heaters and live rock

So this project is starting to come together, and I have a couple more questions, thanks for all the help so far.

First off on heaters, I have a submersible, I forget the wattage right now but based on recommendations from here it appears to be plenty for my size of tank. Am I ok to use this or are there certain brands or another style that would be better? The one thing I don't like on this one is that the control knob is on the heater, so to adjust it if I put it at the bottom behind rock I would have to reach in with my hand or something I can fine tune it with.

Second and more interesting question -

I've done a fair amount of internet searching for live rock and see the various grades, east coast vs. west, etc. Living almost in the geographic center of the U.S. I will need to buy cured and recure while starting my tank, planning on buying about 50 lbs. worth (does that seem like enough?) So based on your experience buying stuff would anyone like to recommend a certain dealer over the others? And give advice on what grades to buy? Is it good to get some lower and some higher, or stick with all high? Since this is only 55 gallons there won't be much if any rock that goes in that won't be viewable.

By the way I've checked the LFS, their stuff is ungraded and (although I have little to no experience looking at this stuff) appears to have little color compared to the stuff on the net, cost is comparable to the higher grades on the net.

 

I recommend this website dude, Live Rock and Live Sand: Live Saltwater Aquarium Rock and Sand they have killer deals, 45lbs of fiji for 150 bucks!! including the shipping, I started on the wrong foot, and by the time I found this site, I couldn't afford to buy any, but that doesn't mean you have to make the same mistake lol...anyway, that's a good site, plus, their customer service is top notch and they're from WI, closer to you than me. As for the heater, if you don't want to get your hands wet, try this Aquarium Heating & Heaters: Azoo Titanium Heaters IMO, I don't mind the submersible heater. I have one and it works perfectly. One thing you have to keep in mind, if you're going to get high wattage lighting, this will affect water temperature, so I would wait and see before investing on a diff. heater. My two cents.

 

Just get base rock, it is real cheap. The color will come as the tank matures. This is where people set up a tank like a piece of furnature they bought at the store, they want it right now. If you want to waste your money on LR then by all means buy some that is cured from a LFS, they will love to take your money. I would get on ebay and buy some base rock and let it come alive in your tank and spend the rest of the money on nice equipment.
Just my $.02

 

Marco Rocks seems to sell a decent base rock as well

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