Dry Rock or Live Rock

[Heavymman]

Good morning all, I am slowly getting back into the hobby and will be starting a JBJ 30 G RL very soon.

I feel I would be safer with dry rock? I know it may take a longer time to cycle the tank, ect.. but in the long run if I am trying to prevent pests I am guessing this would be the best way.

Also, does the live sand have a chance of carrying pest hitchhikers?

Thanks all for your help!

 

[Ron Reefman]

If you want a pristine clean and 100% safe system, use dry rock and dry sand (and even then there's a small chance of issues). I seriously doubt that packaged live sand will have any hitchhikers, but there really isn't anyway to know for sure.

I've used dry rock, LR (only live bacteria) and very LR (from an ocean farm full of life). I'd never do the very live rock again. I got bad algae, sponges & barnacles that died, crabs I didn't want and spent way too long trying to fix the situation.

I think you know that taking your time is the very best way to good results (smart on your part). Do the dry rock and take your time!

 

[AcroNem]

I love live rock. Actual live rock. No system should be sterile and lacking the proper biodiversity unless it's for research or breeding purposes and needs to. Yes, live rock has other "stuff" with it, but that doesn't matter, it's a good thing. For me part of the fun has always been finding the new things. Dealing with a pest every now and again isn't bad when you get to see the sheer amount of life in your system and how much healthier it is overall. Hobbyists now seem afraid of anything that isn't white sterile rock. It's ugly.

Go with a mix if you want, but if you actually want a diverse system use some real rock too, set it up right

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I'll never start a tank with only dry rock again. At least some of the rock is going to be aquacultured live rock from vendors like KP Aquatics or Tampa Bay Saltwater. I feel that the concerns about pests are mostly overblown.

 

[Heavymman]

I agree with both of you. I was weighing towards the dry rock because I have dealt with pest in my past tank, and IMHO, it became a real time consuming chore on top of the maintenance of the tank. Sometimes, taking a lot of the wind out of my sail because it was effecting some of my coral in the tank. Other the other side, I do remember cycling my first tank and watching all the surprises. It was quite fun and exciting.

This being said, if I decide to do a SPS heavy tank, won't I really be chancing it with live rock? (AEFW, Red Bugs, Aipstatisia, ect.)

 

[mcarroll]

Good morning all, I am slowly getting back into the hobby and will be starting a JBJ 30 G RL very soon.

I feel I would be safer with dry rock? I know it may take a longer time to cycle the tank, ect.. but in the long run if I am trying to prevent pests I am guessing this would be the best way.

Also, does the live sand have a chance of carrying pest hitchhikers?

Thanks all for your help!

Live rock is a long-term investment.

Any pests that may come with it are a short-term problem.

I would not let a short-term problem complicate a GOOD long-term plan.

Get actual live rock and give it some observation time before stocking the tank if you're worried.

You should do this anyway as stocking the tank too quickly will probably give you bad results and other pests.

Plus, with time up front, you can deal with any/all pests without a lot of hassle or worry about stressing your livestock.

Pests on live rock are an overblown worry anyway IMO. Some people have problems with pests, but the vast majority do not.

 

[AcroNem]

These last few comments made my day. So happy to see love for live rock

 

[HB AL]

Another vote for the live rock, especially if your planning for an sps heavy reef.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I was weighing towards the dry rock because I have dealt with pest in my past tank, and IMHO, it became a real time consuming chore on top of the maintenance of the tank. Sometimes, taking a lot of the wind out of my sail because it was effecting some of my coral in the tank.

If you mean pests like mantis shrimp or crabs, those are relatively easy to catch with traps. I got my live rock shipped to me overnight in damp paper towels and almost all of the pest crabs and shrimp vacated the rock to try to find some water.

If you meant AEFW, aiptasia, bubble algae, bryopsis, or Montipora-eating nudibranchs, I don't think this is a fair burden to place on live rock. I know very few reefers who actually quarantine new corals. Only a small percentage of that already small group actually QT for long enough to eliminate the risk of any pests, or even know what to look for during QT. Any pests that can come on live rock can come on corals. I've never had live rock come with aiptasia or Montipora-eating nudibranchs, but I've had plenty of corals come with them.

