Live Rock!

[DragonGoby]

Hi all!

OK, first a little intro (new here ...). My name's Hong Yee, 19. Keeping my second reef tank liao, or rather, just starting a 4-footer. My first one (2-footer) was doing fine until I made the fatal of buying an anemone who climbed into the powerhead and got shredded. Urghhh ...

Anyway, I'm having trouble getting good and cheap live rock. So far I've spent like $100 on LR from Hong Leong, but judging by my expenses so far I'll have to spend $300 more to fill my tank up with LR!! Does anyone know of any place that sells good LR? Wong Loy Kee doesn't, just went last week.

Thanks!

Regards,
Hong Yee

[kelstorm]

dragongoby,
live rocks are getting ex nowadays.. and harder to get too... u can try pacific marine or reef world in lor. harlus...
alternatively, u can do like what i do,
using plastic baskets that cost me $1.99 each (now $2 shop)to stack them up to form the base of the reef structure... in that case, u can save quite a bit on LR...anyway.. no point wasting good $$$ on LR that are gonna form the base of the reef structure and eventually loses those coralline algae that is much desired... but u have to have enuff of them to provide u with the natural filtration....a fine balance... []
all the best for your new tank...

[DragonGoby]

Hie,

Thanks so much for the reply! Will try to use your method for at least one corner of the tank, where I'll need to stack the rocks slightly higher to hide the overflow box.

And, talking about overflow boxes, I'm in the midst of doing a DIY overflow box using the U-tube design. Any ideas on how large a diameter will be needed for the U-tube? I'm planning on using a Hailea pump that manages 2000L/hr.

Thanks a lot! This forum has been a wonderful help/! =)

Regards,
Hong Yee

[wangzx]

Hi There, FYI, LR is not only just for base/display but also bio-filteration puposes. You can go to Seaquest at farmart to purchase LR, price 4.50 to 5 per Kg. If you can, try go for the good LR which may cost more but will be better for your reef/fish tank.

[fisher]

Hi,
I went to seaquest a few week back,the Live Rock is $6 per kg.Just to keep u all update..

Rgds.

[DragonGoby]

Hi all,

Thanks for all the input! I'm so far satisfied with the LR I've gotten from Hong Leong - my sandbed is now filled with quite a lot of small worms, 3 chitons and 2 small brittle stars. The only thing's that my some of my LR is started to grow some white-coloured, stringy-looking things, after some of the macroalgae that came originally with the rock died off. Is this some sort of fungus? My turbo snails don't seem to want to eat the stuff.

Going to fix up a DIY overflow box tonight and see if it works ... fingers crossed! =)

Regards,
Hong Yee

[IcecruncherZ]

Hello there []

Yahz I frequent HL too, and I have like 65kg of his Live Rock in my tank now, cos I kept adding from the initial 40kg cos there was just insufficient rock.

Kelvin is right... if you're using other powerful modes of filtration, you can use some other forms (other than rock) as the base, no need to depend on LR for filtration... cos LR IS freaking expensive...

Finally, do plan your rock scape properly... dont be like me... buy and stack and buy and stack and realise later that I have very little flat surfaces to position my corals, and have to do lots of rearranging later... Moving the rocks ALWAYS makes my regal tangs break out in minor ich []

Maybe can go HL together? Hahaz... I live around Pandan Valley []


Oh forgot to add one point, Pac Marine sometimes has GORGEOUS LR... you might like to go there and check! I bought one gorgeous piece totally encrusted with Coralline with some orange and blue sponge and 2 cute rock anemones that day but had to beg the Ah Pek before he let me buy it, cos it's already sold actually []

Good luck

[kelstorm]

The only thing's that my some of my LR is started to grow some white-coloured, stringy-looking things, after some of the macroalgae that came originally with the rock died off. Is this some sort of fungus? My turbo snails don't seem to want to eat the stuff.

