i need a little help. I just got a 120 tank and am looking for the best dry live rock for the money!!! I would rather it be as cheap as possible but don't want to get into bad rock. I have heard about Marco rock and Fiji and pukanki. Any advice is helpful. Thanks.
Best dry love rock
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PatW
2500 Club Member
Which dry rock you use is a matter of taste and what you are trying to do with your reef scape.
Pukanki is highly regarded. It is soft enough to cut with a saw, so you can shape it as you please. It is also pretty light. However, it is supposedly loaded with phosphates. You can toss it into a brute trash can of salt water and let it sit for a few months and water changes. That should get rid of the phosphates. But I would measure the water it was in until I stopped getting phosphates. I used a dry rock with phosphates without curing and I had a succession of algae in my tank until I finally got the phosphate levels down.
Marco rock is old reef rock that is taken from quarries on land. I hear that they clean the rock well and it is low in nutrients but I am not sure, not having had it. It comes in a variety of shapes and has a good reputation.
There are other Florida venders selling quarried rock that are a bit cheaper but I don't know if they clean as well.
Bulk reef supply has a quarried rock called reef saver, but I don't know what the nutrient state is.
There are also some vendors who sell fabricated rock that looks really good but is a bit pricey.
Pukanki is highly regarded. It is soft enough to cut with a saw, so you can shape it as you please. It is also pretty light. However, it is supposedly loaded with phosphates. You can toss it into a brute trash can of salt water and let it sit for a few months and water changes. That should get rid of the phosphates. But I would measure the water it was in until I stopped getting phosphates. I used a dry rock with phosphates without curing and I had a succession of algae in my tank until I finally got the phosphate levels down.
Marco rock is old reef rock that is taken from quarries on land. I hear that they clean the rock well and it is low in nutrients but I am not sure, not having had it. It comes in a variety of shapes and has a good reputation.
There are other Florida venders selling quarried rock that are a bit cheaper but I don't know if they clean as well.
Bulk reef supply has a quarried rock called reef saver, but I don't know what the nutrient state is.
There are also some vendors who sell fabricated rock that looks really good but is a bit pricey.
If you want cheap, check out Billy's Reef Connection. I just bought a 50lb box of Fiji dry rock from BRS and I am very happy with the pieces. I am also setting up a 120, but I have other rock too.
cb684
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That is not my experience with pukani rock. All my systems have pukani and I have never had problems with high phosphates. At this point I have done this 3 times, so it works well for me: I soak the pukani rock in RODI water for 14 days, and change the water daily. I keep a lot of flow in the container. For the first 3 or 4 days there is clearly discolored water by the end of the 24 hours. By the end of the 14 days, the water appears to be as clean as the RODI water I added the day before. I have never had a PO4 higher than 0 (ultra low hanna), or algae other than the diatom bloom after this treatment. It is hard to beat the price to surface area, or volume to surface ratios of pukani rock and that is why that is pretty much all I use...
Good luck!
hejjo
Well-Known Member
Billy's reef connection for the win!! Quality dry rock at THE best price around. Absolutely awesome rock. My buddy used Marco which is great but a bit more pricy. Billy's rock is jus as good as Marco if not better. I came across Billy's and I'll never purchase rock elsewhere. 10 outa 10 recommend. It was so clean I almost didn't even have to rinse it.
Ive used Marco Rocks and Pukani. In my experience Pukani wins every time now for all the reasons cb624 above stated. I put my Pukani in a brute tub with tons of flow for 30 days changing out the water 3 times during that month. Zero issues. Can't say the same for Marco rocks.
kraftyforu
Community Member
Bill's Reef Connection is having a sale on their rock at the moment. Just purchesed 150#s and it was only $217.50, that comes out to $1.45 per pound!!
hejjo
Well-Known Member
Pukani is beautiful rock there's no doubt about it, but but when it comes to quality rock at an amazing price Billy's is unbeatable. It comes down to what type of rock you want and or what you can afford. Billy's fits the criteria for both my needs and when that rock is covered in coral it's not gunna matter what type of rock I chose which is why in the end I'll go with Billy's rock everytime.
Can you mix rock? If I were to do Marco rock for most and then mix in some pukanki? Or does that not look good?
I am very anxious about picking the right rock!!!!
I like the Marco a lot for the money.
Has anyone had a bad experience with it?
I am very anxious about picking the right rock!!!!
I like the Marco a lot for the money.
Has anyone had a bad experience with it?
Tristan
Well-Known Member
The pukani itself is not "loaded" with phosphates as it is just the dead matter in and on the rock. You should manually pick out all the dead organisms you see before curing it or putting it in your tank.
BRS Reefsaver has no dead organisms on it since it is mined and there are no live organisms on the rock.
Tristan
Well-Known Member
I would personally go with BRS reefsaver to have a minimalist aquascape and put in some marinepure in the tank.
Tristan
Well-Known Member
http://www.cermedia.com/marinepure.php
It is basically the most porous media you can get and also denitrifying capabilities if you get the larger 8x8x4 block. One 8x8x4 block can filter a 150g tank.
captainsmitty
Active Member
too bad this "Billy's reef connection" website does not work
Tristan
Well-Known Member
The premium double cut rocks and pillar rocks from Marco rocks are my favorite. I eventually will redo my entire reef with this stuff.
Nice. But it just doesn't look that natural
