Best Dry Rock?

twizted1 · Jan 30, 2015

I realize there are lots of opinions. And lots to choose from. But I am looking for a good quality dry rock. Something that has little to no risk of PO4 or any other problems. Everything I've read about Marco rock says it is bad for PO4.
Any suggestions and or thoughts are greatly appreciated.

twizted1 · Jan 31, 2015

Is this subject a dead horse?

kv69 · Jan 31, 2015

I used reefrocks.net. good guy great rock needs heavy rinsing no Po4 issues

NanaReefer · Feb 1, 2015

Not a dead horse at all. But the opinions are many! For the past 5yrs I've personally used BRS dry Pukani & Reef Saver Rock. NEVER experienced the "leaching PO4" that's been rumored. IMO it is just that, a rumor.
Great rock! Clean, pest free rock. Great price and fast shipping.

Zacco · Feb 1, 2015

I just purchased 80 pounds of BRS Reef Saver Rock. The rock was pretty clean and had no order emitting from it. I still gave it a vinegar bath to loosen any bound dirt/dead organic matter that might have been trapped in the pores and holes of the rock. The mild acid bath did pull a lot of dirt,and dried up organic matter(sea weed, dried sponges, ext.) from the porous rock. IMO, you should always cure your rock for a good month and test for phosphate leeching.

Birddog · Feb 1, 2015

Purchased 65 pounds of BRS Reef Saver in the recent past, and I am very happy with new build up and running for 3 months... no phosphate issues, very clean, very happy!

143MPCo · Feb 1, 2015

reefrocks.net

kv69 said:
I used reefrocks.net. good guy great rock needs heavy rinsing no Po4 issues

+1... recently order and couldn't be happier! $255.00 for 150lbs that works out $1.70 with shipping included.

reefrocks.net

So just for the sake of saying I tested it... I placed a chunk of dryrock in a cleaned bucket and filled it with RO/DI water, 24hrs later I tested the water for phosphate... is this a valid reading?

I've done this with other types of dryrock (pukani from BRS) and the results showed 2.64+...
The reason the rock was shipped late was it was wet and need to dry out from all the rain it soaked up as it was outside for a prolong time and never covered , is it possible the rains leach out all the phosphate?

Trying to add a post from tapatalk is a pain, and the spell check is horrible...lol...:tongue:

I'm taking a phased approach to testing this one... why, because I'm bored?!?! :tongue: lol

Keeping in mind that this is reportedly fossilized ancient reef rock and mined from a once underground source, I would think it should have some PO4... Unlike pukani that is ocean harvested, dried, and contaminated with sponges and other soon to be decomposing material once added to saltwater (or freshwater) therefore accounting for the elevated levels of PO4, I would expect to see it in both samples of either rock.

I tested the water 3 times received the same results each time, next step is to place it in a heated, power-head circulating bucket of saltwater and allow it to cycle for a few weeks... will test it every 3 days to see if any change...

Also going to take another chuck, acid dip (I know there's way more to acid dipping, simplifying it for this post), and follow a similar process to see if any different results are achieved.

Going to take one more chuck and just let it sit in RO/DI for the entire time of the process, as a control.

My only regret, is I don't have additional types to test, so results will be 100% limited to what I have for dryrock.

143MPCo · Feb 1, 2015

To-date, I have tested all buckets and show 0ppm on PO4 sense I started testing.

FishLipz · Feb 1, 2015

I got mine from here..Rock - Reef Cleaners. Great shapes, no leaching, and great price.

twizted1 · Feb 1, 2015

All great information.and I really do appreciate all the feed back. Please keep them coming.
My original build plan was to go with Brs Pukani rock, it's good to know that was only rumors.