Why did you not use live rock?

[AlyciaMarie Verified Admin]

One of the most popular topics of conversation in this hobby is live vs. dry rock. Both sides can always give compelling arguments. But if you decided to skip the live rock and started your tank with dry rock instead, why? Would you do it again in the future, or would you opt for live rock in the event that you set up a new tank? Let's talk rocks!

 

[commod0re]

I didn’t think about it that hard, but for me a lot of it was just local availability

Petco and PetSmart sell boxes of dry rock and are way closer to home than the proper LFSes. Even the LFSes though, also mostly have and sell dry rock! So I bought dry rock

 

[BryanM]

Most people state price, but as was pointed out to me recently, its only $11/pound delivered to your door. So it is still "expensive" for big tanks, but considering what one has already spent its still worth it.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

We started with dry rock because we thought it was the easier option. We knew we didn't want to deal with hitchhikers, and dry rock just seemed to fit our build better. From now on, we will only use live rock in our tanks!

 

[commod0re]

Most people state price, but as was pointed out to me recently, its only $11/pound delivered to your door. So it is still "expensive" for big tanks, but considering what one has already spent its still worth it.

The last 3 boxes of dry rock that I bought were $5.50/lb but even that, price wasn’t really my concern lol

 

[exnisstech]

Most people state price, but as was pointed out to me recently, its only $11/pound delivered to your door. So it is still "expensive" for big tanks, but considering what one has already spent its still worth it.

I priced some last week and I can get it shipped to Ohio for $9.50 lb delivered. The only reason I can think not to buy live is fear of pest. The benefits out weigh the risk for me having done one dry rock start up and also my last.

 

[BriDroid]

I did dry Marco rock on my new build because I could more easily get the shapes/scape that I wanted. I did order some GLR Grunge and some of their rubble rock to throw in the sump to get some of that "ocean goodness" and help jump start the tank. It has worked pretty well. I only had one aiptasia on a piece of the rubble in the sump that I was easily able to take care of. I figured this was the best of both worlds for me.

 

[56longroof]

Everyone that starts with dry rock only,have you ever started a tank with real live rock? The reason I ask is the most common excuse I hear is either price or hitchhikers. Price has already been mentioned several times already. For me it wasnt a concern. I also think the hitchhikers are blown out of proportion exponentially.

 

[BriDroid]

Everyone that starts with dry rock only,have you ever started a tank with real live rock? The reason I ask is the most common excuse I hear is either price or hitchhikers. Price has already been mentioned several times already. For me it wasnt a concern. I also think the hitchhikers are blown out of proportion exponentially.

I did in the old days when that is what we had. You could go to any LFS and get all the real live rock you wanted. I've started 2 with dry rock, and it really hasn't been that big of a deal. This last one I seeded with rubble and grunge and it was a lot quicker to cycle than the nano that I did just straight dry rock. Both were pretty easy though as long as you realize that there will be uglies.

 

[56longroof]

I did in the old days when that is what we had. You could go to any LFS and get all the real live rock you wanted. I've started 2 with dry rock, and it really hasn't been that big of a deal. This last one I seeded with rubble and grunge and it was a lot quicker to cycle than the nano that I did just straight dry rock. Both were pretty easy though as long as you realize that there will be uglies.

I miss those days so badly.

 

[c4haskett]

As someone who has never tried live rock, I think from now on I will set up new tanks using it. Dry rock is such a pain to mature a tank with. So many issues it seems, dino's, cyano, weird types of algae and can last for over a year or more before things settle down. As much as I have spent on everything else, I don't see the price of live rock being exponentially more than some of the other big ticket items on a tank. My only question/concern I have with live rock is creating a nice looking scape. Maybe I will utilize a mix of live/dry with leaning more towards live rock. I'm sure others have gone this route as well. Anyone have any pictures of what you have done utilizing both to create a scape?

 

[commod0re]

Everyone that starts with dry rock only,have you ever started a tank with real live rock? The reason I ask is the most common excuse I hear is either price or hitchhikers. Price has already been mentioned several times already. For me it wasnt a concern. I also think the hitchhikers are blown out of proportion exponentially.

I haven’t but mainly because I’ve only started 2 tanks. As mentioned before my main concern was availability. I can easily buy appropriate dry rock within minutes of my house. The nearest place with live rock is a 30 minute drive each way. I’m not the type of person to pay to have rocks shipped to me. I could buy another 10-30 lbs of dry rock locally for what it costs to ship live rock

 

[56longroof]

I haven’t but mainly because I’ve only started 2 tanks. As mentioned before my main concern was availability. I can easily buy appropriate dry rock within minutes of my house. The nearest place with live rock is a 30 minute drive each way. I’m not the type of person to pay to have rocks shipped to me. I could buy another 10-30 lbs of dry rock locally for what it costs to ship live rock

I understand the price point with everything in this hobby so expensive. I was joking with someone the other day that it was cheaper to build a hot rod over starting and maintaining a reef tank.

 

[Justfebreezeit]

I've done both. And both are doable.

Live rock is instant success and dry rock is definitely something that takes more paying attention.

I did dry rock on my current one for price, being able to make cool structures. No hitch hikers was merely an after thought as I like a lot of them.

I do like live rock though and will probably at least include a small amount in my next go around.

 

[commod0re]

I understand the price point with everything in this hobby so expensive. I was joking with someone the other day that it was cheaper to build a hot rod over starting and maintaining a reef tank.

Haha it might be!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Everyone that starts with dry rock only,have you ever started a tank with real live rock? The reason I ask is the most common excuse I hear is either price or hitchhikers. Price has already been mentioned several times already. For me it wasnt a concern. I also think the hitchhikers are blown out of proportion exponentially.

I honestly enjoyed looking at all the hitchhikers we got in our pico tank's live rock

 

[CHSUB]

Dry rock was super cheap on Chewy, no hitchhikers, easier to build, less issues with buying, no scheduling arrival and build, results are the same.

 

[BobTheBlenney]

Because I'm an idiot!

Seriously, I had a pile of rock lying around that had dried out from my last tank. I figured why buy more? I boiled it and did the bottled bacteria and have regretted it ever since.

 

[BryanM]

Everyone that starts with dry rock only,have you ever started a tank with real live rock? The reason I ask is the most common excuse I hear is either price or hitchhikers. Price has already been mentioned several times already. For me it wasnt a concern. I also think the hitchhikers are blown out of proportion exponentially.

The only bad hitchhikers I have were mantis shrimp. Clack, Clack, Clack. Super annoying.

 

[56longroof]

The only bad hitchhikers I have were mantis shrimp. Clack, Clack, Clack. Super annoying.

Mantis or pistol? I have a couple blue legged pistol shrimp that hitchhiked on some live rock. They are super loud and very annoying.