LIVE ROCK OVERVIEW
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As you probably know, live rock was in many ways the "silver bullet secret" to keeping saltwater tanks, especially reef tanks with corals. Though tanks with lots of high tech gear can be run without it, tanks with it can be run without lots of high tech and expensive equipment. |
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Good live rock can be one of the most aesthetically pleasing aspects of a tank full of very beautiful, rare animals. It can also keep them alive! It contains all the bacteria necessary for nitrification and de-nitrification, key to the success of a reef tank. The best natural filter you'll buy will be your live rock ... it is both literally and figuratively the foundation of your saltwater aquarium.  Photo courtesy our customer Scott of Hammond, Indiana ... Tonga Eva and Deepwater Vava'u were used to create this stunning aquascape. |
There are many types of live rock available.
Fiji and Florida produce most of the live rock in the USA.
Florida live rock is all aquacultured now, since harvesting
was banned in the U.S. and its territories.
The benefit of FL rock is it can have corals on it,
and be legal, but it's heavy and expensive.
It also often has unwanted hitch-hikers, such
as mantis shrimp or bristle worms, which live through
shipping because it is shipped in water to keep
the life alive. You will almost surely have to
address that issue with Florida live rock.
Any identifiable piece of coral on an imported,
wild-harvested piece of live rock is cause for seizure
by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Department.
So, Pacific Ocean harvested live rock is
cleaned of these items. Though most of it is
seeded with spores of these very same animals.
We've seen corals grow out of live rock,
six months after we got it.
For our first ten years, our speciality
was only the highest quality Pacific live rock
from Fiji, the Marshall Islands, and
especially Tonga.
Other areas in which live rock is sometimes
available are Vanuatu, Bali, Jakarta, and
sometimes Samoa and the Solomon Islands.
Areas that don't produce regularly have greater
fluctuations in quality than those that do.
Vanuatu Live Rock |
The Vanuatu rock was sold as Australian rock several
years ago since it flew through Sydney on the way to
the United States. Many considered it the best
live rock they ever saw. Vanuatu live rock is now
available again, and the old consistency issues
are no longer a factor; it's coming in great now.
It's beautifully shaped coral pieces encrusted
with coralline algae and other great stuff.
Bali Live Rock |
There are several types of live rock available
from Bali and they are all good. Usually the
live rock from Bali or Indonesia is individually wrapped
in wet newspaper, boxes are lined with a plastic bag
for moisture so lots of cool stuff makes the trip.
There is Alor, which has an excellent reputation, but varies.
Then there is Blue Ridge, which is encursted pieces
of dead Heliopora, fragile. And, what we call
Purple Popcorn, which is a very purple and bumpy rock.
Bali is the only place to get dXL pieces now.
You can get a box of 55-85 lbs., with 1, 2, or 3 pieces.
They usually get it right.
Irian Jaya Live Rock |
Irian Jaya is not just purple like one of the pictures
on our website, but now they are collecting a multicolored
version, with the same shapes, good varied coral and coral rock
pieces. But now it is more like Vanuatu in that there are
several colors of corallines on each piece, and it is not
just purple, like the pix we had up earlier. Everyone
that has gotten it has loved it. You'll likely get
critters, its so fresh. We heard one guy ID'd 5 species of
macros on one rock! And he ought to be a botanist!
Java Live Rock |
Java live rock comes from the island of that name in
Indonesia. It is quite like the Irian Jaya actually.
We've had reports of starfish and anemones making it alive.
Everyone has been thrilled with it too. It is like the
good old fashioned Indo rock you may have heard of.
Covered in lots of different colors, and stuff.
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The following types of live rock are no longer available,
or only as "Boat Rock", which we do not sell.
For reference, you may find additional photos
of these types of live rock on our archived
Live Rock Comparison Page.
Fiji Live Rock
Fiji live rock has been a popular live rock for many years.
Of the many types that used to be available until recently,
we offered the Super Ultra-premium.
It's important to distinguish what type of Fiji live rock
is "out there" in the marketplace.
About three or four years ago, over three-quarters of
Fiji live rock became boat rock, that is, it rides a
boat from Fiji to America. Now it all is.
There has been no airfreighted Fiji live rock
for over a year plus now. Boat rock is it.
It is gray and cementy looking, but allegedly will
eventually grow coralline back on it.
