Dry coral as live rock.

[davidm777]

Hello,
I was told not to use dry coral as dry rock. I got these that came on a deal with other rocks. If dry coral is the same as aragonite wich is calcium carbonate, is there a real reason not to use it?. The goal is to set up a reef, anyone has experience with using dry coral on a reef?

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Yeah... better not use you them... Give them to me...
I don't know why anyone told that, maybe someone was worried about left over organic matter maybe?
Just make sure to put these in a container with RO water and some cupisorb and some carbon just in case. unless you can be sure that the source did not use copper/meds in there system.

 

[davidm777]

Yeah... better not use you them... Give them to me...
I don't know why anyone told that, maybe someone was worried about left over organic matter maybe?
Just make sure to put these in a container with RO water and some cupisorb and some carbon just in case. unless you can be sure that the source did not use copper/meds in there system.

Awsome! I am gathering second hand rocks. The intension is to bleach cure them. BRS has a video that compared natural cure, acid and bleach. Reefing on a budget, time is on my side.

 

[Doctorgori]

don’t break them up, I would “re skin” some of those with a encrusting monti or cyphrastrea or even GSP

 

[LovinlifeinGuam]

A lot of real live rock in the ocean is really just dead and weathered coral skeletons...of course its not the same in other aspects when it hasnt been in the ocean but you can certainly use them

 

[Garf]

Awsome! I am gathering second hand rocks. The intension is to bleach cure them. BRS has a video that compared natural cure, acid and bleach. Reefing on a budget, time is on my side.

Acid will make them fizz a bit, lol.

 

[davidm777]

don’t break them up, I would “re skin” some of those with a encrusting monti or cyphrastrea or even GSP

Definitely not break them up.
I got a 20lb aragonite bag that is too fine for my liking now that I know a bit more. I have seen you can make homemade rocks with aragonite, white concrete and chunky salt. I want to create bases to incrust them or possibly attach them to another rock structure.
Question is: Is it ok to use mortar?

 

[1ocean]

yes...you can get marco rock mortar on saltwater aquarium on line. It hold super good and comes in white or purple. Mix only what you need at a time. I mix small batches of what I can use in 5 minutes and then mix another. It take 24 hours to set and water ready...

 

[Tinnerito]

Hello,
I was told not to use dry coral as dry rock. I got these that came on a deal with other rocks. If dry coral is the same as aragonite wich is calcium carbonate, is there a real reason not to use it?. The goal is to set up a reef, anyone has experience with using dry coral on a reef?

I would understand why it's preferred not to use dry coral, but if you're looking for someone with the experience, I'll say that I have an established tank with *most* of the hardscape being dry coral. I'm not sure how well it does for living corals, as the said tank has no corals in it, but the tank itself had cycled just fine, if not very fast. I have found invertebrates, anemones, macroalgae, and coralline algae to establish on it aswell.

 

[davidm777]

I would understand why it's preferred not to use dry coral, but if you're looking for someone with the experience, I'll say that I have an established tank with *most* of the hardscape being dry coral. I'm not sure how well it does for living corals, as the said tank has no corals in it, but the tank itself had cycled just fine, if not very fast. I have found invertebrates, anemones, macroalgae, and coralline algae to establish on it aswell.

Everything I bought I ran with circulating bleach for a whole month. Only concern now is copper. I been taken it slow and appreciate greatly all the help I've gotten from R2R! Thank you for the reply.