Torn about rock choice for first reef tank

[Nano_Tuners]

Tropic Eden makes the best synthetic rock on the market hands down. Makes caribsea look like litter box cat turds…

I think only premium aquatics carries it

 

[stephanjupillat]

I’d recommend Tamp Bay live sand. As much as you can afford. Most of the bacteria imo is in the sand. Don’t clean it. It’s delivered like coral and placed directly into your tank.

Rock is up to you. I added a few lbs of live rock but don’t think it’s essential. I have mostly Marco. Live rock is better, but even more expensive and can come with more unwanted guests. Just my 2c

 

[kourtnee]

I did dry rock in my display and seeded my sump with live rock rubble from TBS. I had some pest issues early on (cirolanid isopods, poly clad flatworm, gorilla crab) but they’ve been irradiated by now and I’m glad I have the biodiversity of live rock.
You could do a combo like I did… get a majority of dry rock and a small 5lbs rubble box from TBS. Less space for pests, but still come wild critters and diverse nitrifying bacteria.

do you have any pictures of the rock you received from TBS?

 

[likemike99]

all depends on if you want quicker or mroe reliable. the live rock will get you up and running faster but if you have an issue are you prepared? the dry rock ( i would use marco- I still have some of his fiji rock from 10yrs ago- absolutely beautiful) will be a safer bet for no parasites but since it is not seeded with the live bacteria it will take longer for you to be able to fully stock your tank. I do not think there is a "right" answer, (like most of the hobby) but more of works best for you. we are all different people- risk taking, skill, time aloted...

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Just a note: Most of the carib sea stuff is man made, non porous stuff. Marco rocks is actual prehistoric coral. So while not alive, it is at least real. If you want to make an aquascape I would use Marco and also live rock and or sand/rubble. If you did not want to do a premade aquascape, I would go with all live rock. There is so much life, you may not want to add anything else for a while, especially in a nano where you can see the details better.
Don't be fooled with the illusion that by starting out with a sterile (dry rock) tank you will be spared of pests, It is not true.
But the most important reason to use live rock, rubble or sand is the diverse biome you will get from the ocean. You will not get that even from sump live rock from your LFS. LFS biome is different and not as diverse as the oceans.

 

[MissMolly]

I am aware of the discussions on this topic and I don't mean to offend anyone by posting more on this topic but I really need to get this off of my chest and I need help weighing my options. I want to apologize beforehand if I mess up any terminology.

Anyway, I am trying to decide between Marco rocks dry, caribsea dry live, and live Florida ocean rock. (or if you have another recommendation, include that below)

Caribsea - I've heard good things about it from my lfs, and this was my initial pick, because it's on so many YouTube videos. Now, the downsides (from what I have seen) are the price and the supposed algae and dino outbreaks caused by it.
MarcoRocks - Marco rocks has really good reviews on BRS, and I love that it's pretty much sterile, it's the cheapest of the 3, and it seems to be the easiest to scape (and most attractive scape imo), but the downsides are the little bacteria (meaning longer cycle) and similar to caribsea I've read about algae outbreaks on the forum.
Live Florida Ocean rock - I've heard mostly good things about this rock, but I'm having a hard time getting around the steep price and the insane amount creatures coming in on that rock (both good and bad) and I don't know if I wan't to deal with that. The pros are the very short cycle, the minimal algae (from what I've read on the forum), and I guess the established look.

For a little more context, I am setting up a red sea max nano g2 cube (20 gallons), It's going to be mostly softies and lps, and I'm planning on a clownfish pair, obviously some sort of cleanup crew, and possibly a goby (or something along those lines). The tank has aio filtration (no sump). If I were running a sump I would go with dry rock in the tank and the Florida live rock in the sump, but for this situation, I just have no idea. Any opinions or advice would be much appreciated.

UNPOPULAR BUT MODERN OPINION!

Hi, prior to setting up my two tanks I watched the whole BRStv series experimnet on biomen and the tanks with dry rock actually did GREAT. They didn't get as pesty as the ones with live rock. To avoid hithc hikers and pests I chose dry rock (it was Arka Reef rock for me) for both tanks and I kept the lights off for a few month until a healthy biomen had established. I didn't even go through the ugly fase!!!! The rocks soon had some pretty nice alage growth on them. I never had issues with cycling neither. I used live sand from caribsea. Now a year later rocks are starting to grow coralline, sand is still as white as the day it came out of the box,

So many old fahsioned people that might not have read up on "new ways" will tell you that dry rock sucks. But reality is that it works great - with lot less pest issues.

