# Holey rock!!!



## baz11 (Feb 12, 2008)

I had been looking for this rock for a while, and finally found this place in san Antonio that sells this rock cheap only thing is you have to clean the mud out the holes but for .15 a pound I'll clean mud all day.


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## benny71 (Sep 30, 2010)

15 cents a pound?!?!?! 

That is 30 times cheaper than any place I've seen it...I live in the Midwest though.


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## baz11 (Feb 12, 2008)

Yup 15 cents or 300 for a 2,000 lbs I was blown away by how much it was it's straight from the ground but a little cleaning and there good to go.


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## benny71 (Sep 30, 2010)

Wow, you bought 2,000 lbs of it? How big of a setup are you looking to build?


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## ZackG (Dec 16, 2010)

baz11 said:


> I had been looking for this rock for a while, and finally found this place in san Antonio that sells this rock cheap only thing is you have to clean the mud out the holes but for .15 a pound I'll clean mud all day.


I know exactly where your talking about! Was the rock any good? I was thinking of going down there but its about half an hour away and don't want to make the trip if its not worth it.


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## baz11 (Feb 12, 2008)

There are some good piece but like I said they are straight from the ground no cleaning no bleaching, I like the natural look not that white color ,but u will have to get your hands dirty looking for good pieces. For 100 lbs I paid $15 dollars and I'm happy with the rocks.


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## esparzar1 (Jun 14, 2009)

yeah, I went and got some for free from lake austin....I hate the cleaning part....but hey for free, I can't complain too much...lol


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## ZackG (Dec 16, 2010)

Yeah I got about 120 pounds last year from canyon lake. Hey baz11 can you PM me the name of the place you got it from.


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## baz11 (Feb 12, 2008)

No I bought a 100lbs these pieces I found I like, they are not the pieces u find at your lfs these are the rough rocks just like diamonds the do not come out the ground in a round cut and set in a ring, you will need to put work into making them look good, for me if that means saving $3 lb that's fine by me. I'm also going to drill some small holes and make them bigger. The ones at fish stores look to perfect for me if it wasn't for wife I would have sugar sand in my tank.


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## hs5964 (Aug 21, 2010)

baz11 said:


> I had been looking for this rock for a while, and finally found this place in san Antonio that sells this rock cheap only thing is you have to clean the mud out the holes but for .15 a pound I'll clean mud all day.


Keller-material off of Rigsby and 410? I love that place. They used to sell it already cleaned and bleached. Well, actually, they still do, but you have to buy the whole pallet.

I've been buying it there too. They have a ton, but, at least when I go, it's not as holey as I would like. They also have some nice sand in black and in white. Stuffs cheap, like $12 a 100lb bag.


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## baz11 (Feb 12, 2008)

Yea the pallet is real clean with a whole bunch of holes I sneaked a few pieces off those pallets that I really like I'll post some pics up but to me they were nice and I bought black sand from them still cleaning it.


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## RRasco (Aug 31, 2006)

I just picked up over 200lbs of rock from Keller a few weeks ago for $33. It really hits you when the same would cost close to $700 at an LFS. I also agree, it's not as holey as you would like, but that's why you take a wagon over there and pick out the pieces you want. I still got some really nice pieces. What I like about holey rock is, it is not just the natural holes that make good hiding spots, they stack really well and make holes between the rocks too.

My rocks are currently being bleached in my backyard, not turning white yet, so I may have to hit the with a pressure washer.

*hs5964*
Do you know what the price difference is between the processed and unprocessed pallets?


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## benny71 (Sep 30, 2010)

RRasco said:


> I just picked up over 200lbs of rock from Keller a few weeks ago for $33. It really hits you when the same would cost close to $700 at an LFS. I also agree, it's not as holey as you would like, but that's why you take a wagon over there and pick out the pieces you want. I still got some really nice pieces. What I like about holey rock is, it is not just the natural holes that make good hiding spots, they stack really well and make holes between the rocks too.
> 
> My rocks are currently being bleached in my backyard, not turning white yet, so I may have to hit the with a pressure washer.
> 
> ...


What is Keller? I'm guessing it's a TX thing?

I really want my next set up to have THR, but paying more for rocks than I will for the tank and fish is a tough pill to swallow.


