New tank startup

[bristleworm]

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]

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]

Welcome back, the more the better!

 

[Hammy]

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]

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]

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.

 

[bristleworm]

Ah, good point about the mixing.

 

[bristleworm]

Poking around this site, Gulf Live Rock offers 4lbs of sand with cheaper shipping.
Any reason to not go this route?

 

[Mebbid]

Poking around this site, Gulf Live Rock offers 4lbs of sand with cheaper shipping.
Any reason to not go this route?

Looking at the pictures provided on the gulf live rock site, I'd say the tampa bay sand is higher quality. It appears that gulf live rock doesn't keep their sand submerged when harvested, since they have pictures of it in open air baskets whereas tampa bay transports theirs in seawater.

Is that enough to make a difference? Idk, id lean towards probably not if you are using it for bacteria and not potential hitchikers. All I know for sure is that tampa bay seems like a much more popular option although I can't say how much of that is a direct result of the serious reefs page vs quality of their product in comparison to others.

I did end up with a few corals, some neat sponges, and a little baby crab with just a few pounds of the tampa bay rock.

 

[bristleworm]

OK, I'm convinced to go with TBS. now what UPS package for a 25 gal lagoon?

 

[bristleworm]

So a little confused.
I'm convinced to go with live rock from TBS to get things rolling. But here is my question,
If I buy a base rock package how do I get the cool negative space aquascapes with ledges, caves, etc.
I get that you build them from dry rock, but do you just build your scape then add the live base rock around it? I guess this is called the hybrid method?

 

[Fish Fan]

So a little confused.
I'm convinced to go with live rock from TBS to get things rolling. But here is my question,
If I buy a base rock package how do I get the cool negative space aquascapes with ledges, caves, etc.
I get that you build them from dry rock, but do you just build your scape then add the live base rock around it? I guess this is called the hybrid method?

You can build your rock scape from dry rock in any shape you wish, and then place the TBS base rock in your sump, or around your rock as you said.

Or, you can build 'scapes with wet rock, one method is to use regular, non-gel superglue and baking soda. The baking soda acts as something like a quick-set and strengthens the joint. You need to rise very well any remaining baking soda before using in your tank. It's safe for the rocks to be out of water briefly, just don't let them dry out. You may lose some sponges that don't like air at all, but most of the beneficial critters will be fine.

 

[bristleworm]

I got a steal on lots of new dry rock so I'm attempting my own scape buidling.
I'm using my tablesaw to cut some flat surfaces on the base so if you don't hear from me for several days, I'm in the ER getting my fingers sown on! JKing..
Off to the hardware store to get a mason blade!

 

[Fish Fan]

I got a steal on lots of new dry rock so I'm attempting my own scape buidling.
I'm using my tablesaw to cut some flat surfaces on the base so if you don't hear from me for several days, I'm in the ER getting my fingers sown on! JKing..
Off to the hardware store to get a mason blade!

I would not advise trying your table saw unless you really know what you're doing!!!

I tried to make my own flat rocks one time before, and though I did not use my table saw, I tried all manor of rip saw blades and other saws, and I couldn't dent the stuff. It's not as easy to machine as you might think.

And, I am a woodworker and familiar with table saw kick-back, and if that saw wings a chunk of rock back at you it could be bad news.

If you try this, do not stand directly behind the rock, stand off to the side. Maybe build a sled to hold the rock and run it through with some kind of masonry bit.

If you're successful, please let me know how you did it

 

[JumboShrimp]

I would be hesitant to use a table saw on rocks. It's not like you own an unlimited number of fingers!

 

[bristleworm]

I've done a lot of mason cutting on it. So I kind.of know what I'm in for.
Maybe?

 

[BriDroid]

Not a waste of money at all. I added Gulf Live Rock rubble and Grunge to my new setup that was 50+ pounds of Marco Rock and 40 pounds of "live" sand. It made my ugly stage a lot shorter. I got cyano right after adding the Grunge and it lasted about 2-3 days and was gone. I treated mine as an "Insta-tank" since I moved over everything from my nano, and I didn't lose a single fish, coral or clam.

 

[bristleworm]

It worked, it cut really easy BUT.....and I thought of this before I started,
I'm worried about the residue that the blade leaves on the rock.
I got the first piece wet and it was the first cut so either the first cut or the moisture left a lot of blade residue. The second picture was dry and the blade is wearing in more, but I think I'll just chisel the pieces and pick a stable side.
So to recap, it was pretty easy to cut, much easier than masonry blocks, but the blade residue may be an issue. God only know what nasties are in there.