Aquascaping with Live and Dry Rocks

[Brisk]

Hi. I have a question about aquascaping with live rocks and dry rocks for a new tank. I'm assuming that live rocks are heavier than dry rocks, right? For those those that uses both live and dry rocks, is it safe to aquascape with live rocks on top of dry rocks? And when cycling a new tank, I can just put live rocks and dry rocks in together with no need for bacteria additives?

 

[Alex Cataldo]

I’ve setup tanks with both types of rock at once with no issues. As far as if you need bacteria, that’s up to you. It might cycle faster and become stable at a faster pace, but bacteria is really only needed if you start with only dry rock.

 

[TX_REEF]

Hi. I have a question about aquascaping with live rocks and dry rocks for a new tank. I'm assuming that live rocks are heavier than dry rocks, right? For those those that uses both live and dry rocks, is it safe to aquascape with live rocks on top of dry rocks? And when cycling a new tank, I can just put live rocks and dry rocks in together with no need for bacteria additives?

yes to all, but bacterial boosters still won't hurt anything. I highly recommend yout secure your rockscape together with epoxy putty, and on each point of each rock that will touch the putty, add a glob of superglue gel. This way, it doesn't matter what's heavier than what, it'll be nice and secure! Remember you can also smash up the rock to create smaller pieces for more scaping options. I use these products for rockscaping (and gluing coral frags) and am happy with them:

Amazon.com

Amazon.com

Amazon.com