 

[dutch27]

Any tank I started with dry rock had major algae issues, tanks with actual live rock, not so much. General thought is that the dry/quarried rock leaches phosphates into the water column. If you go dry, look into the process of putting the rock through an acid bath to burn off the top layers of rock that house the potential phosphates.

Or go live. More likely to have cool things living on it. To be honest, every frag or wild collected coral you introduce poses risk of pests anyway. My live rock tank was by far my most interesting because of all the great things living in it. Always missed that in my dry rock tanks.

 

[lapin]

Its a 50 /50 choice. No right answer. With a 30 gallon tank you can deal with anything by hand pretty easy. Dry rock will need time to mature and you will be adding things to get the diversity you need. Live rock will not need time to mature and you will need to rid it of anything you dont want. As far as leeching stuff with dry rock, a little search will get you some info on what rock leeches stuff and what does not. Unwanted things on the live rock can be eliminated by hand or by natural means. Live sand in a bag is pest free, and mostly bacteria free. What can live in a bag for very long? If you get real live sand then you can have critters. some you want and maybe some you dont.
Its really up to what you feel is best for you. Tanks have been done both ways.

 

[Pntbll687]

I've done both.

If I was starting over, I would get a good amount of live rock from a LFS that has pretty "clean" rock, no nuisance algae showing and good amount of coraline covering the rock. Use that to "seed" the tank and fill in with dry rock that has had an acid or bleach bath and soaked in RO water.

 

[Retro Reefer]

Another vote for live.. Nothing beats rock right from the ocean, I agree pest are overblown but any pest can be dealt with and I enjoy the challenge, below is my elusive gorilla crab that was in a new batch of rock, he only comes out to taunt me or steal food.. I enjoy seeing him and also the hunt He will go in my refugium when I catch him..

 

[tautog83]

well besides kp and tampa bay you're not getting any good looking live rock anymore with the ban imo. most of the carribean rock isnt very interesting to look at personally . That being said the marco rock stuff is like concrete and was never a fan of it but imo the better of the options right now.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Real ive rock gives you a biodiversity you could never recreate. All levels of the food chain are likely represented. The cost is a couple of large pests perhaps. The small stuff like nuisance flat worms and algae you could just as easily get by introducing corals into your system.

That said, if you do go the dry rock route, I would bleach and clean very well, then soak and cure for a long time or at least until the tested Phosphate level is minimal.

For my current setup I had about 1/3 dry rock I bought for the shapes. I cured, cycled and matured this for about six months with some seed live rock. I then started my tank with that and the other 2/3 of the rock which was real Pacific live rock full of life and coralline algae.

 

[Heavymman]

I can’t thank you all enough for your insight and advice. It all makes a lot of sense. I am going to have to do my research on LFS because I’m sure a lot has changed since I’ve been I was in the hobby 10 years ago.

Any online reccomendation for the time being?

 

[Jesterrace]

Good morning all, I am slowly getting back into the hobby and will be starting a JBJ 30 G RL very soon.

I feel I would be safer with dry rock? I know it may take a longer time to cycle the tank, ect.. but in the long run if I am trying to prevent pests I am guessing this would be the best way.

Also, does the live sand have a chance of carrying pest hitchhikers?

Thanks all for your help!

Dry Rock is one of the safest and arguably the most cost effective methods for starting out a tank. Many people go with this method and are happy in the long run.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Any online reccomendation for the time being?

Several online. I have posted this list in the past, but have never used any of them. Some users have threads with their experience if you search the companies here on R2R.

GulfLiveRock
KP Aquatics
TampaBaySaltwater
ARC Reef
LiveRockNReef

There are others. If the LFS has live rock, it may be “bacteria rock” or it may be full on live rock with coralline algae and life.

 

[lzrlvr]

Do you people live in the Stone Age there are alternative live rock substitutes that work very well.

 

[AcroNem]

Do you people live in the Stone Age there are alternative live rock substitutes that work very well.

No, just the age where we understand the ecological benefits of recreating real biodiversity in a closed system, something that dry or bacteria rock can't come close to