Dry Limestone Base Rock

Dry Limestone Base Rock We now have a high-calcium content pure limestone dry base rock available. From an ancient reef, it is an excellent alternative for those who either want a reasonably natural appearing reef without taking live rock from the wild, or for those building a large reef where there may be hidden, unseen rock as a support structure under the reef. If you need a big pile of rock and money is an issue, it is worth considering getting a portion of a high grade dry base rock for the inside underneath of your reef ... saving you lots of money over $5-$10 a pound live rock that you will not see. They key is that it is equally high grade from a calcium content, and a lack of undesirable impurities standpoint. Our new dry base rock meets these requirements with flying colors. It is Grade "A" pure calcium limestone rock. If frugality or being green is an issue, (besides a "good for you" from us  ), use a high grade of pure calcium limestone base rock, or put a layer of pure calcium limestone dry base rock down on the bottom, and cover it with Vanuatu or Indonesia live rock. It will be seeded with bacteria from the 5-star live rock in a very short time. It will eventually be colonized by all the same things living on the "top shelf" rock you place above it, as well as colonizers from your corals themselves. With the closing of the Marshall Islands in '07, and Tonga in '08, and now that Fiji no longer has air-freighted live rock, there are fewer good alternatives available. If money is no issue, we suggest to fill your tank with Vanuatu or one of the Indonesian or Bali types of live rock.   Or, use that for the icing on the cake and use either today's dull grade of plain Fiji or dry base rock as a base. If you cover a pile of inert base rock with some good live rock, and or a box of corals, in a year, many of the life forms from the bases of the corals and all kinds of stuff from the live rock will be growing all over your base rock.   Sponges, corallines, even corals, and everything growing on the coral bases, will colonize the base rock, **as long as it is proper chemically acceptable base rock**. Not all rock will accept growth.   It must be loaded in calcium.   That is what we offer. The right stuff.

(after a few weeks in water)

(after several months)

Purple coralline algae growing on our limestone base rock

(after a few more months)

(close-up after a few more months)

I have found as much neat wild stuff grows onto rock that comes off of the bases of coral pieces, as any other source. In fact, sharp buyers don't just choose a coral by the type and health of the coral, but as important, and more sometimes, is what is growing on the base of the coral piece. As a rule, the various life forms on those miniature pieces of live rock cannot be ordered, and are exactly what you are looking for to colonize your rock. I had some awesome neon yellow slime I got that way once, and some jet black goo too. Just try ordering that! We have large sized pieces of 4-8 lbs. which are excellent for a sub-structure foundation under your reef in a big tank.   Two to four pound pieces work good for medium sized tanks, and one pound pieces, 4-6" or so, are great for making a wall, terrace, or mound in a smaller or nano tank.   The 2-4" size is perfect refugium rubble, and great for a caulerpa tank. Our photos are taken under sunlight, or in shade outdoors so as to naturally represent the color.   Note it may look different under your lights (with lots of blue, it is less yellow = whiter).   Most are also dry, so the rock often looks whiter than it does when wet, under water, when it is more like the light gold pieces.   Of course, when it gets coralline growing on it you won't see it. Limestone Base Rock - cleaned, in water We have two main types of dry base rock available.   First, PLAIN base, which is large pieces not of any particularly remarkable shape, mostly for sub-structure under a reef.   Rocky rocks. And SELECT, which are not pieces of unremarkable shape, but with either good shapes, holes or crevices, fossil or other imprints, or some other notable feature. Due to this, it is limited in availability and may have a waiting period. The SELECT is best for tanks desired to be "green" in not having wild collected rock.   A reef made of these rocks will appear as realistic as any, once matured. Select Limestone Base Rock This is 200 pounds of PLAIN, sort of piled into a mock aquascape ... Note that it seems both goldish and dark ... that's because it's dirty and requires cleaning. It must be hand-scrubbed with a stiff scrub brush. All the dark grunge comes off leaving a piece almost all goldish to white in color. It absolutely must be cleaned ... soak it for a day or two in a bucket or tub, **throw that water out, and put new, clean water on it before you wash it**.   Soak stubborn grunge another day, if required, after first cleaning. I use a fish cleaning glove to hold the rock while I scrub.   Scrub it thoroughly before placing it in your tank.   Use a toothbrush (not that one ... the old ones you save for this type of stuff   )   to get in the crevices, crannies and holes. There is hardly a higher calcium content dry base rock available to you, and certainly if you don't want wild live rock, this is the perfect alternative. It will also work great for hidden rock, or refugium and filter medium or chamber rock. It will buffer your calcium and ph levels positively. Here is a picture of 25 lbs. of the refugium rubble (2-4" pieces) in a 10 gallon tank to give an idea of the space it fills ... to 3-4" deep. Just add your caulerpa! Ten-gallon aquarium with 25 pounds of 2-4" pieces Here are a couple of recent orders all packed and ready to go ... (60 pounds) (75 pounds) (Approx. box dimensions are 12" x 12" x 5.5") To see some more photos, please see below ... there is also a link at the bottom of this page that leads to our Aquascapes article for additional photos.

This is a close-up of some uncleaned 2-4" smaller pieces. These are 3-4 pound pieces, about 6-8" long. This is 25 pounds of roughly five pound pieces. The entire pile is approx. 10 x 20" x 3-4" deep. This is 25 pounds of 1-2 lb. pieces. This is 50 pounds, roughly 34" long x 10-12" wide x 3-4" deep. This is 75 pounds, roughly 40" long x 12" wide x 4" deep This is 100 pounds, roughly 42" long x 12" wide x 6-7" deep This is 150 pounds, roughly 48" long x 10" tall x 12" deep This is 200 pounds, roughly 48" long x 12" tall x 12" deep This is 200 pounds, roughly 36" long x 16" tall x 18" deep 101 pounds, cleaned 2-4" pieces (uncleaned) This is 25 pounds of 2-4" rubble rock, roughly 12" long x 20" wide x 3-4" thick Check out the pictures in our AQUASCAPING article for an example of the look of the rock when built into a reef.   It appears quite natural. It was a reef once before!

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