settle down and then you can see in the tank again. it comes from their fuges and rock seeding tanks. bacteria, benthic sponges, pods, worms micro stars micro snails. just about everything you can think of. Im slowly tearing down the old 75 now. 10 year clean up. and when i replace it with something bigger, i think i will get some more GARF GRUNGE . probably use the opportunity to buy one of their frag packs too. they include a couple pounds of grunge free with every order.
It was great stuff way back then. I hear its even better now.
I’d go with the garf grunge also. We’ve had nothing but great things happen in our tanks that have had grunge added! Great Stuff! The frag paks are a great deal too…shipping is the downside but it pays to get the best and in my opinion its the best. Good luck!
One Up side to GARF is they like to TRADE frags. You can give em a call and see if you have something they might like to trade for. even next generation frags of frags you got from them. It’s a genome study. Im thinking of doing just that this spring, when the shipping weather is just right. not too hot, not too cold. I might assemble a group of frags that might interest them. and trade for all or part of a frag assortment I would like from their collection. You can check their shipping arrangements on their website. they are good.
Their goal is to gather the best and widest collection of corals, proagate them and spread them around.