Gambling with Live Rock?

[Hair Algae Wizard]

Folks,

I am researching a ton on live and dry rock, and plan to go with a combination of the two. That said, how much of a risk is it to purchase live rock? (not the fake, painted stuff that has been seeded)

I really like the idea of real live rock, and not seeded stuff, to ensure a good biodiversity in my tank, but my concern is aiptasia, as I had it so bad in my last tank, I ended up replacing everything. Any unwanted critters I suspect I can remove by dipping the rock in a higher salinity container for a few minutes, but aiptasia gives me nightmares!

Do vendors such as TBS provide aiptasia free rock?

Thanks!

 

[MTBake]

I ordered some live rock from Gulfliverock.com last year. Super happy with purchase. I got loads of sponge growth. A couple different kinds of coral. Some halimeda algae. Some limpets and chitons. And an anemone. Not an aiptasia. But most likely in the glass anemone family. It has not spread at all and remains just the one anemone over a year later in my mantis tank.

I also got a mantis shrimp as a hitchhiker in that rock. Which was a fantastic coincidence as half of the rock I ordered was destined for my mantis shrimp setup. I no longer had to try to find one to buy

All in all, it was well worth the purchase and I would definately do it again. I have less algae problems in the tank with 100% live rock as well. And the po4 and no3 is through the roof in that tank with no cleanup crew as the mantis just eats them. No more dry rock for me if I can get live.

 

[X-37B]

On my current 120 I did half live half caribsea. 15 lbs live rock came from my nano 15 from lfs. Turned out real nice. Only reason I did not go with all live was very little choices at the lfs.

When I set up my nano with around 30 lbs of live rock there were only a few aptasia. Within a year there were over a hundred. Put in 3 peppermint shrimp and 3 weeks later no aptasia.

I think the tank obtains stability quicker with live rock.

Think I will do 30lbs or so from tbs on my new 45 frag with 40 breeder sump.
Most will go in the sump.

 

[hllb]

I did half live rock and half real reef rock. I had at least 3 hitchhikers - a brittle star, a stomatello, and a single Aiptasia. Then I added two peppermint shrimp and that Aiptasia was toast within 2 days.

 

[MTBake]

I would setup a Rubbermaid tub or spare tank and put the rock in there to observe for problem hitchhikers. I used a spare 20 gallon when I got mine in. Placed a small heater, powerhead and air stone in there for life support. Ended up adding a hob filter and some sand and called it my mantis shrimp setup, lol.

 

[Lawpoke87]

I wouldn’t start any new tank without a little LR. Gives me a better chance to introduce acros earlier and I believe increases your chances of long term success. I don’t believe we can match the diversity LR provides with a bottle of bacteria.

As stated above, quarantine the LR you’re going to use and remove unwanted hitchhikers. You can also dip the LR in high salinity salt water to assist in their removal.

 

[jsvand5]

Realistically, no matter what you start your tank with you are likely to introduce some pest at some point. Clean up crew can introduce stuff or coral plugs/skeleton. I started my tank with all dry and one piece of baseball sized live. Still ended up with aiptasia and vermetid snails.

 

[bluprntguy]

You may want to consider the oceans direct live sand as a way to add biodiversity. They somehow preserve the natural ocean bacteria in the sand rather than just seeding it with bottled bacteria. I noticed a pretty substantial difference in health of my corals after adding it to my refugium.

Realistically, no matter what you start your tank with you are likely to introduce some pest at some point. Clean up crew can introduce stuff or coral plugs/skeleton. I started my tank with all dry and one piece of baseball sized live. Still ended up with aiptasia and vermetid snails.

If you quarantine all your corals and inverts, you stand a pretty good chance of keeping a tank pest free, at least the major pests. My current tank was started using dry rock and it’s remained aiptasia free. I’ve not seen any vermetid snails either. Knock on wood.

 

[malacoda]

No one is going to be able to guarantee you aptasia-free live rock ... or live rock 100% free of other pests for that matter. It can live as spores that don't 'sprout' for weeks or months. So even if you don't see any on the rock, and they don't see any on the rock, it ... just like sponges, coral, or algae ... can show up at a later date.

Regardless of whether you go all dry ... part dry, part live ... or all live rock you will run risks. No way to avoid it.

It all boils down to WHAT type of risk you'd rather take.

All dry rock seems to present a much greater risk of dinos, cyano, or large GHA outbreaks due to the lack of biodiversity and the tank being too low-nutrient for an extended part of the initial 'tank stabilization' period.

Live rock presents greater risk of thinks like GHA, bryopsis, aptasia and other pest critters and algaes due to the amount of biodiversity it already has -- the types of which will depend on what region (or LFS tanks) it comes from.

You'll basically have to choose which you'd rather try dealing with IF a breakout should occur.

That said, it is my understanding that the glass anemonies (aptasia and mojanos are types of glass anemones) from the Gulf of Mexico are not invasive or problematic like those from the Pacific.

I had a few show up on my TBS live rock about 2.5 years after putting it my tank. Only a few here and there. Never spread much. Then faded away. I did however pick off a lot whelks when I first got it. All in all I was very pleased with my TBS rock and would use it again if I were doing an Atlantic biotope or non-biotope tank.

