Dry or Live Rock?

[Old Glory]

I used 100% dry and I am happy. I cured the rock for 8 weeks while I stocked up on my other supplies. I put it all in a big tub covered in salt water with a heater and a pump. I added Dr Tims to get a culture going . Dry fed every few days. Added more bacteria culture Bio spira, Bio Digest, and Stability.

I had almost no cycle in the tank. After I started the tank I dosed NoPox and Vibrant to keep my numbers low and algae in control. I run carbon and GFO in a reactor. I have MarinePure Blocks and Matrix in the sump. I add stability every water change and Bio Digest every two weeks.

I had some dinos and some cyno but very limited. Knock wood...

Starting to see sponges. May add pods to start a population.

Tank is 5 months old and looks good to me. So far so good. I have LPS and SPS and have shown growth. Again Knock Wood... Lights are 4 Kessil 360s on a 525XL

 

[fishbox]

I think you're going to find out that this is one of those things that come down to personal choice. Both methods have pros and cons. Make yourself a list and then only you can make the call.

With that being said....
I've used live rock in the past. Pros for me:
Very quick cycle
Instant Diversity
Good hitchhikers like polyps, shrooms, and other corals, pods, various snails, etc....

Cons:
Possibilities of bad hitchhikers (only bad one I got was a mantis shrimp).
Can cause a cycle in an already established aquarium from die off.
Can also cause algae issues.

With my current set up I used dry Pukani rock from BRS (or whatever its called lol) .

Pros:
No chance of bad hitchhikers
Easier to work with outside of tank as you don't have to worry about die off

Cons:
Literally non of the pros from live rock lol
My tank is going on the one yr mark and I've had every type of algae bloom you can think of.

To be fair I can't 100% blame the dry rock on ALL my algae issues as there are many factors that could be at work.

Also, take note that the cons of either method can be minimized by properly cooking or Qt-ing the rock with the exception of the lack of diversity from dry rock.

 

[Neo Jeo]

I've started two tanks - one with dry and one with live. While the hitchhikers can be a problem (I got a mantis shrimp! That I didn't find until after I had lost livestock ). If starting another tank I would definitely go live. BUT I would put the rocks in the tank and watch for a while to try and discover the worsts of the pests (seriously put a piece of shrimp and a leaf of nori out and watch the hitchhiker's come out for dinner). Slow, slow, slow is the way to go.

I love this idea! I was thinking the same thing. I'm going to do prob around 150lbs of rock. Prob 80 dry and 70-80 live then the live put into another tank then watch it just as you said! I have to find out where to put it lol.... I just dont know Maybe basement? Seems cold lol

 

[Neo Jeo]

I used 100% dry and I am happy. I cured the rock for 8 weeks while I stocked up on my other supplies. I put it all in a big tub covered in salt water with a heater and a pump. I added Dr Tims to get a culture going . Dry fed every few days. Added more bacteria culture Bio spira, Bio Digest, and Stability.

I had almost no cycle in the tank. After I started the tank I dosed NoPox and Vibrant to keep my numbers low and algae in control. I run carbon and GFO in a reactor. I have MarinePure Blocks and Matrix in the sump. I add stability every water change and Bio Digest every two weeks.

I had some dinos and some cyno but very limited. Knock wood...

Starting to see sponges. May add pods to start a population.

Tank is 5 months old and looks good to me. So far so good. I have LPS and SPS and have shown growth. Again Knock Wood... Lights are 4 Kessil 360s on a 525XL

Thanks for your story! I ordered Bio spira yesterday and im linking the info Dr Tims and Bio Digest, can you add all of this at once? Or over time? and on top of Stability? Help me walk through the steps, I would appreciate it!

 

[Neo Jeo]

I think you're going to find out that this is one of those things that come down to personal choice. Both methods have pros and cons. Make yourself a list and then only you can make the call.

With that being said....
I've used live rock in the past. Pros for me:
Very quick cycle
Instant Diversity
Good hitchhikers like polyps, shrooms, and other corals, pods, various snails, etc....