We recommend buying real live rock for your tanks.
Real live rock is air-freighted, fresh, and covered in
living things. None of those terms describe Fiji
live rock any longer. In part the public demand
for cheap cheap cheap is what drove the price war and
created the boat rock. Now it is not the same product,
it was, even though it is sold as such without full disclosure
and has been for years since day one. It's a sorry
story if you ask me.
Tonga Live Rock
Prior to Tonga closing for live rock collection in
August '08, there were six distinctly different
types available ... Vava'u (Deepwater), Eva,
Uaniva, shelf, branch, and fusion.
Tonga was first made famous for its red branch
live rock, and then the other types mentioned
above became as or more popular. Each type of
rock had its own unique character and most of
the people who got it thought it was the greatest
live rock they ever saw. We had mastered the
art of getting it from Tonga to our customer
quickly enough to receive regular reports of
everything from purple zooanthids to corals
growing out of it. It really was World Class
live rock and it's a shame that it closed down.
Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands live rock was lightweight, porous
and colorful. It has lots of shape and life.
It was often old dead porites pieces so very branchy.
There was very little freight space, which
was the limiting factor in supply.
But, in summer of 2007, it was closed.
There was hope that it will re-open, as the
harvest was less than 1/20th of Fiji's, but recently
recently much of the Marianas was named a marine reserve,
so it is unlikely now that any rock will again
arrive fresh from the Marshall Islands.
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Some notes from Birdfish ... GENERAL INFORMATION Almost all of this Pacific live rock, regardless of source, comes in boxes that weigh from 45 to 65+ pounds. When you order live rock direct, it is not cured. Please see our page on how to cure live rock. The most important things to remember are to NOT blast it with light when it first comes in, and to keep LOTS of current on it. WATERFLOW and PROTEIN SKIMMING are the two most important things to do. These simple rules will allow your live rock to cure with very little loss of coralline. LIGHT An important note ... remember the sun at high noon on the equator is only 6500 Kelvin. That means, less at other times of the day, or under overcast skies, etc. There is no 10,000 Kelvin in the wild. There is no such animal. It is often the overlighting of these new super bulbs, which can kill corallines, and corals. They ARE a marvel of technology, but the product they put out is nothing any animal in the sea is adapted to, or has ever seen. I once watched a large wholesaler in L.A. replace all his 10K's with 20K's when they came out, and watched 500 beautiful purple and blue acroporas turn brown in two days! So, let's be careful with the light out there folks! ORDERING Our rock is fresh ... it doesn't sit around on the floor for a week before we ship it to you. [Note: We put this sentence on our website in 2000 and it, to this day, is the most copied sentence off our website, with many of live rock sellers on the Internet having lifted it directly from here ... some of whom sell rock that is stored.] All of our rock is shipped almost immediately upon landing at LAX. So, as fast as a wholesaler in the east gets it and before he sells it to a retail store, you have it. Therefore, what day we ship to you will be based on the day the rock arrives at LAX. You must order in box lots ... the box weights are listed on our live rock pricing and photos page. We ship to your local airport. Freight rates vary with airline, and distance across country. Coast to coast, it is usually under $1.00 per pound. It is closer to 60 or 70 cents per pound half way across the country. By going to your local airport and picking it up, you can save money. Please plan ahead so you can place your order with enough time for us to arrange for the arrival of your rock into the U.S. and so we may have advance notice so we can secure your freight space, which often requires a booking, sometimes a week ahead of the shipping day. You may send us an e-mail if you wish to inquire regarding your shipping, or if you have any other questions. Also, please try to keep a flexible schedule regarding your shipping day ... sometimes things run like clockwork, but sometimes the schedules can occasionally change ... in other words, please don't make a solid plan to take the day off from work or plan your vacation around your shipment. The bottom line is you can get the same box of rock your local store does from essentially the same supplier for a lot less by picking it up at the airport yourself. Remember, freight terminals are often at different places than passenger terminals ... so know before you go! (All contact information will be sent to you.) We don't recommend this for everything, but where live rock is concerned, you're not taking the risk of touchy, sensitive livestock that might not eat! |
Live Rock Photos & Pricing |
Curing Live Rock |
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BOAT ROCK ARTICLE |
SHIPPING INFORMATION |
CUSTOMER COMMENTS |
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