Skep18
Valuable Member
In my search for dry rock months ago while planning stuff out for my tank, eventually I narrowed my interests down to a supplier and pulled the trigger on a purchase. However, at the time I wanted to just buy one box just to see if I liked it and all. I went with Reef Cleaners. Seeing multiple good reviews, their price was definitely the lowest advertised which is what ended up selling me. FL harvested dry rock shouldn't be all too different from one another anyways, right? Overall, I was not disappointed.
Fast forward a few months and I'm ready to buy the rest of my rock. However, I visited the Reef Cleaners site to find a recent price increase along with a shipping delay (discussed with Reef Cleaners feedback in this thread). Dry rock isn't the most expensive part of this hobby but the increase was not insignificant. Ultimately Reef Cleaners said it was temporary so I continued to watch for the price drop. However, as of a few days ago, I needed to make the order as the tank is ready for it. Not too comfortable with the shipping delay situation (which has been resolved I believe) as I don't want any unexpected delays, I changed my mind and went with Marco Rock. I figured they've obviously an established supplier and any differences in the rock will blend in when they're mixed together (and covered in coraline eventually).
I have found a post which discussed the differences between the two suppliers but it didn't include photos. I am here to give you info, photos, all that stuff. Below is a table of the relevant information:
Now that I've probably got everyone confused a bit, let me explain what the above represents.
Dry Rock Weight:
My Reef Cleaners order came kinda wet. The box was "soft-ish" and pulled apart like damp cardboard does, as opposed to ripping of dry cardboard. This is fine, except when you buy stuff by weight, residual water becomes lost weight... I proceeded to lay out all the rock in the sun along with the packaging. After a few days when it was definitely thoroughly dry to the touch, I reassembled the package and weighed it. 52lb became 46lb... Depending on how you look at it, the 46lb rock was 8% less than the 50lb rocks I ordered or 11% less than the 52lb packaged delivered. To be fair, I wasn't truly bothered by this but it does ultimately mean the reflected online price maybe isn't as good as it seems.
Marco Price:
I will also add, I actually ordered 200lb from Marco. Note to buyers, the listed "weight packages" are actually higher than if you scroll to the bottom and use the link that lets you buy by the various poundage. But at $400 for 200lb, that's how I got my $100 price for a 50lb box. However, all my boxes were nuts on the weight and equally impressive.
Packaging:
I don't think this is a huge deal but its worth noting. Reef Cleaners rocks came care inside the box. This did result in notably more rubble inside the box. Marco Rock came with bubble wrap throughout. Seemed a bit silly but the small unusable rubble we very minimal.
All the other items are just FYI. Take them or leave them as you wish.
Now for an actual look at the rock! To save you all from the suspense that must be killing you now, in my physical perception of all the rocks from both suppliers, BOTH ROCKS LOOK 99% THE EXACT SAME!!! Maybe Reef Cleaners had a little more browning and I found only one organic leftover tube worm on a single rock of Marco. But the shape, form, weight, feeling, density, brittle-ness, etc. of the rock from each supplier was indistinguishable. But don't take my word for (all of) it. Some photos below.
Reef Cleaners "50lb" order (note, the box includes rubble and some small pieces):
Marco Rock 50lb order (almost no rubble, only small (useful) pieces):
Side-by-side comparison:
Marco Rock packaging:
Hope this helps someone else out there considering the same things I was!
Fast forward a few months and I'm ready to buy the rest of my rock. However, I visited the Reef Cleaners site to find a recent price increase along with a shipping delay (discussed with Reef Cleaners feedback in this thread). Dry rock isn't the most expensive part of this hobby but the increase was not insignificant. Ultimately Reef Cleaners said it was temporary so I continued to watch for the price drop. However, as of a few days ago, I needed to make the order as the tank is ready for it. Not too comfortable with the shipping delay situation (which has been resolved I believe) as I don't want any unexpected delays, I changed my mind and went with Marco Rock. I figured they've obviously an established supplier and any differences in the rock will blend in when they're mixed together (and covered in coraline eventually).
I have found a post which discussed the differences between the two suppliers but it didn't include photos. I am here to give you info, photos, all that stuff. Below is a table of the relevant information:
Now that I've probably got everyone confused a bit, let me explain what the above represents.
Dry Rock Weight:
My Reef Cleaners order came kinda wet. The box was "soft-ish" and pulled apart like damp cardboard does, as opposed to ripping of dry cardboard. This is fine, except when you buy stuff by weight, residual water becomes lost weight... I proceeded to lay out all the rock in the sun along with the packaging. After a few days when it was definitely thoroughly dry to the touch, I reassembled the package and weighed it. 52lb became 46lb... Depending on how you look at it, the 46lb rock was 8% less than the 50lb rocks I ordered or 11% less than the 52lb packaged delivered. To be fair, I wasn't truly bothered by this but it does ultimately mean the reflected online price maybe isn't as good as it seems.
Marco Price:
I will also add, I actually ordered 200lb from Marco. Note to buyers, the listed "weight packages" are actually higher than if you scroll to the bottom and use the link that lets you buy by the various poundage. But at $400 for 200lb, that's how I got my $100 price for a 50lb box. However, all my boxes were nuts on the weight and equally impressive.
Packaging:
I don't think this is a huge deal but its worth noting. Reef Cleaners rocks came care inside the box. This did result in notably more rubble inside the box. Marco Rock came with bubble wrap throughout. Seemed a bit silly but the small unusable rubble we very minimal.
All the other items are just FYI. Take them or leave them as you wish.
Now for an actual look at the rock! To save you all from the suspense that must be killing you now, in my physical perception of all the rocks from both suppliers, BOTH ROCKS LOOK 99% THE EXACT SAME!!! Maybe Reef Cleaners had a little more browning and I found only one organic leftover tube worm on a single rock of Marco. But the shape, form, weight, feeling, density, brittle-ness, etc. of the rock from each supplier was indistinguishable. But don't take my word for (all of) it. Some photos below.
Reef Cleaners "50lb" order (note, the box includes rubble and some small pieces):
Marco Rock 50lb order (almost no rubble, only small (useful) pieces):
Side-by-side comparison:
Marco Rock packaging:
Hope this helps someone else out there considering the same things I was!
