New Reef question..... live rock vs. dry rock

[AcroNem]

I've always been a live rock kind of guy. Any hitchhikers just add to it and can be dealt with if needed, after all biodiversity is important. In my opinion we see too many "sterile" reef systems out there and it just takes away from it. I'd also advocate to buy cultured live rock versus full on wild imported rock like @saltyfilmfolks said. Yes, live rock is a different process to get established, but the way I see it the "downsides" are nothing compared to problems we've seen from dead rock. Just my take, choose your option the way you'd like

 

[keddre]

@AcroNem and @saltyfilmfolks why would both of you skip wild rock? While I wouldn't do a full on wild rock tank, I would do a couple pieces for the instant biodiversity. Granted you can get that diversity with live rock, but I find wild does a better job. Thanks

 

[AcroNem]

@AcroNem and @saltyfilmfolks why would both of you skip wild rock? While I wouldn't do a full on wild rock tank, I would do a couple pieces for the instant biodiversity. Granted you can get that diversity with live rock, but I find wild does a better job. Thanks

What I mean by "wild" is harvested rock, cultured rock is still cultured in the ocean but isn't taken off of a reef. So it still has a ridiculous amount of biodiversity. The last cultured rock I got had the most life I had seen in a long time.

 

[Crashjack]

I went 100% dry. I cured in a tub for 8 weeks. I added Biospira and ghost fed for 6 weeks. The last 2 weeks I added MB7 and Seachem bacteria. I basically cycled the rock in the big tub.

The first time I was in the hobby, I started with mostly live in both of my tanks. This time I went 100% dry, very similar process to what Old Glory did. My dry this time was Pukani, which I love. It's very cool to watch my lawn mower blenny enter and exit holes in the rock, and I'm not talking one or two holes; I'm talking too many to count. Live gives you coralline algae and hitchhikers. Dry gives you the chance to watch the rock morph into live. Dry is a lot cheaper, and both work fine for cycling and biological filtration.

 

[Isabella rubalcaba]

Hello all fellow reefers! I'm in the process of setting up my 75G reef tank and had a question. Probably a common question though. I'm between buying live rock or just buying dry rock. Should I just start with the dry rock? I just don't want to start off on the wrong foot and get live rock and it be infested with bad hitch hikers but on the other hand I could get live rock with awesome bacteria and other things on it that are good for filtration. What is your opinion? Annnndddd GO!

I used dry rock for my 90 gal. And its a thriving happy mixed reef tank ! Used small chunks of LR & added bacteria colonies to cycle the tank & seed the dry rock now my rock is COVERED in coraline !!! Take a look at my pic for reference !!

Ive been setting up a 600(586) and im on a tight budget. Im going dry because you do get more pound per pound since theres no water wight. I have time and some live already so i just put my dry in a bin with a sample of live and dose some food to feed the bacteria and it spreads very fast in the right conditions. Within a month i have live rock, i let it cure for at least 3-4 months before i use it.
With this its easier to work on a budget and no hitchhikers.
The filtration quality depends on its treatment during cure with is very minor requirements and on the original sample seeded.

Ive been setting up a 600(586) and im on a tight budget. Im going dry because you do get more pound per pound since theres no water wight. I have time and some live already so i just put my dry in a bin with a sample of live and dose some food to feed the bacteria and it spreads very fast in the right conditions. Within a month i have live rock, i let it cure for at least 3-4 months before i use it.
With this its easier to work on a budget and no hitchhikers.
The filtration quality depends on its treatment during cure with is very minor requirements and on the original sample seeded.

Ive been setting up a 600(586) and im on a tight budget. Im going dry because you do get more pound per pound since theres no water wight. I have time and some live already so i just put my dry in a bin with a sample of live and dose some food to feed the bacteria and it spreads very fast in the right conditions. Within a month i have live rock, i let it cure for at least 3-4 months before i use it.
With this its easier to work on a budget and no hitchhikers.
The filtration quality depends on its treatment during cure with is very minor requirements and on the original sample seeded.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

@AcroNem and @saltyfilmfolks why would both of you skip wild rock? While I wouldn't do a full on wild rock tank, I would do a couple pieces for the instant biodiversity. Granted you can get that diversity with live rock, but I find wild does a better job. Thanks

I personally would go full blown live rock. For me , Fiji over Florida.

