Any Issues with Marco Rock?

[679x]

I just read a thread about 'the best rock' and someone mentioned some dry rock leaching phosphates or something. I wouldn't have thought that there would be any problems with dry rock -- surely it would be better than spending more for live rock, which could contain all sorts of pests?

I want dry rock for my first salt tank because my LFS's live rock is very expensive and since it's a chain store I don't know what they do to their rock in order to make it pest-free, if anything. So I figure it probably has all sorts of unwanted... stuff.

And I REALLLLYYyy do not want to deal with pests from live rock!

So, I want to get some dry Marco rock. Anyone had any issues with that type of rock, or think I could run into a problem?

 

[Susan Edwards]

I love my marco rock. I used it for the main display and just ordered some more for the display refugium. I don't have high phos. In fact, I have 0 and am trying to get at least trace and low!. I also used pukani from brs I think. But I love the marco pieces.

 

[Reef2zach]

I got my dry rock from reef cleaners. They remove all organic matter off the rocks so you dont have to cycle them. and there rock is very porous.

 

[JoshH]

Went with Marco rock myself, new to the hobby and my tank isn't wet yet but I have yet to find any sort of study that confirms the rumours that it leeches phosphate. BRS doesn't take much stock to that claim either, I forget which episode of 52 weeks of reefing it was but Ryan stated him and the staff at BRS aren't believers of the theory for what it's worth. As I said I'm new to the hobby as well But I did my research and went with the Marco anyway. Gorgeous Rock btw

 

[679x]

Thanks for the replies, looks like I'll be getting some marco rock!

 

[azbigjohn]

I recently bought 100 pounds of Marco rock, and loved it. Very porous, and lots of good sizes. I also bought the E-Marco cement to hold the rock together. I have had no problems with huge amounts of phosphate (I just added fish after a fairly long building up the bacteria process).

I have heard several people say that the customer service is excellent, with rapid responses. I simply placed an order, got a shipping notice the next day, and the rock arrived exactly as scheduled, packed well, with no breakage. I had emailed a silly question ("How much rock is 50 pounds of rock?") meaning of course, how "big" is 50 pounds of rock as I was filling a 210 gallon aquarium. I got a response in less than 12 hours giving me the size of the 50 pound box shipping container, which is exactly the type of answer I was looking for.

Here is what I created from the Marco rock (as well as some more I got from local reefer):

 

[JoshH]

Another great thing that is seldom thought of is with dry rock, it's dry lol. so you are only paying for the weight of the rock itself and not the water weight that's associated with live rock. Much rather pay less for more rock and wait for it to cycle than pay double for less rock just to speed the process up a bit, but that's just me.

 

[Susan Edwards]

so far, I've had very little phos in my tank. In fact it's usually too low. Here's my two tanks with the rocks. The display refugium is a new set up--about a month. Main tank has a couple pcs of pukani which is also cool rock, and I love
the way the marco rock makes great swim thrus for the fish

 

[rcpalmer1]

I purchased from Marco Rock maybe 7 years ago. Great rock. I would never buy any other rock. You can get some rubble with some coralline algae on it and in a few month it will all be covered.

 

[anthonywesty]

+1 marcorocks

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Marco Rocks have a pretty solid rep IME. I'd buy with confidence.

 

[Bakedpwn]

i dont believe they leak phos but i do believe that live rock has benefits such as bacteria that "take care" of phos and stuff. i had alot of billys reef rock and it all got gha badly even after i got phos reactor. i ended up pulling it all out and put live rock from lfa and havent seen gha since

 

[Nathan Belz]

I guess I am on the other side completely of most people on this. I have done BRS reef saver, Used dry rock, used dry rock that has been bleached, and a few other types of rock. I have had more problems than I can count using dry rock!

Even if you cycle it that does nothing about getting rid of dead stuff IN the rocks, because we don't usually run lights so there is nothing to eat up the PO4!