Going to fix up a DIY overflow box tonight and see if it works ... fingers crossed! =)
---------------------
Dragongoby,
those micro worms can be solve by getting wrasses eg. clown or yellow, to do the job for u.. i used them to eat up my micro white worms..but b4 u add them, have your tank matured long enuff? brittle stars are fine.. coz they are scavangers..

some of my LR is started to grow some white-coloured, stringy-looking things, after some of the macroalgae that came originally with the rock died off.
take a brush and brush that area.. does those stuff comes off and exposes a dark greyish or black area? can u take out that piece of rock and smell? does it stink? if so, chances are your LR is dying.. take it out and throw it away coz it will eventually spread to other rocks..

all the best to your DIY box.
[]

[DragonGoby]

Hey, nice to find another marine enthusiast living in the West! Would love to arrange to go to HL together, but first I must fix up my overflow before anything can be done. [] I've already succumbed to buying this nice piece of metallic green shrooms from HL even before the entire sump system was set up, but thank goodness the shrooms are doing wonderful now.

I'm planning on using mostly the Berlin method for the display tank, with a 4-foot sump at the bottom, of which 2 feet will be dedicated to a refugium. Die lah ... this means more LR - and more $$. Must wait for next payday to get LR from Pac Marine, haha. BTW, where is Pac Marine located? Right now the LR pieces HL stock are all plate-like and d*mn good for shelving, but te problem is getting the rounder pieces to support the flat ones.

Kelstorm: My tank's been up for a month now, with nothing inside except for 20kg of live rock, 5 turbos, 5 hermits, a mushroom colony and a dunno-what tang I got from a friend. The whitish stuff when brushed off exposes a surface with purple coralline, and the LR doesn't smell, so I suppose it's OK. But after some time the white stuff grows back again, heck! The tang doesn't want to eat it either...

Once again, thanks to all those who have helped! You guys are great - I should've discovered this forum earlier.

Regards,
Hong Yee

[kelstorm]

can u take a pic so that i can identify it better.. both the tang and the LR...
what are the water parameters level? have u checked?
Pac Marine and Reef world is in Lor Harlus.. []
i mentioned it in the eariler posts..[]

If u are getting LR for the sump, dun have to get high quality rocks.. u just need the nitrifying bacteria.. dun waste good $$$ on such rocks..[]

[Spiff]

----------------
On 4/4/2002 1:17:43 AM

The whitish stuff when brushed off exposes a surface with purple coralline, and the LR doesn't smell, so I suppose it's OK. But after some time the white stuff grows back again, heck! The tang doesn't want to eat it either...

----------------

if it does no harm then jus leave it....
wat kind of refugium u planning on? pod reproduction or nitrate reduction?

[Spiff]

----------------
chances are your LR is dying.. take it out and throw it away coz it will eventually spread to other rocks..

----------------

kel.....it wont spread to other rocks. other rocks n live stock might get infected because the dying rocks causes ammonia spike. dying rocks also know as die-off happens becos of transportation n stress to bacteria n organisms.
if the rock is dying jus remove it n put it in a small container..leave it for afew weeks to cycle the rock.

[DragonGoby]

Hi,

Kelstorm: I'll try to get some pix of it maybe tomorrow - got to borrow a digital cam from my dad. As for parameters, dkH, pH are both OK, NO2 levels are at 0.5ppm (still high?) and the silly Red Sea test it gave me 0 ppm for mmonia, but I don't really trust that reading, somehow. Didn't measure NO3 and PO4.

Spiff: I'm planning for a nitrate reduction refugium with macroalgae and DSB as well - my display tank's sand bed is only 1.5" thick. Will a single strip of NO flourescents be sufficient for caulerpa, or would I need at least PC lights?

Another question - since my tank isn't fully stocked with LR at present, do I need to cycle new LR before adding them, or can I just place the LR directly into the tank? On my next LR purchasing trip I think I'll get the shop owner to pack individual LR pieces in water and air-pack it, to minimise die-off.

Kelstorm, you mentioned cheaper LR - you mean there're others that cost less than $5/kg? If so I'd be interested to get these as base rock for the maintank too!

Regards,
Hong Yee

[Spiff]

[quote]
----------------
On 4/4/2002 7:11:23 PM

As for parameters, dkH, pH are both OK, NO2 levels are at 0.5ppm (still high

yes dragon...its still quite high.i suggest u let the tank cycle longer.

Spiff: I'm planning for a nitrate reduction refugium with macroalgae and DSB as well - my display tank's sand bed is only 1.5" thick. Will a single strip of NO flourescents be sufficient for caulerpa, or would I need at least PC lights?

i'm using 2x 36w 6500k.

