"Live" rock

[Rocks Reef]

Is there a reliable place for rock locally? The thing with having rock shipped is the die off or if you buy dry rock, curing it. I would like all the benefits of macros, sponges and various critters....

Any suggestions?

[takoattack]

I started my tank with Fiji live rock from Aquadome.  As per Gary's word: It didn't cycle at all (undetectable levels of Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate for 8 days straight) and I started adding a CuC after that. It was loaded with life: sponges, small feather dusters, bristle worms, micro bristle stars, and asterina stars to name a few.

[Sascha D.]

Truly uncured rock will come straight from the ocean to your house. It's a lot of work, but it's also exciting and mysterious. Whatever was growing on the rock when it was in the ocean will come to you, but that may also include spores or critters that you don't want. Sometimes a LFS will buy uncured rock and cure it in their tanks, but it's not as common as it used to be. The difference is the type and amount of life that make it into your tank. Everything that can slide, swim, scuttle, or shuffle away may relocate after shipping. If the LFS puts 200 pounds of rock into a 100g tub, then some critters will naturally migrate deeper into the tub while others move towards the light. The LFS will also scrub the rock; removing any growing algae, coral or sellable other items. After that the rock will generally be cured in the dark for 7-8 weeks and kill any photosynthetic life that they missed. 

If you decide to buy cured rock from the LFS, then I would ask if they cured it themselves. Back in the day everyone brought in uncured rock and cured it in huge containers in the back of the store. Today a lot of the rock from a LFS comes from a local hobbyists tank. Why would a store pay to ship uncured rock and store it for two months when they can buy it locally for $2 and charge $5-7 per pound instantly? That's why a lot of it is covered in aiptasia, GSP, Xenia, bubble algae and GHA. Some rock may look pretty clean and sprout something later. That's just life in the hobby!

Another thing to consider is the amount of work that you want to put into it and the price that you want to pay. Getting dry rock from Reef Cleaners will cost you around $1.75 per pound, you don't have to cure it, but it still needs 4-6 weeks before anything can go into the tank. Dry rock doesn't come with anything bad, but it doesn't come with anything good either. Getting uncured rock from LiveAquaria will cost you about $4 per pound, will come with a ton of life, but will take 6-8 weeks to cure. If you get rock shipped to your house, then you'll be the one removing everything that you don't want, including undesirable algae (unless you want a lagoon), pest invertebrates, corals, etc. Cured rock from the LFS will run $5-7 per pound, will come with less life than uncured rock, but can be set up immediately in most cases. Rock from the LFS won't be pest-free, but will come with less, and you'll miss out on some of the good and bad from uncured rock. 

If you're the kind of person that wants to stay up at night with a flashlight, then it might be more fun for you to see all of that life coming in on the uncured rock. If you just want the rock and less of the life, then it's better to buy it from the LFS. If you're completely hopeless, like some of us, then you can always go for dry rock and start from scratch. I've done it all three ways during my time. By the three year mark cured, uncured, and dry rock will look exactly the same. The only difference is the time you save and price you pay in the beginning.