 

[LovinlifeinGuam]

Honestly, I dont think the amount of rubble that Ive seen advertised is actually enough to do what it's claimed to do because of competition between bacteria...in addition to the fact that the bacteria youll get are primarily going to be living on the surface of the rock so spreading throughout the tank isnt particularly easy. Just my thoughts.

 

[LovinlifeinGuam]

UNPOPULAR BUT MODERN OPINION!

Hi, prior to setting up my two tanks I watched the whole BRStv series experimnet on biomen and the tanks with dry rock actually did GREAT. They didn't get as pesty as the ones with live rock. To avoid hithc hikers and pests I chose dry rock (it was Arka Reef rock for me) for both tanks and I kept the lights off for a few month until a healthy biomen had established. I didn't even go through the ugly fase!!!! The rocks soon had some pretty nice alage growth on them. I never had issues with cycling neither. I used live sand from caribsea. Now a year later rocks are starting to grow coralline, sand is still as white as the day it came out of the box,

So many old fahsioned people that might not have read up on "new ways" will tell you that dry rock sucks. But reality is that it works great - with lot less pest issues.

Instead of a "modern" opinion, it just sounds more like an opinion led by a company. It is interesting that you seem to be one of very few who used all dry rock and didn't have an "ugly phase" though.

 

[likemike99]

Instead of a "modern" opinion, it just sounds more like an opinion led by a company. It is interesting that you seem to be one of very few who used all dry rock and didn't have an "ugly phase" though.

this is the issue with ALL dry rock. It takes alot longer (shrimplover- left lights off for a few months). with ALL live rock start you can add fish sooner. using rubble and dry rock is quicker than ALL DRY rock but not nearly as fast as ALL live rock, alot of it comes down to price you are willing to pay and the amount of patients you have

 

[twentyleagues]

I started this tank with all Marco dry rock. I didnt have an ugly stage. I did wait until it was completely cycled (I know the cycle is on going just all phases were complete) before adding any fish or corals. I added lots of pods and a few bristle worms and some mini brittle stars. Dont kid yourself you will get aiptasia and probably some pest algaes (mine is bubble algae from the 1st tank back to the hobby I used lfs sump live rock) stuff will come in on frags. I think I waited a month for the "cycle" to complete, in my mind its not a race I was not in a hurry like with the first tank back. You will get some uglies its all in how its managed whether it turns into a full blown problem or not. Sorry turn your sound down my fish room is loud.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

I am aware of the discussions on this topic and I don't mean to offend anyone by posting more on this topic but I really need to get this off of my chest and I need help weighing my options. I want to apologize beforehand if I mess up any terminology.

Anyway, I am trying to decide between Marco rocks dry, caribsea dry live, and live Florida ocean rock. (or if you have another recommendation, include that below)

Caribsea - I've heard good things about it from my lfs, and this was my initial pick, because it's on so many YouTube videos. Now, the downsides (from what I have seen) are the price and the supposed algae and dino outbreaks caused by it.
MarcoRocks - Marco rocks has really good reviews on BRS, and I love that it's pretty much sterile, it's the cheapest of the 3, and it seems to be the easiest to scape (and most attractive scape imo), but the downsides are the little bacteria (meaning longer cycle) and similar to caribsea I've read about algae outbreaks on the forum.
Live Florida Ocean rock - I've heard mostly good things about this rock, but I'm having a hard time getting around the steep price and the insane amount creatures coming in on that rock (both good and bad) and I don't know if I wan't to deal with that. The pros are the very short cycle, the minimal algae (from what I've read on the forum), and I guess the established look.

For a little more context, I am setting up a red sea max nano g2 cube (20 gallons), It's going to be mostly softies and lps, and I'm planning on a clownfish pair, obviously some sort of cleanup crew, and possibly a goby (or something along those lines). The tank has aio filtration (no sump). If I were running a sump I would go with dry rock in the tank and the Florida live rock in the sump, but for this situation, I just have no idea. Any opinions or advice would be much appreciated.