From reading mcarroll's 'Dinoflagellates - Are you tired of battling altogether?' thread, I can tell you there are a LOT of people who wish they had not gone the 100% dry rock route and would happily give their left hand to be dealing with nothing more than a bit of GHA or some aptasia.

Likewise, I'm sure there are a lot of people who went the low-pest route of dry rock and never had any pest issues.

All paths come with some risk -- it's all a matter of WHAT risk you'd rather deal with IF it should happen to occur.

 

[jsvand5]

If you quarantine all your corals and inverts, you stand a pretty good chance of keeping a tank pest free, at least the major pests. My current tank was started using dry rock and it’s remained aiptasia free. I’ve not seen any vermetid snails either. Knock on wood.

True but a very small percentage of people have an extra tank set up that is capable of QTing all inverts/corals.

 

[Hair Algae Wizard]

No one is going to be able to guarantee you aptasia-free live rock ... or live rock 100% free of other pests for that matter. It can live as spores that don't 'sprout' for weeks or months. So even if you don't see any on the rock, and they don't see any on the rock, it ... just like sponges, coral, or algae ... can show up at a later date.

Regardless of whether you go all dry ... part dry, part live ... or all live rock you will run risks. No way to avoid it.

It all boils down to WHAT type of risk you'd rather take.

All dry rock seems to present a much greater risk of dinos, cyano, or large GHA outbreaks due to the lack of biodiversity and the tank being too low-nutrient for an extended part of the initial 'tank stabilization' period.

Live rock presents greater risk of thinks like GHA, bryopsis, aptasia and other pest critters and algaes due to the amount of biodiversity it already has -- the types of which will depend on what region (or LFS tanks) it comes from.

You'll basically have to choose which you'd rather try dealing with IF a breakout should occur.

That said, it is my understanding that the glass anemonies (aptasia and mojanos are types of glass anemones) from the Gulf of Mexico are not invasive or problematic like those from the Pacific.

I had a few show up on my TBS live rock about 2.5 years after putting it my tank. Only a few here and there. Never spread much. Then faded away. I did however pick off a lot whelks when I first got it. All in all I was very pleased with my TBS rock and would use it again if I were doing an Atlantic biotope or non-biotope tank.

From reading mcarroll's 'Dinoflagellates - Are you tired of battling altogether?' thread, I can tell you there are a LOT of people who wish they had not gone the 100% dry rock route and would happily give their left hand to be dealing with nothing more than a bit of GHA or some aptasia.

Likewise, I'm sure there are a lot of people who went the low-pest route of dry rock and never had any pest issues.

All paths come with some risk -- it's all a matter of WHAT risk you'd rather deal with IF it should happen to occur.

Thank you, excellent points made here!

 

[bluprntguy]

True but a very small percentage of people have an extra tank set up that is capable of QTing all inverts/corals.

My invert QT is a 5 gallon fluval spec with a used light and a leftover ATO. You don't need anything glamorous.

Also, an invert QT is way less expensive than constantly buying Berghia Nudibranches to control aiptasia! This hobby is also way more fun when you aren't battling pests and diseases.

 

[Hair Algae Wizard]

I appreciate all the replies! What I want to accomplish is bio-diversity with regards to bacteria. I plan to dose the tank on day one with Prodibio Start-up and MicroBacter 7 to help seed the the dry rock. My thinking in my 220g is maybe 60% dry rock/40% live rock? Does this make sense?

 

[jsvand5]

My invert QT is a 5 gallon fluval spec with a used light and a leftover ATO. You don't need anything glamorous.

Also, an invert QT is way less expensive than constantly buying Berghia Nudibranches to control aiptasia! This hobby is also way more fun when you aren't battling pests and diseases.

I guess it depends on what you keep. I’m not putting an expensive Sps or even LPS in a 5gal and have to worry about the coral getting good flow, light, stable temps and salinity. Especially not when if something does pop up like aiptasia or vermetid snails you’ll have to sanitize the QT to be sure nothing gets past QT and into the display at some point.

 

[gerargliuchnaglaz]

I stumbled upon this 4-year-old thread about live rock, and I totally get your concerns. Aiptasia can be a nightmare, I feel you! When it comes to purchasing live rock, it's always a bit of a gamble. However, reputable vendors like TBS (Two Brothers Supply) often take steps to ensure aiptasia-free rock.

 

[IreneVega]

As for the risk of purchasing live rock, aiptasia can indeed be a concern. Some vendors, like TBS, provide aiptasia-free rock, but it's always a good idea to double-check with them to ensure you're getting the right kind. Dipping the rock in a higher salinity container is a helpful method to remove unwanted critters. Remember, research and preparation are key to a successful reef tank!

 

[IreneVega]

As for the risk of purchasing live rock, aiptasia can indeed be a concern. Some vendors, like TBS, provide aiptasia-free rock, but it's always a good idea to double-check with them to ensure you're getting the right kind. Dipping the rock in a higher salinity container is a helpful method to remove unwanted critters. Remember, research and preparation are key to a successful reef tank!

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