Live rock for new tank question.

vdubbin95 · Oct 26, 2015

I just converted my 35 gallon from fresh water to a salt water setup. Currently I have 35 pounds of live sand and 15 pounds of dry rock. I am looking into buying live rock from the internet since sometimes it comes with attached corals and other goodies the pet stores take off and sell seperate.
The live rock and 15 pounds of dry rock have been in my tank for about a week now.
If I order live rock and it comes with corals attached, will they die since my tank has not cycled yet? is my best option to just buy a couple pounds of live rock from the store and then when its cyled, buy some online and hope for corals?

Lenny_S · Oct 26, 2015

Live rock is such a crap shoot, personally not a fan. For what you end up paying vs. what you get it's seldom worth it. Plus live rock can have any number of a variety of pests on it, if you don't know what to look for once they're in the tank they are next to impossible to get rid of.
But it you have your heart set on adding some to your tank, then you should cure it separately. There are scores of articles on curing live rock and the ways to find and remove pests. Rather than a bunch of links just Google it, you'll find tons of information. The BRS Tv and Marine Depot videos are a great resource too.

Tahoe61 · Oct 26, 2015

Lenny_S said:
Live rock is such a crap shoot, personally not a fan. For what you end up paying vs. what you get it's seldom worth it. Plus live rock can have any number of a variety of pests on it, if you don't know what to look for once they're in the tank they are next to impossible to get rid of.
But it you have your heart set on adding some to your tank, then you should cure it separately. There are scores of articles on curing live rock and the ways to find and remove pests. Rather than a bunch of links just Google it, you'll find tons of information. The BRS Tv and Marine Depot videos are a great resource too.

Pretty much this. ^

Be picky regarding the types of corals you introduce, have a plan man. As posted one can and often does get some nasties from live rock.

vdubbin95 · Oct 26, 2015

Thanks. I just saw this and it looked pretty cool https://www.liverocknreef.com/liverock/index.php?l=product_detail&p=7920. I have done some research on creating a reefscape. So do you think dry rock is the way to go?

Tahoe61 · Oct 26, 2015

My personal preference is dry rock with a couple small carefully chosen pieces of cured live rock.

I have tried live uncured rock, and it does come with some fascinating sponges and corals with smaller inverts, but many of that eventually dies off and you run a risk of getting predatory crabs, mantis shrimp, pest anemones......and I have gotten all of them from that type of rock.

Live uncured rock is fascinating to look at and examine, but really not worth it in my experience.

Lenny_S · Oct 26, 2015

vdubbin95 said:
Thanks. I just saw this and it looked pretty cool https://www.liverocknreef.com/liverock/index.php?l=product_detail&p=7920. I have done some research on creating a reefscape. So do you think dry rock is the way to go?

That is my personal preference based on experience. Live rock comes with potentially 100's of different things on/in it, you only really want a fraction of those things. Better to go all dry rock then add the desirable things you want.

Elegance Coral · Oct 26, 2015

vdubbin95 said:
Thanks. I just saw this and it looked pretty cool https://www.liverocknreef.com/liverock/index.php?l=product_detail&p=7920. I have done some research on creating a reefscape. So do you think dry rock is the way to go?

Don't buy Florida LR. It's very heavy, poor quality rock. You pay $8/pound plus shipping in the hopes of getting a free $5 coral that you actually want in your tank. This stuff is crawling with all kinds of critters and algae you really don't want in a reef tank.