I am cycling more dry rock (I do think the pest issue is a bigger issue than PO4). with this set however I am setting up an impromptu algae scrubber above the drum to pull out and PO4 I can from the rocks before they enter the tank, might be worth considering if you are cycling!

 

[StrangeDejavu]

One of the big sellers of this rock had it lab tested recently, so hopefully this will help in this discussion. Marco rock, Reef saver, Billy Hay dry rock; pretty sure it all comes from the Florida Keys, so these results should apply to all.

Here's his comment on the results:

Ok everyone always ask what the Rock I sell is made of. I sent a sample off to a lab for analysis. Some people say its full of phosphates that will leach into your system. Well per scientific testing in a dry weight there's just traces of phosphate and other trace elements like in all material on the earth.Some of the levels are so low that the lab equipment can not be calibrated to test that low so and is considered undetectable which will have a U by the number. The Rock is primarily made up of calcium followed by strontium and magnesium.
In the building block of a natural reef the reef will need trace amounts of many elements for health. That is why they are so many products on the market that adds all the trace elements into the tank. They are in so small amounts as a hobbyist we have no way of testing them. If their is any leaching of the trace elements it would be so low we have no way to test them.
Now even though other companies say that it is Florida reef rock keep in mind that it can be found in many numerous locations. These test results can not speak for other companies. They can only speak for the rock I sell unless they can prove that they get it from the same exact location as I do. Things that could change the test results of other rock could be from run off to fertilizer added to a field before being mined.
I wanted to take the time and spend the money to make sure I knew exactly what I was selling to my customers. I have always had great reviews and feed back on the purity of my rock now I have lab tested proof not just someone said so.
Thank You for the support
Billy Hay
Billys Reef Connection

 

[SashimiTurtle]

I went with 75lbs of BRS reef saver rock. Tossed around the idea of the reefrock 2.1, but after seeing a few reviews that the purple faux coraline chipped off, I decided to stay away it. The BRS reef rock stacks very nicely and looks great. I can't confirm phosphates, getting a kit for it soon, but I don't think I have much and my nitrates are always low. Everything in my tank is happy, I have no pest algae growth and coraline is starting to cover the rocks.

 

[Lowstorm]

I can't get coraline to grow on mine, but no po4 issues.

 

[Susan Edwards]

I have the same green on mine. Spotted a bit of purple on one of my return pump outlets so maybe it'll turn purple

 

[ksfulk]

Ive used marco rock on every tank Ive owned, except for my first one and have had exactly zero problems with it. Marco rock is quarried, its not rock from the ocean, so there are no hidden organic materials on it - as there would be with pukani or reef saver rocks.

But, you should have realistic expectations - because the marco rock is "virginal" for lack of a better term, it is going to attract any algae like a magnet until it gets "seasoned" Its bone white going in, and within a week or so, you'll get algae, and within 3 months its the grey/brown/purple/orange/magenta of seasoned rock. I wouldnt hesitate to buy this to start your tank, just realize that its gonna get ugly before it looks pretty

 

[Bdrake]

This is just an observation of mine that I have no scientific backing for: every time I've used dry rock, multiple sources including Marco, I've had to deal with bryopsis within the first few months. I've never seen the stuff or knew of its existence until trying dry rock.

Until there is an easier method of removing bryopsis I will use live rock exclusively. I'd rather deal with Cyano, dynos, aptasia, and flatworms all at once than see on more strand of that vile stuff form!

 

[SashimiTurtle]

This is just an observation of mine that I have no scientific backing for: every time I've used dry rock, multiple sources including Marco, I've had to deal with bryopsis within the first few months. I've never seen the stuff or knew of its existence until trying dry rock.

Until there is an easier method of removing bryopsis I will use live rock exclusively. I'd rather deal with Cyano, dynos, aptasia, and flatworms all at once than see on more strand of that vile stuff form!

What is bryopsis?