Old Ways vs New Ways of Reefing

[fish farmer]

I just placed an order for gulf ocean live rock. Going to see if we can create a system mixing the old methods and new methods. I’m thinking a 20% ratio of ocean live rock to dead rock. This would make it much more affordable than a 100% ocean rock system. We’ll observe the live rock to remove any pests before incorporating the dead rock into the system. Also, while we go though the observation process you can still make your NSA, or any other type of aquascape, and incorporate that into the full system when the time is right.

I think pods play a big role in these tanks, and are lacking in a dead rock system. Many people buy and buy pods to combat uglies. So while we work on the rock, we’ll create a separate detached pod system that will provide tons of pods to introduce to the system to help during the combination of the live and dead rocks. It will also provide an ongoing pod system once the final display tank is complete.

I've always set up tanks with a mix of live or dry (base) rock.

My first reef tank was 20 lbs of raw uncured Fiji mixed with about 15 lbs. of dry base/coral pieces from my early years. The base went on the bottom of the structure, partially buried in substrate...less likely to be in direct light.

My current reef is a mix of some of that original live rock with Marco dry rock set up around 2009. Throughout the years the Marco eventually livened up, but certain pieces seem to attract nuisance algae quicker than the coralline covered Fiji.

Last year I did a partial new aquascape with some Marco and a flat piece of dry Haitian I had in tanks for years. I did a month cycle of the structure in a bucket. Initially it started to cover with bits of coralline when I placed it and I expected it would stave off uglies, but it became a prominent place for cyano and GHA to take hold....I didn't bleach or do any major cleaning of the structure before using.

 

[Cool Fish]

I agree with the old ways. Have been doing this for 16 years and still do not have a Controller. My first tank was a LIVE rock start up and being a newby, there were issues, but everything seemed to correct itself since I was just feeling my way along. Started a new tank 2 years ago and have been having cyano/dino issues ever since. I used dry rock to get started. Big mistake. Bought pods, different kinds of algae, LIVE sand, all very expensive. So, I tried to keep from rebuidling the tank and rebooted with some LIVE rock and things were noticeably better although it was costly. But, still having the cyano/dino issue. Trying very hard not to add chemicals and keep a natural environment growth. Maybe I was just lucky back then. But, I had fish that were over 10 years old! I still have a Yellow Tang that is 11 years old! I believe you don't need to spend a lot of money to have a successful reef tank.

 

[RealReefHobbyist]

I agree with the old ways. Have been doing this for 16 years and still do not have a Controller. My first tank was a LIVE rock start up and being a newby, there were issues, but everything seemed to correct itself since I was just feeling my way along. Started a new tank 2 years ago and have been having cyano/dino issues ever since. I used dry rock to get started. Big mistake. Bought pods, different kinds of algae, LIVE sand, all very expensive. So, I tried to keep from rebuidling the tank and rebooted with some LIVE rock and things were noticeably better although it was costly. But, still having the cyano/dino issue. Trying very hard not to add chemicals and keep a natural environment growth. Maybe I was just lucky back then. But, I had fish that were over 10 years old! I still have a Yellow Tang that is 11 years old! I believe you don't need to spend a lot of money to have a successful reef tank.

Did you remove all the dry rock and do 100% live rock? Or did you add some live rock to your current system?

 

[Mechano]

When I set up my system I went onto Kijiji (Craigslist of the North) and acquired as many small pieces of Liverock from different established systems of 2 years minimum and still seen dinoflagellates.

I wish we could honestly get real Tampa Bay like live rock in Canada as I’d buy some in a heartbeat.

 

[Mechano]

I just placed an order for gulf ocean live rock. Going to see if we can create a system mixing the old methods and new methods. I’m thinking a 20% ratio of ocean live rock to dead rock. This would make it much more affordable than a 100% ocean rock system. We’ll observe the live rock to remove any pests before incorporating the dead rock into the system. Also, while we go though the observation process you can still make your NSA, or any other type of aquascape, and incorporate that into the full system when the time is right.

I think pods play a big role in these tanks, and are lacking in a dead rock system. Many people buy and buy pods to combat uglies. So while we work on the rock, we’ll create a separate detached pod system that will provide tons of pods to introduce to the system to help during the combination of the live and dead rocks. It will also provide an ongoing pod system once the final display tank is complete.

This will be an interesting project and look forward to hearing the results over the coming weeks

 

[RealReefHobbyist]

This will be an interesting project and look forward to hearing the results over the coming weeks

Thank you. I’m interested myself. lol I love the real ocean live rock and all the life it contains. I miss that part of today’s reef hobby.

 

[Mechano]

Thank you. I’m interested myself. lol I love the real ocean live rock and all the life it contains. I miss that part of today’s reef hobby.

Yeah same here. The rock while it was cycling was interesting to watch.

At the corner of your eye watching your rock “what was that moving!?!?” Lol

 

[RealReefHobbyist]

Rock is here! Man I missed this stuff lol So much more exciting than the white boring stuff

Have it cycling/curing in a small 10 gal aquarium with powerhead, heater, HOB filter and small light. I plan to use these 10 lbs to seed 40 lbs of dry rock.

 

[Mechano]

Rock is here! Man I missed this stuff lol So much more exciting than the white boring stuff

Have it cycling/curing in a small 10 gal aquarium with powerhead, heater, HOB filter and small light. I plan to use these 10 lbs to seed 40 lbs of dry rock.

