Anyone used Reef Cleaners Florida Reef Rock?

[g5flier]

Was wondering if anyone else used Reef Cleaners Florida reef rock to start a new tank? I wanted to share some experiences that I've had over the last year. This is not a bash on this company whatsoever, the rock was delivered and looked just as promised. That being said, the tank I set up using this rock is now 1 year old, the rock is and has been totally covered in Coraline since about month 3-4.
The issue I'm having is SPS simply will not grow in this tank, I have the right water parameters, lighting, flow etc, I know this is all good because I have another tank with the same parameters, etc which SPS thrives in and its only 3 months old but started with LIVE ROCK.
I curious if any others have had similar issues using the Florida Reef Rock, I'm seriously thinking of removing it and replacing it with some premium LIVE rock.

 

[mta_morrow]

This is my 2nd tank using reefcleaners. It stacks and locks into place like a puzzle. Lots of holes and easy to place / glue corals. If you want certain sizes John always accommodates.
They are also where I order my CUC crew from.
Current tank, reefcleaners and Tonga plate.

Prior tank, all reefcleaners

 

[g5flier]

This is my 2nd tank using reefcleaners. It stacks and locks into place like a puzzle. Lots of holes and easy to place / glue corals. If you want certain sizes John always accommodates.
They are also where I order my CUC crew from.
Current tank, reefcleaners and Tonga plate.

Prior tank, all reefcleaners

Thanks for posting, your tank looks great BTW! How old is it and do you have any SPS? Tough to tell from the picture.

 

[ShawnSaucier]

What happens to your SPS? It may not be chemical related it could be bugs, worms, nudibranch....

 

[Midrats]

It's nice looking rock as far as pure white dry rock goes. It's stacks nicely. It's the first and last dry rock I have ever used. I've been using live rock for 30 years and for some reason I foolishly tried to save some money on my last tank. Never again.

 

[mta_morrow]

Thanks for posting, your tank looks great BTW! How old is it and do you have any SPS? Tough to tell from the picture.

The first tank was my first reef tank and it was 24 gallon display. It was zoa a, lps. It was 2 yrs old in that pic

It is tore down now (and for sale) and the new tank will be a mixed reef.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

I recently ordered 50# of this stuff. It is as as Squareriggersailor stated, pure white and relatively easy to aquascape. My only complaint is it does have a fair amount of dust/silt on it that needs to be rinsed prior to use. Other than that it's great stuff and fairly porous for good bio filtration. Keep in mind it does take a bit to fully cure, so if using it on a new build you will need to be patient.

 

[Dual40IM]

I setup a new 200 gallon system just before Thanksgiving. I used about 175lbs of the Reefcleaners dry rock and so far so good. Starting to get coraline now. Just have a few LPS frags in it now and they look good. As for SPS I cannot comment as I don' have any in the tank yet. I have read that when using dry rock that sometimes it takes a year + to be able to keep SPS. I also used about 20 LBS in a 40 gallon a couple years ago and had 1 SPS frag that grew fairly well. That tank was setup about 10-11 months before I put the frag in there. Maybe it just needs to mature a little bit more. Best of luck.

 

[Ento-Reefer]

I just started my 180g with 130lbs of this rock and about 10 lbs of well aged 5+ years live rock from my 95 to seed it. I only have 2 sps frags at the moment, but they are both displaying growth tips and are doing fine. My tank is only about 5-6 weeks old. I will be adding a few more sps frags in a couple of weeks and I will report back on how well they do.

I don’t foresee any issues. I did also seed my tank with Indio Pacific Sea Farms live sand activator and pods which went into my fuge. I also added some of their pond mud and chaeto. I believe adding different sources of bacteria really helps a new tank get a good start, and thus far everything has been going well. I think the reef cleaners rock is great, but you do have to add things and be patient to make it live rock.

 

[Bdrake]

I could never keep sps alive, much less grow them until i found out just how magical real live rock is

 

[Ento-Reefer]

I could never keep sps alive, much less grow them until i found out just how magical real live rock is

I don’t think there is anything magical about it. It is just has the correct amounts and right types of good bacteria and other associated fauna which makes keeping sps easier, if all other conditions are right.

You can create the same with dry rock, but you just have to seed it and be patient. I am not planning to keep an sps dominant tank, but I will have some in the top high flow zones of my tank. I feel confident they will do well even though 90% of my rock was dry.

 

[Pntbll687]

I used reefcleaner rock on my 20 long, then transferred to my 29g, I couldn't be happier. All my corals are doing great. Just started with some SPS recently with a plating motipora, and it has tripled in size in a few months.

Do the SPS just fade away? How long does it take for a frag to die?

 

[g5flier]

It's nice looking rock as far as pure white dry rock goes. It's stacks nicely. It's the first and last dry rock I have ever used. I've been using live rock for 30 years and for some reason I foolishly tried to save some money on my last tank. Never again.

Did you have any issues getting SPS to take hold? Is that why you would never use dry rock again?

 

[g5flier]

I could never keep sps alive, much less grow them until i found out just how magical real live rock is

So you also used this rock and couldn't ever keep SPS?

 

[g5flier]

What happens to your SPS? It may not be chemical related it could be bugs, worms, nudibranch....

Its not bugs or worms or nudis, it just slowly (4-8 weeks) fades away or in some cases STL. It seems like the answer is LIVE ROCK vs DRY ROCK. Personal choice but given the success I've had with LIVE vs this DRY rock I will never use DRY rock again.

 

[g5flier]

I used reefcleaner rock on my 20 long, then transferred to my 29g, I couldn't be happier. All my corals are doing great. Just started with some SPS recently with a plating motipora, and it has tripled in size in a few months.

Do the SPS just fade away? How long does it take for a frag to die?

How old is your tank using this dry rock?

 

[Neo Jeo]

Was wondering if anyone else used Reef Cleaners Florida reef rock to start a new tank? I wanted to share some experiences that I've had over the last year. This is not a bash on this company whatsoever, the rock was delivered and looked just as promised. That being said, the tank I set up using this rock is now 1 year old, the rock is and has been totally covered in Coraline since about month 3-4.
The issue I'm having is SPS simply will not grow in this tank, I have the right water parameters, lighting, flow etc, I know this is all good because I have another tank with the same parameters, etc which SPS thrives in and its only 3 months old but started with LIVE ROCK.
I curious if any others have had similar issues using the Florida Reef Rock, I'm seriously thinking of removing it and replacing it with some premium LIVE rock.

Check out my build link- I used Natures Ocean dry rock from amazon. great deal!

 

[Midrats]

Did you have any issues getting SPS to take hold? Is that why you would never use dry rock again?

I just think that live rock is vastly superior and the most fun part of starting a new tank. I don't have the patience for white rock, nor will it ever be the same as live rock, I don't care how much one tries to seed it.

 

[Neo Jeo]

I just think that live rock is vastly superior and the most fun part of starting a new tank. I don't have the patience for white rock, nor will it ever be the same as live rock, I don't care how much one tries to seed it.

I do love live rock don't get me wrong but Id rather have pest free and save $. To each their own as they say.

 

[Ento-Reefer]

I think there are both advantages and disadvantages to both live rock and dry rock. I have started tanks both ways, but this is my first time starting with pretty much all dry rock and just a very small amount of live rock (3 -4) pieces.

I wanted to avoid the pests that can come in on live rock. I have seeded my tank and I will just have to see how things develop as I go along. Thus far all corals added are doing just fine.