Dry rock

mochaclown · May 15, 2013

So I was trying to find live rock and I found dry rock on bulk reef supply they said since its dry that there is no pests, and it's like2.79 per pound. So is this rock any good and can it support a reef tank, if so is there any extra things I would need to do to the rock before I put it in my tank

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totion · May 15, 2013

I used dry rock in my tank. After filling it with water I added a small piece of live rock from my local fish store

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mochaclown · May 15, 2013

So did u have any problems with dry rock and pests and do they support a reef tank

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totion · May 15, 2013

The dry rock has no life at all on it. After cycling my tank with raw shrimp and a piece of live rock all the dry rock became live rock, and my reef is doing well. A lot of people go with dry rock because it is a lot cheaper than starting with live rock. I got mine from reefcleaners.org and love it. Their rock is around 2 a lb with free shipping.

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TexAgReefer · May 15, 2013

I started my tank with nothing but dry rock and dry sand. I used Dr Tim's One and Only to add bacteria to the tank. Very quick cycle and NO pests!!!

Reefing Madness · May 15, 2013

Dry Rock and a dead shrimp form the grocery store.
MarcoRocks Aquarium Products

SloppyJ · May 15, 2013

Don't waste money on the bacteria crap. Dry rock and a cocktail shrimp in a media bag. The cycle will be longer but you will be assured that you don't bring in any pests.

beaslbob · May 15, 2013

IMHO if you start the tank with macro algae like cheato in a refugium you don't need any live rock.

I just used landscape rocks and even limestone rock from a local quarry which cost $20/ton.

The only real downside was the rock was really dense but otherwise fine.

the algae consumes the ammonia/nitrates and phosphates and provides life in the form of pods. Just as the algae in live rock does.

my .02

tidus10 · May 15, 2013

check out marcorocks, i bought dry rock from them and it was fantastic, just make sure that you clean it off before putting it in your tank.
i just did my tank with 100% dry rock and i probably wont buy live rock again... sure, it takes a little longer to cycle.. but i dont have to worry about pests or anything its great! and marcorocks is a great value!!

jgraz · May 15, 2013

Reefrocks.com

I used that and is as clean as it gets. Marco, BRS, reefcleaners, etc all need to be cleaned up a bit. Yes they are dry and dead but there is still some organics on them that can lead to leaching phosphates. The reef rocks are completely cleaned and can be added straight to an existing aquarium without curing or cleaning. I would not try that with any other dry rock. And it's cheaper then all the others to boot. The owner will even do custom scapes and take requests on the types of pieces you will get.

Keepnitreel · May 15, 2013

This is an expensive hobby but some things are just not necessary to be successful, live rock is one of them. Base rock/dry rock is/will do the same thing, eventually it becomes live. LR is $8.39lb in my area, no way would I even buy 5lbs of it.

Sometimes this hobby will make you spend money like a drug addict.

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mochaclown · May 15, 2013

So I can buy dry rock just clean it off a little and let it cycle then it will become live rock just like that or do I have to do other things to it and how long does it take for the tank to cycle when using dry rock

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tidus10 · May 15, 2013

depends on how you let it go.. but id count about 6-8 weeks around there to have good water and everything going well..

jgraz · May 15, 2013

mochaclown said:
So I can buy dry rock just clean it off a little and let it cycle then it will become live rock just like that or do I have to do other things to it and how long does it take for the tank to cycle when using dry rock

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I set up my 90 with all dry rock from reefrocks.com. About 110 lbs of it. I added 2 small pieces of live from my old setup and a piece of raw shrimp. Then I watched my lvls. My cycle took about a month. I then did my tank transfer.

bigfoot86 · May 15, 2013

I did the bout the same as jgraz, I have a 90 and started off with 75 lbs of BRS dry rock and seeded it with about 15 lbs of live rock and a raw shrimp. Works fine if you just seed it it or throw a raw shrimp in. Plus the BRS dry rock looks really nice and pieces together well.

Reefing Madness · May 15, 2013

The dry rock will soon team with the right bacteria needed to sustain your tank. Live Rock it will never become, technically, LR is old formed dead coral. But Dry Rock doesn't come with hitch hickers, of which some you don't need.
But there are alot of people that start their tanks with all Dry Rock. No worries, it accomplishes the same means.

Keepnitreel · May 15, 2013

Reefing Madness said:
The dry rock will soon team with the right bacteria needed to sustain your tank. Live Rock it will never become, technically, LR is old formed dead coral. But Dry Rock doesn't come with hitch hickers, of which some you don't need.
But there are alot of people that start their tanks with all Dry Rock. No worries, it accomplishes the same means.

Technically your right, it will not turn into dead coral. However they both do the exact same thing inside the tank. After dry rock has been cycled I consider it to be live rock, it contains the BB without the hitchhikers. Honda, Hyundai, same function.

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jgraz · May 15, 2013

Keepnitreel said:
Technically your right, it will not turn into dead coral. However they both do the exact same thing inside the tank. After dry rock has been cycled I consider it to be live rock, it contains the BB without the hitchhikers. Honda, Hyundai, same function.

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To add to this, most of the dry rock on the market these days including reefrocks, Marco, reefcleaners, and BRS is indeed rock from ancient reefs. Thus it is indeed dead coral. I defy anyone to look into my tank and tell the difference between the originally dry rock and the few pieces of "live rock" I have.

Zoacoral · May 15, 2013

jgraz, I tried going to reefrocks.com and it didnt work?

TexAgReefer · May 15, 2013

SloppyJ said:
Don't waste money on the bacteria crap. Dry rock and a cocktail shrimp in a media bag. The cycle will be longer but you will be assured that you don't bring in any pests.

Wasn't a waste of money to me. My tank cycled in less than a week. Why cycle for 4-6 weeks if you don't have to?