how to get rocks for cheap?

[Fish Fan]

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

OK, so the very first rule of saltwater aquarium keeping is that the tank is far and away NOT the most expensive thing you need. In fact, the tank is often one of the least expensive piece of equipment you need.

I'd like to see you successful with your 125 build, but honestly if this is your first saltwater tank, maybe just get started with something smaller, like a 20-40, which could then serve as a quarantine tank for your future 125.

I know a lot of replies here are suggesting live rock, and I agree that's going to be much better, but it's a lot more expensive.

Maybe try looking for some of the "negative space" aquaecapes that tend to use less pounds of rock/gallon of tank.

 

[Fish Fan]

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

This depends, what's the history of the rock? Did it very recently come out of a running tank, or has it been sitting stagnant for some time?

 

[dym]

This depends, what's the history of the rock? Did it very recently come out of a running tank, or has it been sitting stagnant for some time?

if the guy was being honest he said its diver retrieved from a place that got banned, it used to be live, something like those tampa bay live rock, with a mix of marco rocks from my local coral store. it had like 2 spiders in it so i think its been sitting for a while theres like dried up critters like crabs or worms. its sitting in my tub rn with 1:10 bleach solution for the past day do u think i can reuse it?

OK, so the very first rule of saltwater aquarium keeping is that the tank is far and away NOT the most expensive thing you need. In fact, the tank is often one of the least expensive piece of equipment you need.

I'd like to see you successful with your 125 build, but honestly if this is your first saltwater tank, maybe just get started with something smaller, like a 20-40, which could then serve as a quarantine tank for your future 125.

I now a lot of replies here are suggesting live rock, and I agree that's going to be much better, but it's a lot more expensive.

Maybe try looking for some of the "negative space" aquaecapes that tend to use less pounds of rock/gallon of tank.

i can i add like 20-30 pounds of live rock rock later on, like a month in? thx for the concern but im just doubting myself now. the only thing missing is the live rock tbh and i'll be set, starting small wouldnt do anything at this point except set me back even more and bigger tanks have more stability from what i know

 

[dym]

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.

honestly thanks but im too invested now the only thing left are rocks. i was just looking for alternatives because everyone says to get tampa bay rock and marco rocks it just feels like a sales pitch at this point

 

[Fish Fan]

if the guy was being honest he said its diver retrieved from a place that got banned, it used to be live, something like those tampa bay live rock, with a mix of marco rocks from my local coral store. it had like 2 spiders in it so i think its been sitting for a while theres like dried up critters like crabs or worms. its sitting in my tub rn with 1:10 bleach solution for the past day do u think i can reuse it?

Yes, it will be fine after bleach, just use it like dry base 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!

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

Good approach. I had a Niger in past FOWL tanks, careful with the cleanup crew for that could be a expensive snack for your triggerfish. Also secure corals good, triggerfish tend to knock them over. Are you including a sump? Refugium might be something to explore for nutrients exporting.

 

[BubbleAlgaeFarmer]

After the bleach, make sure to then soak it in rodi water to leach out the bleach and the nutrients it’ll give off from the dead organisms deep within the rock.

Others may have more to add to this process.

 

[sfin52]

After the bleach, make sure to then soak it in rodi water to leach out the bleach and the nutrients it’ll give off from the dead organisms deep within the rock.

Others may have more to add to this process.

If you can get the rocks out in sunlight it will help degrade the bleach. Lots of water changes to remove phosphates and nitrates.

 

[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.

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

What I am saying is this is not a cheap hobby. I am financially conservative so I discourage anyone without a decent amount of extra income from getting into the hobby. The single best way to get a tank setup for cheap is joining the local reefing club since many people give things away. Also look into the Chinese-made equipment. Usually they have no app or terrible app but that equipment generally works.

 

[DHill6]

honestly thanks but im too invested now the only thing left are rocks. i was just looking for alternatives because everyone says to get tampa bay rock and marco rocks it just feels like a sales pitch at this point

TBS rocks used, definitely not a sales pitch. Very stable, no nuisance algae’s, I’d use it all over again. Dealing with nuisance algae’s isn’t fun. I received rocks with coral, sponges, turnicates, anemones, macros and few bad crabs but evicted those.

 

[slingfox]

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.

honestly thanks but im too invested now the only thing left are rocks. i was just looking for alternatives because everyone says to get tampa bay rock and marco rocks it just feels like a sales pitch at this point

Don’t let yourself get deceived by sunk cost fallacy. This doesn’t only apply to reef keeping but all aspects of life.

It sounds like you are set on going with a 125g tank. For any tank I am in the camp that the single most important purchase is live ocean rock and/or live ocean sand/rubble. If you need to save money you may be able to get away with live ocean sand and/or rubble. I started my tank with dry rock. I eventually switched to live ocean rock. The dry rock was fine at the beginning but I ended up spending way too much dealing with the uglies.

I believe experienced reefkeeper can get a dry rock tank to work by porting over a bunch of coral or live rock. 100% dry rock is much more challenging for a new reefing who is building the tank from scratch.

