Dry rock question

[TboneMcBuna]

Hey all, 1st post I hope I'm in the right spot. I'm just starting out with my first setup a 90 gal reef tank. I have a question about some of the different types of dry rock out there and the fancy coral pieces they sell in gift shops and basically if those are okay to use in a reef tank. I've collected a few kinds of crazy pieces of what I'd consider to be dry rock to get started with. The #1 type of rock i have I went out and bought 70lbs of dryrock off online I got a ton of that stuff here's 2 pictures of it....
The #2 type of rock I have- I picked up from my local fish store a few months ago . They had in there tank there- I looks dead I just have a few pcs of it~ photo below

The 3rd type of rock I have is from a gift store it's very white compared to the other stuff but pretty ~ and idk if it's safe or not ~ photo below

The 4th piece I have came back from a different gift shop and it has like a weird blue tint on it so I'm definetely questioning if it is safe to use

Here's a shot of a few of them mixed together below

So I guess my next step is to get some kind of bond or rock glue and get these arranged in the tank - I've tried to watch some YouTube videos.... I want to make a big tower with caves kind of structure the goes just to the water line so lil crabs can get out of the water if they want.

So my questions are basically is this rock safe to use? How should I treat it before I glue it together and put it in the tank (soak in bleach or something) ? And any general tips about how I should place it on the bottom so I dont crack the tank? Should I cut the bottom of the dry rock to be flat? Is it going to look weird this different colored rock or when the bacerrica starts crowing on it will it all mesh together well? Thanks for any insights and advice

 

[Ron Reefman]

Hey all, 1st post I hope I'm in the right spot. I'm just starting out with my first setup a 90 gal reef tank. I have a question about some of the different types of dry rock out there and the fancy coral pieces they sell in gift shops and basically if those are okay to use in a reef tank. I've collected a few kinds of crazy pieces of what I'd consider to be dry rock to get started with. The #1 type of rock i have I went out and bought 70lbs of dryrock off online I got a ton of that stuff here's 2 pictures of it....
The #2 type of rock I have- I picked up from my local fish store a few months ago . They had in there tank there- I looks dead I just have a few pcs of it~ photo below

The 3rd type of rock I have is from a gift store it's very white compared to the other stuff but pretty ~ and idk if it's safe or not ~ photo below

The 4th piece I have came back from a different gift shop and it has like a weird blue tint on it so I'm definetely questioning if it is safe to use

Here's a shot of a few of them mixed together below

So I guess my next step is to get some kind of bond or rock glue and get these arranged in the tank - I've tried to watch some YouTube videos.... I want to make a big tower with caves kind of structure the goes just to the water line so lil crabs can get out of the water if they want.

So my questions are basically is this rock safe to use? How should I treat it before I glue it together and put it in the tank (soak in bleach or something) ? And any general tips about how I should place it on the bottom so I dont crack the tank? Should I cut the bottom of the dry rock to be flat? Is it going to look weird this different colored rock or when the bacerrica starts crowing on it will it all mesh together well? Thanks for any insights and advice

The type 3 dead coral will probably develop algae and will be very difficult to clean. I'd set up 3 or 4 five gallon buckets and fill them with saltwater. Keep each kind of rock/coral in separate buckets. Given then a week or two and then test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and phosphate. If tests look good, I'd do a rock structure without glue so you can take it apart and change it. In 15 years I've done my share of rockscapes and I've never glued it together. If you have a 'special' combo you want to do and they don't stack well, then just glue or do rods to hold them together.

I drill many of my rocks with holes the size of a frag plug stem so they fit in easily. I drilled over 100 holes in my last rockscape for a 40g cube (you can see it in my build thread (link is down in my signature below this post).

Don't sweat the various colors, they'll all end up covered in coraline algae and look the same. Also, don't sweat the rock set in the sand or touching the bottom glass. Cutting a flat bottom isn't a bad idea if you're 100% sure that's what you want to do. I built an egg crate platform to keep all my rock 2 to 8" off the sand (again in my build thread).

Hope that helps?

 

[Mastiffsrule]

WELCOME TO R2R

I had 2 of those dead coral skeletons you have in my tank. Hated it after it was in there about a year. Look horrible like Mr. Reefman said and no way to clean. Mocking up stone will also help give you an idea before it hits the tank. Just draw a perimeter the size of tank on some paper and build the stone inside the lines and go from there.

And WelcometoR2R

 

[TboneMcBuna]

Hey kind regards , thanks so much for the responses.... I'm gonna stay away from the gift shop stuff and just use the rock I bought for reefing off Ebay- thanks for the advice ... I'll do what you were suggesting and just do a kind of mock up to get an idea of the structure but I'll use a lil glue I think just because I'm doing like a 2 foot tower and I dont want that topling over~ one of the main differences doing this vs the freshwater tank i did in the past is that I'm never moving these rocks once there in place, if i understand correctly how most people keep reefs. I'll also put some rock in a bucket and check the levels to just make sure its straight and ready to go in the one suggestion. I got this rock off ebay www.Ebay.com/itm/113714494063 do you think I should bleach it first or just get it in a tank with water ? Idk excited to get started ~ that idea about drilling a few holes for coral frags is a good one I'm thinking i might do it, about what size? Is a 1/2" or 1/4" inch frag plug, standard ? Like should I just make a few 1/2 in holes in good spots to easily place corals once I'm ready ... idk I'm very green here thanks for the advice