Cons:
Possibilities of bad hitchhikers (only bad one I got was a mantis shrimp).
Can cause a cycle in an already established aquarium from die off.
Can also cause algae issues.

With my current set up I used dry Pukani rock from BRS (or whatever its called lol) .

Pros:
No chance of bad hitchhikers
Easier to work with outside of tank as you don't have to worry about die off

Cons:
Literally non of the pros from live rock lol
My tank is going on the one yr mark and I've had every type of algae bloom you can think of.

To be fair I can't 100% blame the dry rock on ALL my algae issues as there are many factors that could be at work.

Also, take note that the cons of either method can be minimized by properly cooking or Qt-ing the rock with the exception of the lack of diversity from dry rock.

Thanks for your info! You said you did the dry rock from BRS did you cure it for over a month? Would you recommend doing half and half?

 

[fishbox]

No I didn't bother to cure it. I was tankless for a long time and just wanted something to look at. I knew I would most likely have algae issues but it was a trade off I was willing to make just to see some fish lol. And yes, I highly recommend BRS for dry rock. The price is great, it looks great, and very porous and light weight compared to others on the market. 50/50 is a good plan IMHO but you'd probably still get algae on the dry stuff

 

[MaiReef]

I would definitely go completely dry next time as I added some coral on rock and got pests. Curing the rock ahead of time for a month or two fixes most algae blooms. I will also go with small gravel over sand, but that idea I got from a guy that has a tank for over 40 years.

 

[Neo Jeo]

I would definitely go completely dry next time as I added some coral on rock and got pests. Curing the rock ahead of time for a month or two fixes most algae blooms. I will also go with small gravel over sand, but that idea I got from a guy that has a tank for over 40 years.

With this rock say's you dont have to cure it due to the fact they already soaked it for you: http://www.naturesocean.com/aquarium-supplies/aquarium-saltwater-rock.html

Would you believe it?

 

[MaiReef]

With this rock say's you dont have to cure it due to the fact they already soaked it for you: http://www.naturesocean.com/aquarium-supplies/aquarium-saltwater-rock.html

Would you believe it?

I would still cure it myself, but for less time I would guess.

 

[Neo Jeo]

I would still cure it myself, but for less time I would guess.

What's the best way to cure in your opinion? I called them and the web site says its been in deep water to stop leaching but when I spoke to someone it was power washed and dried in the sun so lol I dont know what the real answer is ha

 

[fishbox]

What's the best way to cure in your opinion? I called them and the web site says its been in deep water to stop leaching but when I spoke to someone it was power washed and dried in the sun so lol I dont know what the real answer is ha

Right! And what was it pressure washed with? RODI? Saltwater? Tap?

 

[mch1984]

I used 100% dry and I am happy. I cured the rock for 8 weeks while I stocked up on my other supplies. I put it all in a big tub covered in salt water with a heater and a pump. I added Dr Tims to get a culture going . Dry fed every few days. Added more bacteria culture Bio spira, Bio Digest, and Stability.

I had almost no cycle in the tank. After I started the tank I dosed NoPox and Vibrant to keep my numbers low and algae in control. I run carbon and GFO in a reactor. I have MarinePure Blocks and Matrix in the sump. I add stability every water change and Bio Digest every two weeks.

I had some dinos and some cyno but very limited. Knock wood...

Starting to see sponges. May add pods to start a population.

Tank is 5 months old and looks good to me. So far so good. I have LPS and SPS and have shown growth. Again Knock Wood... Lights are 4 Kessil 360s on a 525XL

Not to hi-jack a thread but I have to ask a question. Have you introduced coraline? If so did you introduce while curing or after it was in the tank? If so how did you introduce? Can you introduce during the curing or would you need to put a light on the tub to do any good?

