If anyone lives in or near South Carolina, there's a rock quarry on Hwy 6 in Cross (Martin Marrietta company) that mines out grey to white limestone that's loaded with fossils (anything from sand dollars to sea urchins to gastropods etc...). You can get the "surge" size, with is fist-to-head sized rocks for ~$14 per TON. I just loaded my new setup with it. A 55g packed from bottom to top (back wall, takes up about 1/2 the tank space front to back) cost me less than $3 and looks as good as lace rock (esp. b/c of the fossilized shells and critters). Heck, even if it's a 4 hour drive, it's cheaper than paying $1-2 per pound somewhere else!
If you decide to go, be SURE to call them first (look up "quarry Cross SC" on google and get phone #'s and directions). They have STRICT policies on gathering rocks, and DO use a pickup truck. They let me hand-pick my rocks, but I had to wear a hardhat and goggles (which I was quite glad to wear when I saw the 40ft piles of rocks and 50ft conveyer lines dumping rock).
If you decide to go, be SURE to call them first (look up "quarry Cross SC" on google and get phone #'s and directions). They have STRICT policies on gathering rocks, and DO use a pickup truck. They let me hand-pick my rocks, but I had to wear a hardhat and goggles (which I was quite glad to wear when I saw the 40ft piles of rocks and 50ft conveyer lines dumping rock).
