Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
150 TallPeople use less rock now a days because there is lot of different bio media now. But the word enough is the tricky part of the question. I can use alot of bio media and have less rock but it will still be enough. I have alot of rock myself n could take some out n easily still have enough. I wonder how many people have tried no rock n lots of ceramic bio media, and how it worked out for them. I might experiment with a 10 gallonn a couple fish to see how it works like six months down the road.
I chose other, depends, cost is a factor. 90gal or less i'd go all live rock 60% base/ coralline 40% Deco/premium. Larger tanks I'd 50% dry, 50% live. I'd also use dry to get a specific shape, size or configuration. My current tank is 30-40lbs dry rock from friends beach property, 100lb gulf rock, 50lb tonga branch and 100lbs plus various pieces live/dry from other places.I don't think people do this anymore. They want either ghost white or painted purple for the most part. To be fair their other options are mostly limited. Gone are the days of sifting through big bins for that perfect piece. Worried you might get stung by a random worm or something else.
Occasionally you'd hear about people finding hitchhiker fish, or there was a very popular thread about a hitchhiker octopus. Sponges of all different colours and shapes. Other random things. Stometellas and other free cleanup crews. I know I still have a healthy population and the last time I purchased live rock was around 2008. A few aiptasia and other pests seem to have ruined the appeal for whatever reason. I did get hydroids from live rock then but 12+ years later it still hasn't taken over or ruined any of my tanks. That and the regulations involving live rock, despite the fact in many places it's used in construction.
Most of my live rock is from Fiji and Tonga. Unfortunately I don't have any tonga branch but some big pieces I got when I first started my 112 gallon reef in 2006. In late 2005 I started a nano and got a very small amount of Haitian lettuce rock. I still remember the awe of my very first reef store visit seeing 5000+ lbs of rock spread across all the coral vats. It was a brand new store that had nothing but the rock. The owner helped me section off a 2 foot by 1 foot area to build my first aquascape for my first 15g nano tank. Taking it home and hoping to see a worm pop out or identifying random pods was very exciting.
The one real legitimate benefit to dry rock is it can greatly improve aquascapes. You can do most of this with live rock too but if you want to spend days or weeks doing it then it pretty much has to be dry.
Unfortunately, options are limited now, but there is no substitute for live rock. You can only get cultured from either Fiji or the Gulf.
Bacteria in a bottle is not diversity and does not do the same thing as live rock. Dry rock can never become diverse unless you introduce that stuff into your tank.
Sponges, cryptic sponges, worms, all kinds of pods, starfish and all kinds of other unidentified microbes are super important. A trip to IPSF can get some of this if people start with dry rock, but then you have to wait many months for them to take hold.
You never used to see people losing so many algae, dino or diatom battles when real live rock was used. Real live rock was also devoid of bound phosphate. Also, saw fewer fish diseases - it amazes me that people do not want parasites or pests and start with dry rock not know that they are creating an idea sterile breeding ground for ich and other fish parasites when the ich has to fight for it's life in a truly biodiverse tank.
I have a mix going back to the 1990s from Great Barrier Reef to Marshall Island (the best), Fiji, Tonga, etc. The stuff is porous, lightweight and beautiful.
People use less rock now a days because there is lot of different bio media now. But the word enough is the tricky part of the question. I can use alot of bio media and have less rock but it will still be enough. I have alot of rock myself n could take some out n easily still have enough. I wonder how many people have tried no rock n lots of ceramic bio media, and how it worked out for them. I might experiment with a 10 gallonn a couple fish to see how it works like six months down the road.
How long have you had that tank running with life rock, I have live rock in 2 of my tanks and I have had that rock for over 15 years, I then started a fluval 13.5 gallon tank with life rock 2 years ago and I have had many issues with it, currently going through dinoflagellates. I regret going that way now.Carib sea life rock imo the best.
Buying different shapes, sizes, shelves, and arches makes for easy aquascaping.
Easy to cycle
It’s color
Worth the money and I personally won’t ever use anything else.
How long have you had that tank running with life rock, I have live rock in 2 of my tanks and I have had that rock for over 15 years, I then started a fluval 13.5 gallon tank with life rock 2 years ago and I have had many issues with it, currently going through dinoflagellates. I regret going that way now.
I agree a little with what your saying about volume, but I have the same age live rock in a 7 gallon, and my main 24 gal. But I thought I'd try the dry rock route, which I am regretting. I use the same collected natural sea water on all 3 tanks. I can't get coraline algae to grow in the dry rock tank even though I've put scrapping in there. The 7 gallon tank is the easiest tank I've had to run that tank is over 4 years old now.With a tank that small, issue could be other problems and not simply because of the live rock. You still need to maintain nutrient levels, etc regardless of which rock you use in the system. Not saying that you aren't maintaining the system, but a 13.5 gallon tank is way more difficult than a say 500g system.
Been running tank since Aug 2019. Started off from day one running triton method and have very little issues. The one I had recently was when I decided to take gfo offline, phosphates started to creep up and small spots of cyano started.How long have you had that tank running with life rock