Caribsea LifeRock - look "real" or just like painted cement...?

[salty150]

Was wondering what those who have Caribsea LifeRock think of it...

Does it look like "real" live rock - or does it look like a piece of painted cement (I know it's not cement - it's calcium carbonate, etc.)

 

[dragon99]

I think it looks pretty natural especially compared to Real Reef Rock which I had in my last tank. Real Reef Rock definitely looked like painted concrete for the first couple years. Liferock has much better "pore" structure" with holes and nooks in the rock that seem much more natural.

 

[4tanks]

I really like it I setup with live rock but have started adding life rock it is a bit bright at first but when bits of algae start to grow on it it looks really nice also gives corals more contrast when attached to it and there are loads of little nooks in the rocks which is good

 

[ExpensiveSushi]

Nice looking stuff. Good coloration. Great texture, fits together nicely. I've got extra pieces i break up and use to "grow" the scape.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

I love it, 1000x better than the white IMO

 

[X-37B]

I ran 50/50 caribsea and live rock.
After a year you cant tell the difference.
It does fade though.
Here is my 120 50/50.
Also at startup 1 year ago.

 

[salty150]

Very nice!

Does the purple "paint?" chip off...?

 

[Sleeping Giant]

Very nice!

Does the purple "paint?" chip off...?

No, not on mine, I brushed it off and washed it ro water prior to putting it in my tank

 

[Billldg]

It will if you break the rock, but its really not a big deal.

It does look great right out of the box and in the water.

 

[fishybizzness]

I love it! I seeded the tank with a few small pieces of live rock in my sump to add diversity to the life rock bacteria in my new setup and barely had any noticable cycle. I haven't noticed and of the coating chipping off or peeling. I did also use live ocean sand and nsw. I'm a few months in and the life rock is already growing coraline algae. It was nice having the look of live rock from day one but being able to do my scape outside the tank! Awesome stuff in my opinion!

 

[X-37B]

Very nice!

Does the purple "paint?" chip off...?

No it just fades out.

 

[Dr. Bluethumb]

Did you have any turf algae issues with the rock?

 

[X-37B]

Did you have any turf algae issues with the rock?

I did at about 4 month in and it was only on the caribsea.
6 weeks of vibrant and it was gone.
Before and after.

 

[Troy V]

I really like it. I find it easy to drill for frag plug placement, and the color has maintained nicely after a year in the tank.

 

[Waters]

I recently rebooted my reef and used nothing but this rock. So far no issues....has been about 5 months....hard to tell with the blue pic but it looks very natural.

 

[Stevel]

My new build was done with this rock

 

[jdloftness]

Was wondering what those who have Caribsea LifeRock think of it...

Does it look like "real" live rock - or does it look like a piece of painted cement (I know it's not cement - it's calcium carbonate, etc.)

I have 100% Caribsea Life Rock in my tank and think it looks great. What I didn't know was it's not real rock and doesn't allow for good bacteria formation. I could never figure out why my nitrates were high. When I was told it was not real rock and didn't have the benefits of real rock, I added an export block to compensate and now the world is good. FYI

 

[WVNed]

This is half CaribSea and half TBS live rock after a year

 

[Mav2]

This is half CaribSea and half TBS live rock after a year

 

[Mav2]

Looking good!