Live Rock V.S. Dry Rock

[YHyperBull]

hello folks! I am curious as to what your guys' input on whether live rock or dry rock is better and what is more suitable for a beginner!

 

[fishguy242]

hi live ,and skimmer quick cycle ,dry is algae magnet happy reefing

 

[Leslie Tabor]

I started with all dry rock and just got little bits of live rock as my tank matured with corals. Never regretted it.

 

[YHyperBull]

I started with all dry rock and just got little bits of live rock as my tank matured with corals. Never regretted it.

I like the sound of that! cant hurt to have a little bit of both?

 

[ScottR]

Loaded question!!!!! You’re going to get a million answers. Personally, I like live rock.

pros of live rock is it usually has coralline algae, lots of beneficial bacteria and lots of useful critters. Also, your cycle will be completed faster. People report keeping SPS is much easier with an established tank and live rock can speed that

cons of live rock: bad hitchhikers and if anything is dead, it can leach into the water and cause instability

pros of dry rock: no hitchhikers

cons of dry rock: longer time to establish and cycle tank (although cycling is much easier now than before). Keeping SPS will most likely be harder in the beginning.

 

[Leslie Tabor]

I like the sound of that! cant hurt to have a little bit of both?

That was what I thought. That and the fact that live rock is hard to come by in MN. The sound of getting live rock shipped to me, having to deal with all the die off, curing it again...it was way to complicated for me at that point.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Do you want a sterile box with some fish in it or a piece of the ocean? Live rock all the way!

 

[Leslie Tabor]

Loaded question!!!!! You’re going to get a million answers. Personally, I like live rock.

pros of live rock is it usually has coralline algae, lots of beneficial bacteria and lots of useful critters. Also, your cycle will be completed faster. People report keeping SPS is much easier with an established tank and live rock can speed that

cons of live rock: bad hitchhikers and if anything is dead, it can leach into the water and cause instability

pros of dry rock: no hitchhikers

cons of dry rock: longer time to establish and cycle tank (although cycling is much easier now than before). Keeping SPS will most likely be harder in the beginning.

I didn't feel the cycle was too awful, I used the Red Sea Pro stuff. Seemed really straight forward. I don't do SPS, I am a soft coral girl so I can't give any advice or input there.

 

[YHyperBull]

Loaded question!!!!! You’re going to get a million answers. Personally, I like live rock.

pros of live rock is it usually has coralline algae, lots of beneficial bacteria and lots of useful critters. Also, your cycle will be completed faster. People report keeping SPS is much easier with an established tank and live rock can speed that

cons of live rock: bad hitchhikers and if anything is dead, it can leach into the water and cause instability

pros of dry rock: no hitchhikers

cons of dry rock: longer time to establish and cycle tank (although cycling is much easier now than before). Keeping SPS will most likely be harder in the beginning.

This really breaks it down in a nice comprehensive way! thank you so much for the info! i think i am leaning towards live rock but i have to admit i am a little worried about potential "bad hitchhikers"

 

[YHyperBull]

I didn't feel the cycle was too awful, I used the Red Sea Pro stuff. Seemed really straight forward. I don't do SPS, I am a soft coral girl so I can't give any advice or input there.

your input is always accepted here!

 

[Leslie Tabor]

Do you want a sterile box with some fish in it or a piece of the ocean? Live rock all the way!

My "sterile box" is doing pretty darn good...just saying. ;Hilarious ;Hilarious

 

[ScottR]

This really breaks it down in a nice comprehensive way! thank you so much for the info! i think i am leaning towards live rock but i have to admit i am a little worried about potential "bad hitchhikers"

Only bad hitchhiker I have ever had is gorilla crabs. The other stuff is spaghetti worms, copepods, etc. I feel like you can deal with most hitchhikers somehow. Here’s a pic of live rock I started one of my tanks with late last year. No problems so far except for all the goodies.

 

[fishguy242]

sorry i agree all live,try to buy establised system for the rock,every thing else is a bonus

 

[Indytraveler83]

Dry rock is much much much easier to aquascape (you can drill/cut/glue them with all the time in the world), it's far cheaper, and you know it's not going to introduce anything nasty.

Live rock obviously has all the biological goodness that a reef eventually needs.

My strategy was to buy about 20% very high quality live rock from a few different sources, and add it to the dry aquascape I created. Eventually all the goodness of the live stuff spreads.

 

[Leslie Tabor]

Lol I guess it really depends on how available live rock is for you. Buying from an established tank is a great idea if you have some reef friends or even a reef club.

 

[ScottR]

Dry rock is much much much easier to aquascape (you can drill/cut/glue them with all the time in the world), it's far cheaper, and you know it's not going to introduce anything nasty.

Live rock obviously has all the biological goodness that a reef eventually needs.

My strategy was to buy about 20% very high quality live rock from a few different sources, and add it to the dry aquascape I created. Eventually all the goodness of the live stuff spreads.

+1 to that

 

[fishguy242]

cl,offer up

 

[squampton]

Back when good live rock was available, I would always go live rock, its basically impossible to find now at least where I am, its real reef rock, junk rock that has been put in water, but no quality live rock. Not in the US so can't order from the sources available here, so dry rock it is for me now.

 

[rfgonzo]

I've had 20 + tanks over the years with live rock. Loved um all.

I've had 2 with Pukani dry rock. Hated both of them, nothing but problem after problem.

After 25 + years of reefing it almost took me out of the hobby. Dry rock is like a ex-wife, gone forever but you'll continue to pay for long term.

 

[YHyperBull]

My "sterile box" is doing pretty darn good...just saying. ;Hilarious ;Hilarious

that is a beautiful tank leslie!