Live Rock Farmig

[fish_master]

Hello all this might sound slightly dumb but wat does it require to farm live rock will any rock thats added to a cycled tank become live rock
due to today i called the major fish store in WA and they saud that live rock is 25AUD a kg due to the fisheries department has just banned imports i was told
and i think there would be huge market to farm it and im also interested in aquaculture

 

[ox5477]

Dont quote me but I think I remember reading something that farming liverock or capturing live reef specimens requires a government permit because of the protected nature of most all reefs. They just don't want anybody going out and carving out 100 ft of a sensitive reef. but like I said, not 100% sure this is true...

 

[fish_master]

You are completly right they require u to tag it some how so they can define it from aquacultured rock and illigaly harvested rock
And a licence to do so aswell

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, "farming" LR on a profitable scale really only happens in the oceans. The amount of tanks, equipment costs, energy costs, and time it would take you to farm it on-land would be prohibitively expensive if you ask me. When I setup my aquarium first, I used 70% base rock and 30% live rock. The base rock has all become to some degree "live" after a year, although it's nowhere near what ocean-farmed LR is like.

Sounds like you guys are gonna have some new LR farms crop up around the area in australia soon with those kinds of harsh restrictions. But yeah the way large-scale farms do it is get a permit for a slice of ocean to dump rock in, purchase tons of calcium carbonate rubble from tropical coastal construction sites, dump it, wait a year or two, and then collect it slowly.

 

[fish_master]

There is big restrictions on that to they are very strict here because we have such kick arse coasts
wait wait wait is there any marine species that would be easy to farm and breed in the same system making it more profitable and worth while

 

[SkiFletch]

Sure, lots of corals can be bred/propagated to be profitable. Ironically enough, its the fast-growing, easy, simple corals that are in highest demand... Xenia, GSP, Mushrooms, Leathers, that sort of thing. While they're basic and inexpensive, just about every beginning aquarist tries them out, so as such they're in high demand.