I used 50/50 live rock and base rock! Live rock is very pricey, but you will definitely want some in your set up! It is by far, the absolute best way to introduce biodiversity! Split it up, and add live rock as you can. But at least a couple pieces to start.

 

[jackson6745]

Macro sells live rock. I bought a seeding pack just to check it out. Nice porous rock, lots of sponge, pods, Coraline, brittle stars, pods. No "pests"

 

[rhitee93]

I've done two dry rock startups now and would do it that way again. I never saw what I would call an particularly ugly phase.

The "100% live rock or nothing" crowd on here is pretty loud, and it usually isn't worth trying to talk over them. However, I'll come out of my shell in this case. I totally understand their point, and agree that in some cases that is probably the best way to go. However, for me it just didn't make sense.

The cost of getting rock to my location was a big issue, but the biggest was that dry rock allowed me to move slow on my first build. There is a lot to digest the first time you setup a tank. Not dealing with wet rock gave me a couple of weekends to figure out all of my mechanicals at my own pace. I could have got everything ready, and then ordered rock, but my was was more relaxing for me.

Is my tank pest free? Nope. I had aiptasia in it within the first 6 months. The 2nd one is pest free at this point, but it is a FOWLR, so not too surprising.

 

[tautog83]

Ask a buddy to put 3 to 5 lbs of rubble in his sump and a small bag of bio media for 3 months then use 10lbs of whatever dry rock you want

 

[littlefishy]

My experience: I used live rock from KP aquatics in my Nuvo 10 with carib sea sand. Filled the 1st 2 chambers with it as well as the tank. Had an ammonia spike for 3 days bcs it was shipped in wet newspaper back then. Was ready to stock after that with no algae issues. Was hoping for more coral and sponges but it was just purple/pink corraline. On the other hand, no pest algae, and they supposedly don't have aiptasia down there. Had a mantis shrimp, a few starfish, and a pencil urchin that crawled out later along with mermaids cup macro .
A number of ppl with nano tanks use just live rock and water movement, no filtration. Live sand is unnessesary with live rock imo.

 

[MissMolly]

this is the issue with ALL dry rock. It takes alot longer (shrimplover- left lights off for a few months). with ALL live rock start you can add fish sooner. using rubble and dry rock is quicker than ALL DRY rock but not nearly as fast as ALL live rock, alot of it comes down to price you are willing to pay and the amount of patients you have

In added fish after three weeks. All cycled, all good. For me it was a matter of avoiding all the pestes and hitchhikers from live rocks. And I did.

 

[LovinlifeinGuam]

I'll try to offer an overview of the positive aspects of both options (excluding the negative).

Dry rock:
-Allows for more aquascaping due to the fact you have time to cement the pieces together before adding water.
-Much cheaper in most places
-Zero hitchikkers (desirable or undesirable)

Live rock (natural or maricultured)
-Greatly reduces the opportunity for alagal species to colonize and become an issue
-Interesting, desirable hitchhikkers
-Eliminated the need to add copepods since many species are already present on the rock
-The bacterial diversity is far beyond what can be achieved by dosing every bottled bacteria product available. This might seem pointless unless you realize that all these bacterial strains are involved in biogeochemical cycling, and fill a niche.
-No need for cycling or adding bacterial products

If you have additional benefits provided by either, feel free to add since these are just benefits I could think of off the top of my head in the moment.

 

[RoanokeReef]

Tropic Eden makes the best synthetic rock on the market hands down. Makes caribsea look like litter box cat turds…

I think only premium aquatics carries it

My favorite rock by far.

 

[Timfish]

I always use a mix of maricultured Florda live rock and local limestone "holey" rock. QT it like everything else. FWIW, most of the pests I encounter come from other aquarist, not from maricultured rock. So use all three if you want.

I certainly would not microwave any rock. Not only is i killing beneficial organisms but it runs the risk of aersolizing palytoxin hen water or mucus containing ostreopsis sp. algae is heated.

Here's a good article on live rock

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/estab...obiome-in-a-new-aquarium-using-live-rock.742/

 

[jayala12]

I started with all dry rock and turbo start 900. Then waited 2 weeks to add some fish. Then waited 2 more weeks to add some coral. Used what came in on the coral and plugs as my diversity and all is well so far. Do my bi weekly water change and I’m good to go. Kiss method.