Texas Holey Rock sold as Live Base Rock at LFS in Minnesota

Discussion in 'Live Rock' started by texanjordan, Nov 9, 2009.

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  1. texanjordan

    texanjordan Peppermint Shrimp

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    Im moving to Duluth MN next summer, and I called the LFS there to ask about Live Rock. The guy told me that they sell it for 10 dollars a pound, but to save money you can by alot of base rock, and than a few pounds of live rock to seed it. When I asked about the dry base rock that they sold, they told me that they sell Texas Holey Rock as base rock, and all of their customers who use it report it as becoming "live rock" over a period of time when mixed with Live rock. Does anyone have any experience using Texas Holey Rock as a biological filter? And does it eventually get covered in Coraline? Texas Holey Rock is very abundant where I live in South Texas, and I can go and just find some around my house.
     
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  3. oceanparadise1

    oceanparadise1 Fire Squid

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    no exp with holy rock but WOW 10 bucks a pound is WAYYYy to high! out here in rochester u cant find it more then 6 a pound max
     
  4. slocal

    slocal Doot!

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    Problem with that rock is that it's denser and less porous than the usual base rock. I wouldn't use it for the fact that I can get better biological filtration out of the regular base varieties. I have read that you should be careful of the rock's color. Orange indicates rust meaning higher levels of iron.
     
  5. GuitarMan89

    GuitarMan89 Giant Squid

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    You can use it, but IMO it doesn't look that good, it doesn't look natural in a reef tank. What you should do is head on over to bulkreefsupply.com and pick up some dry fiji rock. Don't worry about "seeding" it, you don't need to. Just use it to cycle and you will be fine. That will be a lot less and their product is really good.
     
  6. Peredhil

    Peredhil Giant Squid

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    phooey. Over half of my rock is Texas Live Rock that I collected from some family land in Hondo Texas and cleaned at home.



    I use the Berlin method (which means a lot of LR and a skimmer and not much else) and I have been rocking 0 nitrates and phosphates since shortly after my cycle.

    Texas holey rock for the win!

    It is true you don't want rusty pieces. You want ones that look like bone in color.

    It is more dense, but it is not lead. It is still porous and in the end I am satisfied it is working well for me.

    [​IMG]
     
  7. skurious

    skurious Sailfin Tang

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    I have texas holey rock in my tank. Its not the best looking but, i like it because you can find some pretty big pieces easily. I used the big pieces for the base of my rock structure and went from there with the normal dry rock.
     
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  9. catz

    catz Fire Shrimp

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    all of my base is texas holly rock too. I love it. I have it all the way in the sand this way all of my live rock is out in the open. I think it looks good.
     
  10. johnmaloney

    johnmaloney 3reef Sponsor

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    I figured you would be posting soon...wow that tank has vastly improved since I saw it last. Nice work!
     
  11. texanjordan

    texanjordan Peppermint Shrimp

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    how long did it take the Texas Holey rock to become covered in coraline? I have about 56pounds of this in my cichlid tank, and it is really covered in some pretty alge. Can i clean this off with a power washer and re-use in a saltwater tank?
     
  12. WhiskyTango

    WhiskyTango Eyelash Blennie

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    I Concur, it just doesn't look that good.