I've seen tons of live rock and dry rock. Any benefit to getting one vs the other? Also have seen Marcos rock. Looks really nice and easy to scape with. Any suggestions on other types of rock?
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Thanks for the response. I am mainly looking to get rock that I can work with the easiest. I like that the dry rock can be messed with and set up outside of the tank.I’m sure you will get great pros and cons arguments from successful reefers on here.
My 2c - as someone who’s grown corals in bare plastic tubs and small bare 10g tanks, I don’t think rocks are essential for growth so would say that it doesn’t matter if you use live or dry rock. Rock porosity/surface is important for the biofilter. It may take slightly longer for the tank to stabilize if using dry rock and there could be a different biome supported in your tank if using live vs. dry. We don’t have any conclusive evidence that one is more beneficial than other.
Yes I was thinking the same thing.To me, using dry rock is taking the long way around. Why start from scratch when you can get a head start? You will have a little die off with live rock and you might get some hitchhikers but that’s ok with me. I prefer that to seeing white chunks of bare rock for six months. Live rock has so many biological and chemical advantages that it’s worth the extra cost too.
The only reason I would go with dry rock, would be if I chose to purchase some of the prefabricated stuff in all the cool shapes. But, when you do that, you pay more than you would for live rock.
Can you elaborate on this please?Depends on the definition of live rock? Flown in overnight from Florida is liverock. Rock at the lfs in a tub is not really liverock
Thanks for the adviceIf you want your box of water to have accurate life from a specific part of the ocean and don’t mind the potential for pests and nuisance algea/coral then live rock is your best bet. If you want a vastly reduced cycle time then live rock is what you want.
Keep in mind the more it’s out of oxygenated water, the more stuff on it dies. This becomes troublesome with intricate aquascape designs. The biggest con for most people is the price difference. Live rock cost substantially more.
Dry rock is usually man made so it has less of a bio load capacity. You can however find dry rock that was live. You need to set aside atleast a week or two to “cure” it. It smells nasty while curing. The price is much less.
You can take your time aquascaping. You get to add everything you want in your tank from the plankton to the pods to the coral. As long as you dip/inspect your coral well, you should have a very low chance to get surprises.
I agree with this. Every time I’ve started a tank, I’ve ordered rock straight out of the ocean. There is a huge amount of biodiversity that can’t be found in any vat in a LFS. Some would argue with that but I’ve seen tanks of all different kinds and I prefer “real” live rock. I’m willing to take all the aggravating stuff to have a more accurate representation of what’s in the ocean.Can you elaborate on this please?
When we set up our 500 gallon tank years ago, we were put in contact with one of the few licensed collectors in the Marshall Islands. He drop shipped 550 # of Marshall Islands rock via Delta Dash. We went to the airport with our truck and picked up a few dozen boxes of rock, brought it home, set it all out on the patio, sorted it, and zip tied it to a rack to be put in the tank. Even after all that, we had very little die off... we had pistol shrimp, crabs, snails and a mantis survive it all. It had beautiful macro algae and live sponges of every color growing everywhere. It was spectacular... and, yes, it cost us tons! When I think of live rock, that’s what I think of.... real ocean rock...straight from the water. That is, after all, the whole point. Even if you purchase dry rock, you want it to look like the real stuff when it’s all said and done, so why not just start there?I started with dry rock 2 months ago. Algea won't currently grow in my tank with the lights on 12hrs/day. But once it gets introduced I won't be able to control it. This is because I will only have that one species in my tank.
If you start with TRUE LIVE ROCK, this rock is already in balance with many varieties of bacteria, algea, microorganisms, macro organisms, etc. Anything else that you add (sand, carbon, GFO, etc.) that can grow bacteria will need to reach balance.
TRUE LIVE ROCK WILL NOT BE WHITE!!!!
If you are interested in TRUE LIVE ROCK, there are 3 online vendors currently known to R2R.
https://www.kpaquatics.com/product/aquacultured-live-rock/
http://gulfliverock.com/premium-decorative-rock.html
https://www.tbsaltwater.com/index.html
Tbsaltwater will only same day airfreight which means you will have to drive to the airport to pick up from the airfreight terminal. My nearest terminal is 2 hours away so I probably won't be going that route. Maybe your local airport is on the list.
Thank you. Connections are always good to have especially in this hobbyI started with dry rock 2 months ago. Algea won't currently grow in my tank with the lights on 12hrs/day. But once it gets introduced I won't be able to control it. This is because I will only have that one species in my tank.
If you start with TRUE LIVE ROCK, this rock is already in balance with many varieties of bacteria, algea, microorganisms, macro organisms, etc. Anything else that you add (sand, carbon, GFO, etc.) that can grow bacteria will need to reach balance.
TRUE LIVE ROCK WILL NOT BE WHITE!!!!
If you are interested in TRUE LIVE ROCK, there are 3 online vendors currently known to R2R.
https://www.kpaquatics.com/product/aquacultured-live-rock/
http://gulfliverock.com/premium-decorative-rock.html
https://www.tbsaltwater.com/index.html
Tbsaltwater will only same day airfreight which means you will have to drive to the airport to pick up from the airfreight terminal. My nearest terminal is 2 hours away so I probably won't be going that route. Maybe your local airport is on the list.
I love everyone's enthusiasm. Makes me want to grow even more in the hobby.When we set up our 500 gallon tank years ago, we were put in contact with one of the few licensed collectors in the Marshall Islands. He drop shipped 550 # of Marshall Islands rock via Delta Dash. We went to the airport with our truck and picked up a few dozen boxes of rock, brought it home, set it all out on the patio, sorted it, and zip tied it to a rack to be put in the tank. Even after all that, we had very little die off... we had pistol shrimp, crabs, snails and a mantis survive it all. It had beautiful macro algae and live sponges of every color growing everywhere. It was spectacular... and, yes, it cost us tons! When I think of live rock, that’s what I think of.... real ocean rock...straight from the water. That is, after all, the whole point. Even if you purchase dry rock, you want it to look like the real stuff when it’s all said and done, so why not just start there?
My most recent tank has 20# of KP Aquatics rock from Key West. It is pretty but nothing beats Marshall Islands rock. I don’t even know where to get it anymore.