For others, maybe not so much. I just think folks should know the differences in the process involving each. And stop trying to label them as best. Best is an opinion.

 

[125gSW]

I started off with dry rock, and right now it's going through the diatom phase. But what I did is that I was able to get a very small piece (size of palm) of live rock from a trusted friend and put that in the tank. This way this small rock is a "seeder" for the coralline algae color that I like

 

[Isabella rubalcaba]

I started off with dry rock, and right now it's going through the diatom phase. But what I did is that I was able to get a very small piece (size of palm) of live rock from a trusted friend and put that in the tank. This way this small rock is a "seeder" for the coralline algae color that I like

Thats kind of what i did ! Lol it works just fine, LR is great but some of us folks dont have the money. My tank runs on 90% dry rock that is now LIVE LIVE LIVE !!! Haha .. give it some time, glad you reached your diatoms now soon enough add that clean up crew !!!

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Live rock guy, but you can get some bad stuff if you're not careful... still tho, the good outweighs the bad. Jump starts a new tank by 6 months, easily.

 

[125gSW]

Thats kind of what i did ! Lol it works just fine, LR is great but some of us folks dont have the money. My tank runs on 90% dry rock that is now LIVE LIVE LIVE !!! Haha .. give it some time, glad you reached your diatoms now soon enough add that clean up crew !!!

I cheated a bit and already added bacteria in the beginning then dosed with pods so I have some livestock in there lol

Being patient stinks ;Shifty

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Live rock guy, but you can get some bad stuff if you're not careful... still tho, the good outweighs the bad. Jump starts a new tank by 6 months, easily.

Or six minutes.
I can pull live rock from my tank and put it in a friends tank across town and put fish in it. Corals too.

 

[Isabella rubalcaba]

I cheated a bit and already added bacteria in the beginning then dosed with pods so I have some livestock in there lol

Being patient stinks ;Shifty

Not at all thats awesome !! Even with the added cost of adding bacteria/pods/blah blah it totally outweighs the cost of $7-$9 a POUND for live rock !! Lol doing what u gotta do if you ask me !!! I did the same and was totally worth it, stay patient friend !

 

[Jorge Linares]

For my current build I went dry. I seeded with some chunks of marine pure from my biocube and various "bacteria in a bottle" products. I wanted to control the process as much as possible even though I know I can't control everything. Factors included: price, easier scaping, control of process and experimentation.

 

[jimmyzhou]

I do dry rock this is about 2 month old pics of dry rock turn greens than in 7-12 month all purple

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Or six minutes.
I can pull live rock from my tank and put it in a friends tank across town and put fish in it. Corals too.

Oh yea completely possible. I was saying it can turn a band new tank into a 6 month old tank, in 6 minutes.

 

[Velcro]

Thank you for all of your opinions! This is why I like this forum so much! Just a wealth of knowledge! I decided this morning to go half live/ half dry. I went and picked out my rock and set it up in my tank. Before doing so I did a quick freshwater dip and pulled out a few hitch hikers. . And I didn't pull them out with the rusty plyers. One was about 5" long

Those are good.

 

[Velcro]

My next tank will hands down be live rock. I've used dry in the past and I'm not a fan of the sterile look and function as compared to rock with microfauna.

 

[Mikeinthekeys]

If I were to start a tank fresh I would definitely choose to have all live rock. You get a much more natural look, along with decreased cycling time . Although, if you are on a budget, perhaps you should consider purchasing some dry rock and some live rock. The organisms in the live rock will eventually find their way onto the dry rock.

 

[Niterunner77]

Thank you for all the responses!

 

[Mikeinthekeys]

Thank you for all of your opinions! This is why I like this forum so much! Just a wealth of knowledge! I decided this morning to go half live/ half dry. I went and picked out my rock and set it up in my tank. Before doing so I did a quick freshwater dip and pulled out a few hitch hikers. . And I didn't pull them out with the rusty plyers. One was about 5" long

That looks like a dorvilleidea. They are pretty harmless. Good for your tank