LFS ripp off! LR best to buy dry and on line! IMO

If you're feeling bold/lucky - craigslist is where you'll find LR cheap...I'm talking less than $1/lb cheap.

I got a bunch of fiji, tonga and some Caribbean because I was willing to go to St. Louis to pick it up from a couple of guys that were breaking their tanks down. One tank had been set up for 5 years, the other for 3.

You're obviously taking a risk buying it from an individual, but I made sure I knew where the respective people got it from (both from a LFS) and that they had a stable tank prior to selling it.

Ultimately it didn't seem a hell of a lot more risky than buying it from a fish store to me and by getting it so cheap, I was able to get more than 200 lbs of it for my 130.

I'm a fellow noob, so take all of this for what it's worth (i.e. approximately 0), but that's my two cents.

 

my lfs sells his LR $5dollars a pound..

and his base rock $2.50 dollars a pound.

 

Yeah I did think to go to the good ol CL, but im not feeling that bold with all the horror stories I heard about hitchhikers and bad algae....Im deffinately gonna buy dry and start from ground zero.

 

When it Came down to the end I ended up with about 100lbs live rock for my tank... at about 450... So it came down to about 4.50 a lb... I figured I managed well. Considering I didnt buy online! Didnt have to worry about shipping some rock

 

what kind of rock did you buy? if u dont mind me asking

 

I always watch local forum and clubs for people that are tearing down tanks and I take their LR and nuke it in bleach and store it. I have about 120lbs sitting in my garage. Never know when you might need it in this hobby. I usually get it for about $.75 to $1.00 a lb. All you need to do is be patience and shop around.

 

Now thats a deal! Bleaching isnt bad for the rock or tank?

 

Well, you will need to soak it in RO/DI water afterwards but nope....it's not bad at all. Just use plain bleach. No fancy smelling bleach. You also wouldn't want to put it in your aquarium....use a rubbermade tote or something like that.