how to get rocks for cheap?

[dym]

hi. i was wondering where i can get dry rock for cheap except facebook marketplace/craigslist etc. i wanna get marco rock but its 100 dollars for just 20 pounds, thats a bit pricey for me. is there some other kind of rock i can buy and is caribsea rocks good?

 

[atoll]

Look for secondhand live rock but beware it could contain phosphates you may have to deal with

 

[Fish Fan]

If I remember correctly, you have a 125 gallon tank you're building, so you're going to need a lot of rock

I agree with the reply from Atoll, I would try to find real, wet live rock from someone's tank that's breaking down. There's some downsides to doing this, but I think the benefits of using live rock outweigh the possible negatives.

Otherwise, look for bulk dry rock, not just small packages of 5, 10, 20 pounds, which can be very expensive per pound.

Here's Nature's Sea base rock, 40 pounds for $85 from Chewy

This was the best deal on base rock I could find in a few minutes of searching. Do a little more digging, you may find even better deals.

Good luck!

 

[Idech]

Tank tear down would be your best bet. Just ask for complete parameters before deciding to buy.

 

[dym]

If I remember correctly, you have a 125 gallon tank you're building, so you're going to need a lot of rock

I agree with the reply from Atoll, I would try to find real, wet live rock from someone's tank that's breaking down. There's some downsides to doing this, but I think the benefits of using live rock outweigh the possible negatives.

Otherwise, look for bulk dry rock, not just small packages of 5, 10, 20 pounds, which can be very expensive per pound.

Here's Nature's Sea base rock, 40 pounds for $85 from Chewy

This was the best deal on base rock I could find in a few minutes of searching. Do a little more digging, you may find even better deals.

Good luck!

i saw that but the reviews were bad. i found a guy selling 50 pounds of dry reef collected rocks/marco rocks for 100 dollars. how many pounds would u say 125 gallons would need also thank you

 

[Reef Jedi]

If you’re looking for dry rock check out BRS selection.

 

[Fish Fan]

i saw that but the reviews were bad. i found a guy selling 50 pounds of dry reef collected rocks/marco rocks for 100 dollars. how many pounds would u say 125 gallons would need also thank you

Generally, you want about 1-2 pounds per gallon is a good rule of thumb, but it will depend on the rocks and what aquascape you want.

What were the negatives for the Nature Sea rock? I think many dry rocks will get some bad reviews, they can be more difficult to start a tank with than live rock.

 

[dym]

Generally, you want about 1-2 pounds per gallon is a good rule of thumb, but it will depend on the rocks and what aquascape you want.

What were the negatives for the Nature Sea rock? I think many dry rocks will get some bad reviews, they can be more difficult to start a tank with than live rock.

some people said it wasnt real reef rock and just chemically made. but good thing is i got these 80 pounds for 110 dollars i think its pretty good. the guy got the rocks from hawaii i believe, would you soak it in bleach? it has a bunch of worms on it which i think are ugly

 

[slingfox]

If you think $100 for rock is outside of budget then you should probably reconsider getting into the saltwater hobby. This is not a cheap hobby. Better to wait until you have more disposable income.

 

[Indiana Reefin]

I would look for live rock. Dry rock is manageable, but it is very easy for things to take over due to the lack of bio-diversity. For instance dinoflagellates or hair algae. I had TBS live rock and had zero issues with nuisance algae. As soon as I upgraded and added around 10 lbs of dry rock, the dry rock became infested with hair algae. Eventually I got Dino’s on my own wrong doings with nutrient imbalance. Dry rock absorbed my nutrients in my water bottoming them out and it lead to Dino’s. This hobby can be brutal, set yourself up for success and invest in good live rock. I would honestly prioritize this over everything else.

 

[CrewePD210]

https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/money-saver-aquarium-dry-live-rock-by-the-lb-saltwateraquarium/
I used this product and was happy with it. They were huge rocks, and I had to break some to make them fit how I wanted them

 

[dym]

If you think $100 for rock is outside of budget then you should probably reconsider getting into the saltwater hobby. This is not a cheap hobby. Better to wait until you have more disposable income.

if you dumb it down like that ofc im gonna sound broke. if i do a 1:1 or 1:2 ratio of rocks per pound of gallon thats gonna be 625-1200, thats more than 6-12x than i spent for my tank itsself
its not 100 dollars for rock its 100 dollars for 10 percent of the way there im young so i cant earn anything yet

 

[dym]

I would look for live rock. Dry rock is manageable, but it is very easy for things to take over due to the lack of bio-diversity. For instance dinoflagellates or hair algae. I had TBS live rock and had zero issues with nuisance algae. As soon as I upgraded and added around 10 lbs of dry rock, the dry rock became infested with hair algae. Eventually I got Dino’s on my own wrong doings with nutrient imbalance. Dry rock absorbed my nutrients in my water bottoming them out and it lead to Dino’s. This hobby can be brutal, set yourself up for success and invest in good live rock. I would honestly prioritize this over everything else.

do u think i can introduce it later on? like cycle with dry rocks for a month then get 1/3rd of my tank worth of diver retrieved rock

 

[SirSaltyNutz]

Maybe also think about what type of sand, this may off set ligh amount of rock. Other strategies is very good mechanical filtration (keep waste low). What type of tank are you setting up (FOWL, soft corals, other?) Keep your bio load low and build slowly, maybe you add more rock over time to help. Good luck!

 

[CHSUB]

I got rock from chewy. $75 for 40 lbs about two years ago.

 

[dym]

I got rock from chewy. $75 for 40 lbs about two years ago.

how come some rocks have that blue discoloration

 

[dym]

Maybe also think about what type of sand, this may off set ligh amount of rock. Other strategies is very good mechanical filtration (keep waste low). What type of tank are you setting up (FOWL, soft corals, other?) Keep your bio load low and build slowly, maybe you add more rock over time to help. Good luck!

i have 80 lbs of caribsea aragonite sand and 20 lbs of it live on the way, its my first tank so i think itll stick to the easier stuff like soft corals
its gonna be FOWLR for a bit until its stable and im sure i wanna get corals, i been wanting to get a triggerfish and thanks

 

[CHSUB]

how come some rocks have that blue discoloration

Sun light though windows? Rock was perfectly white…

 

[Reef Jedi]

I have to agree with @slingfox. There are ways to cut corners however 90% of this hobby is expensive and not for the faint of heart financially. I personally wouldn’t cut corners on the rock. This is one of those things that if you don’t set your self up for success from the start then you’ll have a lot more problems down the road. I started one tank with dry rock before and had more issues and ultimately switched everything back to live rock.

More recently on this newest build, I bought 120lbs of Tampa bay saltwater premium rock. No issues and the rock is beautiful. Yes it’s expensive but you also get so many benefits from it that you won’t with dry rock.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had my budget builds in the past. But I still stuck to the live rock route and slowly bought rocks over time.

 

[drmofjeannie]

hi. i was wondering where i can get dry rock for cheap except facebook marketplace/craigslist etc. i wanna get marco rock but its 100 dollars for just 20 pounds, thats a bit pricey for me. is there some other kind of rock i can buy and is caribsea rocks good?

I bought 4 boxes of Carib sea from Petco on a buy one get 1 free deal last year. All my rock is carib sea. I put them on when I setup my aquarium last March.