Live rock, or Dead rock. Which do you prefer?

[Crabs McJones]

When setting up a new tank, or upgrading, or adding to an existing tank, do you prefer dead rock with no hitchikers? Or live rock with all the diversity that comes with it? Perhaps a combination of both? And does cost factor in for you?
Interested to hear everyones thoughts.
For me personally it was a combination of both. Cost was a factor for me as I was just starting out. Ordered 40lbs of dry rock from @reefcleaners and then picked up a couple chunks of live rock from my local fish store to seed the rest of the rock.
Even with 3 small chunks of live rock I was still able to get bristleworms, asterina starfish, and ball anemone hitchikers in the tank.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I started with dry rock in my main tank but had live rock in my pico tank. I prefer live rock over dry but I get the appeal of both!

 

[edsbeaker]

I prefer dead rock because I enjoy the process of aquascaping and don’t want to spend time trapping and removing possible bad hitchhikers. I have nothing against live rock, but don’t think it’s superior, just different from dry. There are advantages and disadvantages to both.

 

[BryanM]

Live rock 100%. I wish it wasn't so expensive, but if you can afford it, "This is the way".

 

[Crabs McJones]

Bump!

 

[AlyciaMarie Verified Admin]

My first tank: Live Rock
Second tank: Dry Rock
Next tank: Going back to Live Rock

 

[Netfish and Chill]

My first tank: Live Rock
Second tank: Dry Rock
Next tank: Going back to Live Rock

100% my sentiments. The hitchikers can be taken care of, but the lack of headaches with live rock (uglies, dinos, etc) make live rock far superior in my eyes. I'll never do dry rock again.