BRS-TV 5 Minute Series recommendation

[NOHtorious]

A newbie Q. I'm getting ready to purchase / set up the Red Sea E170 tank. I binge-watched the BRS TV 5 minute series and they recommended using Real Reef Rock as a compromise between the dry rock and the wet cured live rock. Here's my question. If I purchase this "man-made cured rock", but it takes UPS two days to deliver to me, and it takes me a day or more to aquascape before I add saltwater... wouldn't every bacteria on the surface die off? If so, wouldn't it be better for me to just start off with the bleached reef saver rocks then add some ARC Reef's Live Coralline Algae? I am so confused. I may just do FOWLR first using Red Sea E170 then if everything works out well then I may add a few corals??

 

[JumboShrimp]

There is certainly something to be said for starting your tank as a FOWLER, and down the road as you have your feet wet (pun), adding corals. Think ahead though, with ‘reef safe’ fish, and also don’t waste a lot of money now just to light fish.

 

[robbyg]

Welcome to the forum.
I have no idea how they ship the rock but I would imagine its covered in damp cloth like material.
The bacteria is pretty hardy but who really knows how long most of them can survive when there are so many variables like time, temperature and what the water will be like when you finally put them in.
I would still go with cured live rock over bleached rock which is pretty much as dead as moon rock.

You can always start to cycle the tank and I am sure that enough bacteria will be alive to jump start the process. I would agree that you should go FOWLR until you get past the first year and the GHA stage.
Only when you have some good growth of Coralline algae and you have good tank parameters would I then add corals.

 

[Murice]

I love that series. Its what got me into this hobby... If I were to do everything over again and start a tank again... I would buy all dry rock and place it in tank how I wanted it. Then I would add water. I would then add a bottle of Bio Spira and add fish. I would do all this in the span of about 3-4 hrs