 

[islandguy85]

I have only had a personal tank for appx 6mos. Here is my experience. I inherited a tank from a friend. 150gal display, was sitting outside on the side of his house half full of rain water, rock and sand was nasty. He had appx 200-250lbs of live rock. It was no longer living. I bleached it in a large trash can, pressure washed it, and let it dry out in the sun for 10 days or so.
Tank is up and running no issues. I added 6?lbs of live rock to try to seed the tank. The live rock I purchased looks fine, has tube worms, barnacles, maybe some small anenomes, etc. BUT I also brought in what I believe to be isopods. They are intermittently attached to my foxface now, and getting bigger. There is also a crab of unknown species that came in on the rock that hopefully will not be a problem that J get peeks of every now and then.
Since I am a novice, I made a mistake by making it impossible to catch my fish once they are in the tank due to the whole back wall of tank being rock for them to hide. At this point, not sure it was a great idea. If anyone has reccs on how to catch a fish in a deep tank with lots of rock I am all ears. OR if there is a way to treat for the pods I would love to hear it. Good luck with your new tank and rock setup!

 

[Midrats]

I would never ever use dry rock again. I've set up reefs for 30 years with live rock and unwanted guests have never been a problem. I'm not sure why this unwarranted fear is so prevalent these days. Dry rock will foster the appearance of unwanted guests much more than live. People have it backwards. The key is that you have to get quality actually alive rock. Not the stuff at the LFS that looks like someone picked it up in a parking lot and threw it into a tub of water. I don't think a lot of newer people to the hobby have even seen real live rock before. It's the most fun part of setting up a reef tank to me.

The couple of times I have used dry rock the tanks took much much longer to mature and were much more problem prone. Not to mention it looks like you have icebergs in your tank for a year. I'm surprised that with the instant gratification society of today that people would even consider dry rock. You want instant gratification? Use quality live rock like TBS live Pukani or some top shelf Walt Smith Fiji.

 

[MaiReef]

What's the best way to cure in your opinion? I called them and the web site says its been in deep water to stop leaching but when I spoke to someone it was power washed and dried in the sun so lol I dont know what the real answer is ha

Personally I like to take dry rock and rinse it and brush it with tap water. Then, I put it in a container with RO/DI and run a pump to circulate the water for about a week to remove debris. Then, I remove everything and put in in a container with with RO/DI and Salt mixed with a heater and pump in the dark for 4- 6 weeks with 10- 25% weekly water changes based upon testing.

My new step would be to then do a month with 6 hour lights, Cheato, and pods with 25 % weekly water changes either in the tank or in the container.

 

[Neo Jeo]

I need 150lbs:
If I buy LR from TBS lbs will be $850.00 shipped..Seems ABSERD
If I but DR from Natures Ocean it will be $150.00 shipped
I will save $700.00... SEVEN HUNDRED

So, is it worth curing for 1 month? My tank will be read in 3 weeks.. Yes
Is it worth growing over the next year with bacteria and additives without hickhickers.. I say Yes
I can custom the aquascaping before adding water. Yes

I might even get a really nice peace of LR rock and watch it for 1 month then add it to the tank.

I say so.... Would you do it?!

 

[MaiReef]

I would also, add bacteria on the new step

 

[Fumanchu]

My opinion is no matter how hard you try your gonna get past regardless.. it's just part of the hobby and there is no comparison to benefits of real live rock I feel this is diff between having a mature thriving tank and working functional tank ..

 

[cumbeje]

I setup my 700 gallon tank with 95% dry rock. I did add a couple pieces of reef rock from another tank to just get some bacteria started. As long as you are willing to wait for it to populate you save yourself a lot of time and hitch hiker risks not counting the money you save.

 

[Neo Jeo]

I setup my 700 gallon tank with 95% dry rock. I did add a couple pieces of reef rock from another tank to just get some bacteria started. As long as you are willing to wait for it to populate you save yourself a lot of time and hitch hiker risks not counting the money you save.

Thanks for the share! Your tank looks amazing and 700 gallons wow! What company did you buy your dry rock from? Did you cure it? And how long did it really take to turn from white to purple? Thanks!