Looks like you have some Halimeda algae. Cool , haven’t since that since having real ocean rock lol.
Also is that some sort of mollusc to the left of it?

 

[RealReefHobbyist]

Looks like you have some Halimeda algae. Cool , haven’t since that since having real ocean rock lol.
Also is that some sort of mollusc to the left of it?

Yeah! Not sure much of that will survive long. My previous experience was most of the larger visible life dies off. But the biome is what we want.

 

[driciladr]

I miss the old rock ways. I got Fiji rock on my first tank and one day I look over and an entire 3lb piece sort of moved - gosh dang clam or something was a part of the rock - every day it would move a little opening. Tank crashed in a move from apt to house. Never recovered. Started over but wasn’t same. Those critters and hitchhikers were amazing to watch. I didn’t buy lots of corals, I just sort of cultivated the weird stuff on my rock lol. No Dino’s no cyano, T5 on with timer, no schedules to be a genius for with apps.

This new start I got some cultured rock and LFS rock and it’s meh- cycle was okay but having all bad ugly stuff I never really dealt with back in the day.

 

[RealReefHobbyist]

I miss the old rock ways. I got Fiji rock on my first tank and one day I look over and an entire 3lb piece sort of moved - gosh dang clam or something was a part of the rock - every day it would move a little opening. Tank crashed in a move from apt to house. Never recovered. Started over but wasn’t same. Those critters and hitchhikers were amazing to watch. I didn’t buy lots of corals, I just sort of cultivated the weird stuff on my rock lol. No Dino’s no cyano, T5 on with timer, no schedules to be a genius for with apps.

This new start I got some cultured rock and LFS rock and it’s meh- cycle was okay but having all bad ugly stuff I never really dealt with back in the day.

Curious how much per pound for LFS live rock? With overnight shipping my ocean rock cost about $14/lb. Which would be less per lb if I bought more.

I haven’t seen much LFS live rock I’d want in my tanks lol

 

[driciladr]

Curious how much per pound for LFS live rock? With overnight shipping my ocean rock cost about $14/lb. Which would be less per lb if I bought more.

I haven’t seen much LFS live rock I’d want in my tanks lol

i didn’t pay attention to cost at store I just kept telling the guy to get this and that and I paid lol

But I did get some ocean cultured rock from Tampa bay saltwater and I just got 2lbs and it cost a lot.

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

Yeah! Not sure much of that will survive long. My previous experience was most of the larger visible life dies off. But the biome is what we want.

I got about 20lbs of rock from Gulf Live Rock for my classroom tank. Sponges and clams on most pieces, and everything lived.

 

[RealReefHobbyist]

I got about 20lbs of rock from Gulf Live Rock for my classroom tank. Sponges and clams on most pieces, and everything lived.

I’ve had the sponges and that stuff live. But not the clams or macro algaes. I’m surprised how much can live being out of the water for 24 hours.

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

I’ve had the sponges and that stuff live. But not the clams or macro algaes. I’m surprised how much can live being out of the water for 24 hours.

Everything I’ve gotten has been shipped in water. So I’ve got 4 clams that are doing great.

 

[RealReefHobbyist]

Everything I’ve gotten has been shipped in water. So I’ve got 4 clams that are doing great.

Was that from Tampa Bay Saltwater? They’re great for shipping in water. Most other ship damp with paper towels. This is how mine arrived.

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

Was that from Tampa Bay Saltwater? They’re great for shipping in water. Most other ship damp with paper towels. This is how mine arrived.

The last batch was from Gulf Live Rock. I didn’t notice quite the visible level of biodiversity that I’ve seen on TB, but it was still plenty…and the rock was cheaper.

I’m in the process of setting up a live live rock bin seeded with the maricultured rock. Very few herbivores, lot of water flow, lot of light over part of it, and then we’ll just dump skimmate and detritus from the system in there as well as some planktonic food, and see what happens.

 

[RealReefHobbyist]

The last batch was from Gulf Live Rock. I didn’t notice quite the visible level of biodiversity that I’ve seen on TB, but it was still plenty…and the rock was cheaper.

I’m in the process of setting up a live live rock bin seeded with the maricultured rock. Very few herbivores, lot of water flow, lot of light over part of it, and then we’ll just dump skimmate and detritus from the system in there as well as some planktonic food, and see what happens.

The reason I went with Gulf Live Rock for testing was that it was cheaper and could be shipped right away overnight to the house. Tampa Bay Saltwater is the best tho IMO. They weren’t shipping right away but their process of shipping underwater is awesome.

The rock from Gulf Live Rock was pretty impressive tho and from first impressions, I would definitely use it for a new setup. ,

 

[RealReefHobbyist]

I’m considering a couple different options to incorporate the dry rock (new way) into the ocean rock (old way) system.

I could just combine the dry rock and live rock into the same aquarium under moderate lighting. But based on comments in this thread, it seems like the uglies will still take hold of the dry rock.

My thought is to add the dry rock to a dark garbage can and leave the live rock in the aquarium under moderate lighting. Then add a return pump from the garbage can and use that almost like a sump to the aquarium. This should introduce the biome from the live rock to the dry rock while not giving the dry rock lighting to grow undesirable algaes.

Thoughts?