aquabiomics has a hard time meeting demand for clean testing live rock /rubble because when they get stuff in, then test it - sometimes tests positive for pathogens or at least sketchy things they don't want to send out. (Eli's talked about this a few times)
Any source can contain potential-pathogen DNA (including your hobbyist buddy or LFS with great looking corals.) That doesn't mean the material will cause disease. Not all of the diseases that we know of in corals even have their pathogens identified. SCTLD - we don't know for sure which bacteria are actually the bad guys, we know of groups of bacteria that often appear in infections.
To me this is sort of like the discussions around "clean chaeto" where people complain it's got "bugs" (copepods, amphipods) in it.
I don't know what people's definitions of "clean" are - but certainly nobody believes that chaeto could possibly be grown in an axenic sterile monoculture without bacteria, diatoms, and thus ciliates, copepods etc.
Anyway, I'd be happy with a clean environmental DNA bill of health from aquabiomics, and I'd also be happy with material from a hobbyist/LFS system that is healthy, full of awesome corals and apparently disease free over an extended time. I'd also be happy with sources like the gulf live rock providers that supply many reefers and have many happy customers who say their systems got this material and are healthy and grow coral well.
I consider all of those to be acceptable standards of healthy material.
