Liverock

it depends wher eyou buy it.
ive seen it at LFSs near me for 11 bucks a pound, and have bought it form fellow reefers for 2 bucks a pound.
as far as seeding it, live rock will already be seeded. But if you buy dry base rock, that can be seeded with live rock

For a new tank, Tampa Bay Saltwater is the way to go (tampabaysaltwater.com). With "the package" they offer you get the right amount of rock for your tank plus live sand and a cleanup crew. All amounts are based on your tank size. He ships to the airport so if you live close by you can save a ton of $$$ on shipping. I'm still waiting for mine to get here but I've heard nothing but good. Nice rock with lots of hitchhikers and almost no cycle.

There are other online vendors, many reccomend Premium Aquatics. There is also reefscience.com and I like the look of their rock. I have also heard good things about Sealifeflorida.com and their rock looks real good too.

Be careful though as a lot of online vendors are selling cured rock and on top of that it's not real fresh so most of what makes it "live" has died off. Try to get it un-cured and just take the extra time to cure it yourself. That way you'll get all the critters

Live Rock needs no light in particular, however some of the critters that may come on it can use some light. I kept my live rock, in a tank, without lights for over a week before my system finally came in and I had no problems what so ever. The important things are to have saltwater, obviously, (to the right salinity), heat the water to appropriate temp, and offer some flow to help keep the water moving and I believe some algea cannot grow well in moving water.

what is the going rate for live rock in the U.S. here in australia we pay around $16.50 approx ($22USD) per kilo (2.2Lbs) for live branching accro and $8.50 for base rock by the kilo

anywhere between $7 and $10 at LFS's. Online vendors are selling from $2-$6/lb and it's better than what you get locally.

i would try and get as many different types as possible and, once the initial cylcling is done (thus the inroduction of algae eateing critters) try and restablish the populations w/ some extra light and for corraline algae, maybe some products like purple up...

good Luck,

Black_Wolf

Wow...I picked up my LR at an lfs here for about 5$ a lb.....CURED !

It was in the "on sale" tank...I've had it in my tank for about a month and it's REALLY nice rock.

I think I got a great deal.....maybe I'll go back and get some more...