Another question - since my tank isn't fully stocked with LR at present, do I need to cycle new LR before adding them, or can I just place the LR directly into the tank? On my next LR purchasing trip I think I'll get the shop owner to pack individual LR pieces in water and air-pack it, to minimise die-off.

er jus try to keep the rock moist la. make sure the journey home isnt too long.cycling be4 hand it will be better. but since ur tank isnt really stock u can jus dump them in.

Kelstorm, you mentioned cheaper LR - you mean there're others that cost less than $5/kg? If so I'd be interested to get these as base rock for the maintank too!

u can try getting dead rocks instead.pac marine sell lr at $5.

[LiquidFX]

BTW, how much is the LR at hong leong?

[DragonGoby]

Hong Leong is selling LR at $5/kg. But don't go this week, I've been there yesterday and he has very litle selection left. Maybe next Thurs or Fri would be better ...

Regards,
Hong Yee

[don]

Hi DragonGoby, really interested in your setup and the DIY
overflow box, i been trying to construct one as well but dunno how to start.
Can you show me the way?
By the way, i get my rock at $4.50 per kg.

[kelstorm]

yeah.. we would love to see your DIY system..

Btw, u need to remember this... for reef.. u be getting corals and some of them will come with LR already..so.. if u have tons of LR.. u might run of of space to keep the corals hehehe..

[DragonGoby]

hI Don,

I used the same design as Williard does, except a couple of modifications here and there with different materials. Here's what I used, with approximate cost breakdown:

Internal and external overflow boxes, I used 100mm diameter white PVC tubing (about $2/foot) with 100mm endcaps.
Internal box - 1/2' ($1) with endcap ($4)
External box - 1 1/2' ($3) with endcap ($4)
I used a small handsaw ($1.80) and a file ($3.20) to make slits and "teeth" in the internal box to skim the water surface. Hell, this takes A LOT of work.

Drilled a 1"-diameter hole in the bottom of the external box to hold the standpipe that will drain water out into the sump, and bought another 3' of one-inch pipes (about $4) for this. Glued the pipe to the hole using silicone sealant ($4).

As for the U-tube, I used 2' of 3/4" piping ($2) and 2 elbows ($1.80) to make it, it's by far the simplest component to make!

Total cost to make it should run about $30-$40 .. depending on how much material you waste. I bought a lot of extra stuff (elbows, tees etc), just in case.
Aiyah, quite hard to describe in words, shall try to take a pic of it! One word of caution though - the 100mm PVC seems really big and bulky, and looks very conspicuous handging off the tank. However, I happen to like that erm .. very DIY-ed look for the tank, so it's really up to you whether you want to get a smaller diameter pipe. Also, the dimensions given above were for a 2000 litre/hour Hailea pump, so your mileage may vary. To prevent a situation where input >> output (ie. flood), I attached my input from the pump using 3/4" tubing, and added a small ball valve ($4) to it, so I can adjust the input water flow. Somehow everything went perfect and I didn't have to adjust the flow at all.

Here are a couple of sites that you might find useful:

http://home.att.net/~rstockman/overflow.htm
http://www.reefs.org/library/diy/diy_winner1.html

If you're interested we can arrange a day for you to come down to my place (Pasir Panjang) to take a look.

Kelvin: thanks for the reminder!! Almost forgot!! Haha, then the extra rocks will just become garden decorations.


BTW, any idea how come some mushrooms I see in HL's display tank seem to be so large and stand so tall? Can it be the MH lighting used? Really quite impressive. Also heard that iodine supplements do this to mushrooms too. If I go crazy over mushrooms I might just stock my tank up with mushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms and nothing else. []

Regards,
Hong Yee

[DragonGoby]

Oh yah .. missed out something. Don, in case you have trouble finding a good hardware store to get the stuff from, I'd recommend the shop beside Gen X aquarium in clementi avenue 2. Not that I get paid for advertising them (that'll be nice though! ), but I was impressed by the lady boss' service. They cut up the PVC to exact dimensions I want, and she went the extra mile to order the 4" endcaps I needed, which arrived promptly the very same day.

Regards,
Hong Yee