New tank startup

bristleworm · 2026-08-29T22:51:39-0400

I'm getting back into marine after years of doing planted tanks.
Here is my question. I scored a great deal on some dry live rock and sand off Facebook.
I want to use it for my scape. But I'm also thinking about getting some Tampa Bay sand and rubble to Jumpstart the process

Is this a waste of money as it will go through the ugly stage with the dry rock anyway?

Tahoe61 · 2026-08-29T23:18:45-0400

I definitely don't think it's a waste of money.
IME that live rock can shorten the ugly phase. But it really depends on the size of the tank and the amount of LR and sand.
The diversity of bacteria has got to be better than bacteria in a bottle.

Welcome to R2R.

kevgib67 · 2026-08-30T09:32:32-0400

Welcome back, the more the better!

Hammy · 2026-08-30T10:21:41-0400

I wouldn’t call the live rock a waste of money. Good live rock gives you biodiversity and a much more mature biological base from day one, which dry rock just doesn’t have. You can still get algae and other ugly stages, but that doesn’t mean the rock was pointless. If the cost is the main concern, you could also mix the two instead of doing the whole scape with live rock

bristleworm · 2026-08-30T11:21:27-0400

Thanks for the replies.
The tank is a 25gal IM lagoon.
Here's my tentative plan .
Get the TBS jar package. Mix the sand in with substrate. Use the rubble rock to make islands for future corals.
Thoughts, ideas, welcome.

Mebbid · 2026-08-30T11:30:05-0400

Check out the serious reefs 90/10 method. I did mostly that myself with a lot of success. It is a subscription service to see their full videos, but 100% worth the price.

He suggests using some tampa bay live sand with the dry to kickstart things and make your life a lot easier. I got a small pack of the rock and sand and was very impressed with it. I will say, adding the live sand to the top of the dry is a much better choice than mixing it, if you mix it some of the beneficial organisms are just going to die off in the live sand.