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## baz11 (Feb 12, 2008)

Keller is a landscaping company in san Antonio. The stuff in front sells as pallets so u can't pick from it I go every couple weeks to see if I can pick better looking rocks and everyone I go I get some real nice ones so it's like anything u just got to keep going back your bound to find some real quality fish store rock. I Also bought the black sand from there.


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## nmonigold87 (Aug 17, 2010)

I just bought about 120 lbs of ebay for 80 bucks. Its only been cleaned with a hose which is more than fine with me for that price compared to the $4 a pound around here. I have it all soaking in bleach in a rubbermaid tub right now. My question is how long do you normally soak it to get a white look to it or does the white look come after I pressure wash it? Any other tips on how I can get the best look out of my rocks.


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## baz11 (Feb 12, 2008)

All I did was pressure wash and scrub the rock with a brush because over time the natural color will come back I ever have green algae growing on some of the pieces. I love the way it look in its natural state I personally do not bleach the rocks I don't ever want to endanger my fish especially since I've have these fish since they were smaller than a inch.


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## yearmax (Aug 11, 2010)

Any chance so one out there in texas be will to send some f the rock to NY. I live in Amherst, NY and we have about a foot of snow here.. I have 15 gallon tank and looking to change things up a bit.

I am will to pay to have some sent up here so any help would be great.


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## RRasco (Aug 31, 2006)

yearmax said:


> Any chance so one out there in texas be will to send some f the rock to NY. I live in Amherst, NY and we have about a foot of snow here.. I have 15 gallon tank and looking to change things up a bit.
> 
> I am will to pay to have some sent up here so any help would be great.


I don't mind picking you up some rocks next time I'm there. Shipping will be the kicker though.


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## yearmax (Aug 11, 2010)

That would be asome.. If you can let me know what price would be that would be great.. The zip would be 14226.


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## baz11 (Feb 12, 2008)

Just went yesterday to Keller and found some real good pieces they will be putting a new pallet out so if your going to get some go this week. I had to talk to the guy to let me get some pieces from the front were they have the good pieces at. I might try my hand at selling the rock to help out people around the cichlid community. I want to go buy a pallet and have it clean to sell I'll let y'all know how it goes. I'll post picks of the ones I bought.


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## RRasco (Aug 31, 2006)

baz11 said:


> Just went yesterday to Keller and found some real good pieces they will be putting a new pallet out so if your going to get some go this week. I had to talk to the guy to let me get some pieces from the front were they have the good pieces at. I might try my hand at selling the rock to help out people around the cichlid community. *I want to go buy a pallet and have it clean to sell* I'll let y'all know how it goes. I'll post picks of the ones I bought.


I wanted to do the same, but then I realized how much work it is cleaning the rocks. It's not that much work, but multiply it by the amount of rock you have and it adds up. Bleaching the rocks makes a HUGE impact though. I just sprayed the dirt with a water hose to get most of it out, I'll see how much work it is once I start trying to get it all out by hand.

How much did they charge you for the pieces from the front pallets?

This is all the rock I got for $33.










And here you can see how effective bleaching the rocks is. Use the part of the rock sticking out of the water as a reference of before and after.


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## baz11 (Feb 12, 2008)

Same price but they don't let people pick because then people will just pick all the good pieces these are the ones I just got and I didn't bleach.


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## RRasco (Aug 31, 2006)

Nice. Those are already clean from the front pallet?


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## baz11 (Feb 12, 2008)

No but the have more tunnels and caves then the pallets in the back. The big one in the middle has about 7 tunnels running into that big hole in the middle and those 7 tunnels branch into a network of tunnels. Just yesterday I put it in then was going to take it out to put more sand under it when I pulled it out 3 fish were still in the rocks when I pulled it out. I sure if u go just ask nicely and if you only ask for like couple pieces there cool about letting u pick some from the front.


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## yearmax (Aug 11, 2010)

I am looking for non bleached ones. **** I take the dirty ones if I have to. I just need a few nice pieces. It is hard to find here in NY and if you do you are def going to pay for it.


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## RRasco (Aug 31, 2006)

I will try to pick up a bunch of rocks next time I'm there if I have the extra cash. Like baz was saying, they don't always have the best pieces though, some look more like regular rocks than holey rock.

No matter if I ship them or a regular seller, shipping will be high b/c of the weight. I had no idea I had over 200 lbs when I picked them out.


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