 

[305]

honestly thanks but im too invested now the only thing left are rocks. i was just looking for alternatives because everyone says to get tampa bay rock and marco rocks it just feels like a sales pitch at this point

Where u located bro… i got a hookup down here in the keys for 1$ a lb. Marco equivalent.
Same w sand

 

[08TRDOFFROAD]

I just ordered a box of this for my frag system build. By far the cheapest per lb ($2.15) i could find. Very similar to Marco.

Dry Base Live Rock Box (40 lbs) South Seas - Caribsea

Shop The Best Saltwater Aquarium Equipment & Supplies at Saltwater Aquarium. We Carry Everything you will Need for your Fish Tank.

www.saltwateraquarium.com

 

[Indiana Reefin]

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

I would add some live rock before you add a lot of livestock. As soon as you start introducing nutrients to your tank, you run the risk of getting imbalanced. Just go slow and once you get some live rock and your bacteria levels balance out you will be able to increase your bio-load.

 

[chillout-reefer-dave]

"CoMe BaCk WhEn YoU aRe RiCh "
- Certain people on this forum

Here's some money saving tips for Chewy:
always check for coupons codes: New customers : WELCOME = $20 gift card GIFT20OFF for returning

sign up for auto ship and cancel right away, petco and petsmart have same thing. <-(this doesn't apply to these rocks) 35% off up to $20. They let you do this twice per year per item last I checked.

That's $40 off your big order so far...

Rakuten cash back works and is legit. I have used and got real checks in the mail. Think about all the large purchases it really adds up. Chewy is currently 2% but fluctuates (petsmart goes up to 20%). A penny saved is a penny earned.

Here is my advice: Load up a Chewy cart with essentials including the base rocks, test kit, salt, refractometer (they have one for $7!), etc whatever you think you'll buy anyway. Apply all codes, sign up for auto ship, then cancel. use rakuten browser extension. Pay using Paypal interest free "pay in 4" or if over 150, 6 month 0% APR financing.

Original rich guy total = $217 today,

Deal guy total = $0 today, $177.94 over 6 interest free monthly payments of $29.67 , and you added $3.56 to your rakuten balance.

You will get your order in 2 days and stop hemming and hawing over this or that.

Hobbies are for fun. I consider getting deals a hobby as well

Don't listen to people telling you to "come back when you have more money". This is only an expensive hobby if you 1. Are impatient. 2. Don't want to learn from a variety of resources. 3. Make over 100k salary and don't care. 4. Willing to go into debt/divorce.

My tiny little LFS here sold me the 40lb box of nature's ocean for $50 because he wanted the shelf space...
I think it helped that I built a solid relationship with them over time and they wanted to help me on a human level and not just take my money.
The most money I've saved is FB marketplace..you can't beat free.
Multiple local reefers around here run "businesses out of their home". They sell well aged live rock for $10/lb.
Seed the dry with live. Here is where patience comes in. Sure you can get it pre-painted purple to mimic life but you will know it's fake, and people say urchins just peel the paint off anyway fwiw.

- Live long and prosper

 

[chillout-reefer-dave]

What I am saying is this is not a cheap hobby. I am financially conservative so I discourage anyone without a decent amount of extra income from getting into the hobby. The single best way to get a tank setup for cheap is joining the local reefing club since many people give things away. Also look into the Chinese-made equipment. Usually they have no app or terrible app but that equipment generally works.

How much $ do you make per year? Do you have kids? How much have you spent on your tank and hobby? Ah yes the bias runs deep here. Im going to get flamed hard for this. Many, many a poor soul suffer from
Sunk Cost Fallacy

Belief Perseverance Effect​

 

[BobTheBlenney]

Yes, you can add rock later on. You can even add live rock if you cure it first, in other words, make sure all the ammonia and nitrates from dying organic material has been neutralized.

Like others have said, I would strongly encourage you to save up and buy as much live rock as you can. There's a thread on here about what reefers wished they had done differently when starting out, and I believe the majority said that they wished they had started with live rock instead of dry rock.

 

[08TRDOFFROAD]

FYI marco rock is on sale 20% off on BRS right now.

 

[Mid_Reefkeeper]

Marco rock is currently on sale for $2.79 a pound at online vendors.

 

[slingfox]

What I am saying is this is not a cheap hobby. I am financially conservative so I discourage anyone without a decent amount of extra income from getting into the hobby. The single best way to get a tank setup for cheap is joining the local reefing club since many people give things away. Also look into the Chinese-made equipment. Usually they have no app or terrible app but that equipment generally works.

How much $ do you make per year? Do you have kids? How much have you spent on your tank and hobby? Ah yes the bias runs deep here. Im going to get flamed hard for this. Many, many a poor soul suffer from
Sunk Cost Fallacy

Belief Perseverance Effect​

I will soon have to live on the streets unless I stop bidding on these coral auctions

On a serious note, I am somewhat concerned that OP is starting his first reef tank and it is 125 gallons and OP has stated he currently has no way to generate income. I hope he has a good local reefing club. Lots of generous folks in those clubs.