whick live rock?

[skitz]

help iam not sure which live rock to buy i know i want cured then the more i read of various types the more confusing it gets iam looking at about 20kg for my 180 litre tank any ideas would be appreciated thankyou in advance
this is a new system i am starting from scratch
tank - rio jewel 180
ex filter - teratec ex700
3 powerheads
1 heater
1 seaclone 100 skimmer
fine coral 1mm then live sand oolite on top for base
ocean rock for base of live rock
t8 marine white and blue tubes
instant ocean salt
and now nightmares about fish lol

[Cyno]

There are several types,

essentially the following (these have been simplified and are by no means exaustive)


Fijian rock is the most common and in my opinion probably the best, there is also an a+ grade which carries greater colour and bits.

look to pay around 9-12 pound a kilo and a bit more for the a grade.

Tonga - tonga is branch rock, its more dense than fiji and used more for decoration than filtration due to its shape(although it will filtrate)
its more expensive than fiji and is generally special order look to pay around 15-18 per kilo

Indonesian - Similar to fiji generally less colour and goodies.

Brazlian - dense cheaper live rock

Carribean plating - as its described really!!! used for shelves etc, similar to branch rock in that used more for decoration, pay around the same price as tonga, again generally special order.

Reef Bones - dried rock, not live used to as base rock will eventually will seed and turn live. expect to half the price of fiji.

there are plenty of others (such as florida aquacultured etc) however these are generally the most readily available in the uk.

[skitz]

thankyou for the reply
i now will go for the fiji rock its just the more you read the more confusing it gets some recomemend 1 type others another i just want to get it right as dont want to buy 1 sort then think i wish i would have bought the other type now lol
hopefully now when i sleep i dont see rock and more rock

[~Tony~]

hopefully now when i sleep i dont see rock and more rock:D :D :D

[funkyparott]

Might be worth a peek at STM's 'Ultra Rock'. I was very impressed with the stuff I came away with.

Of course, bear the other sponsors in mind as well !:D

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h2/funkyparott/plate.jpg

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h2/funkyparott/closeup.jpg

[jamieb]

also just a personal opinion but i would ditch the ocean rock, its very dence so no good for filtration and i always think it looks awful in a reef tank. i would go for reef bones for the base which you can pick up for about £3 kg.
you might want to re-think your skimmer choice as well, try doing a search for them on here and get a few opinions from other owners.
HTH
jamie

[skitz]

thanks ill check out the ultra rock
the skimmer is brand new just put it on tank so ill try it for while

also the ocean rock i may use little of it at the back as they only small pieces thanks for the info and ill try post pic once i get my rock in and the cycling going hopefully next week

[skitz]

well i purchased 20kg of the ultra rock from smt iam very impressed great servic to nice mixture of sizes so fingers crossed now for the cycle now maybe i can sleep lol