Adding live rock or dry rock to established tank

[Hughes1990]

I am new to the hobby just wondering if I can buy rock from a established tank and put it in mine? Or would I just be better off buying dry rock?

 

[bushdoc]

Buying Live rock from an established tank is a bit of a gamble as is buying live rock from wholesalers. I do actually prefer live rock from the sea, but many people like dry rock. It takes much longer for your tank to achieve maturity (like being ready for SPS coral) when you establish it with dry rock. Genuine Live rock is often rather expensive, but there is also a hybrid method.

 

[Roatan Reef]

Yes...you can absolutely add Live Rock from the ocean to an already established tank with dry rock. I added a nice chunk...2.5lbs from Tampa Bay Saltwater ...it came with a cool cup coral...tank has been doing awesome since!

 

[mike550]

There are a bunch of threads on this. @brandon429 has a lot of information on this. Two schools of thought on best approach.

 

[Jesse Sunday]

I am new to the hobby just wondering if I can buy rock from a established tank and put it in mine? Or would I just be better off buying dry rock?

I used "donated" rock from a well-established tank (a friend of mine) for my 32g, and it worked beautifully! It came with bristle worms, some coral polyps, various pods, etc., and kickstarted my tank immediately!

As others have said, starting with dry will take a while to get your cycles and tank ready for livestock.