Live Rock ?'s

[Cunch]

In the near future I too will be looking for Live Rock (Approx 150-200lbs) Upon receipt of the rock, what are some precautionary ways to ensure no *unwanted* creatures go into the aquarium?

Thanks for any thoughts.

Cunch

 

[mogurnda]

raping the ocean like most other companies do

That may be a bit extreme. Although I support TBS, there is scant data on the effects of removing live rock from backreef areas. Some might argue that dumping hundreds of tons of rock into the Gulf also has an impact. Given the choice, I will take aquacultured livestock and rock, but that's more a matter of faith given the complexity of the issue.

what are some precautionary ways to ensure no *unwanted* creatures go into the aquarium?

As far as I know, there is no way to ensure that *no* unwanted critters go into the tank, regardless of the source of the rock. Many of the nasties you are trying to avoid are more resistant to hyposalinity than the cool stuff you are trying to keep. A good rinse in SW to loosen debris, looking it over in the air, and observation underwater in a separate container will help. Keeping a close eye on the rock (especially at night) after it first goes into the tank, will give you a good idea of who came along for the ride.

 

[benjen]

If you really want to minimize unwanted critters on a really large supply of liverock, one idea is to cure it for a bit unfed, then put in an eel or two of the snowflake or ghost variety to clear out unwanted crustaceans. You'll lose some stuff you might have wanted, too, but the eels will wipe out a lot of stuff like mantis shrimp, carnivorous crabs, etc. if given enough time. Don't starve the eels, though.

Not perfect, but more likely to wipe out some unwanteds than some other plans might be.

Reef Central has quite a few reports of TBS rock coming practically swarming with young mantis shrimp. I also consider their package to be a bad fit for most people. However, I am interested in the rock itself.

 

[Aquatick]

Originally posted by mogurnda
That may be a bit extreme. Although I support TBS, there is scant data on the effects of removing live rock from backreef areas. Some might argue that dumping hundreds of tons of rock into the Gulf also has an impact. Given the choice, I will take aquacultured livestock and rock, but that's more a matter of faith given the complexity of the issue.

Well take into consideration that I'm a Floridian! lol I'm an avid skin diver and I've seen the reefs and ocean life steadily decline first hand. Things were especially bad before the state finally stepped up the effort to protect our environment. I'm not talking about little changes. Everything I saw DRASTICALLY changed.

From what I understand TBSW dropped the rock on a sand bed. Not to say that it didn't play a roll in the environment, but in the end it created a lot of new homes for our fishy friends.

 

[mogurnda]

Yeah, the reefs in Florida are trashed. I have been diving in a lot of the Caribbean, and places like Pennekamp look like a wasteland. The overcollection of live rock (apparently it was really out of control until they banned it) probably contributed, but runoff, pollution and overfishing probably did more.

I was very pleased, though, to see so much coral, including some nice stands of acropora, off Key West.

Anyway, my gut feeling is that the aquacultured stuff is better for the environment, but I haven't seen much data either way. Part fo the problem is that collection sites in the Pacific aren't very closely monitored.

Ben,
I keep thinking about the whole "package" thing, and I'm beginning to come around to your point of view. What I want for the new tank is the rock and the sand (and maybe a few extra porcelain crabs), but don't want all the hermits, cukes and peppermint shrimp, plus the condy anemone. I may just order the rock and sand separately.