Live Rock Vs Dry? Whats Your Opinion

[Ljaus]

Live rock user here, always have being. Mainly because dry rock isn't available where I live and freight is a killer due to living in a regional area of Australia ( live rock is stocked at the lfs) Having to do critter control is slightly annoying tho. I still like to do a cycle with live rock incase of die off I gave my current tank about 2 weeks with no load just fed it to keep the bacteria happy and did weekly testing.

 

[AdamNC]

I usually start tanks with 10% live rock and the rest dry rock. Eventually the dry rock will become live and it's cheaper.

 

[fasterfred]

I am into week 2 of my cycle, I started with dry rock from my backyard ( I live in SW Florida) i drilled and chiseled holes and arches for texture. Then I added 1 piece of base rock from my lfs's tank along with a hand full of sand from the same location. I went with ammonium hypochlorite as a ammonia source. Thats at 0 ppm now and nitrite and nitrate are off the charts!

 

[Antics]

But if you use "Dry Live Rock" dont you have to wait like weeks or months before you put it in for tank...Even if it is the first thing you are starting off with to cycle your tank?

It really depends on the rock and where it was obtained. Reef saver rock is a dry mined rock that has been out of the ocean for a long time. Rinsing that rock or letting it soak in some RODI for a few days is more than sufficient. Pukani on the other hand has a terrible reputation as a phosphate generator. That's why a lot of users either cure for months, use an acid bath, or dose additives to leech the phosphate out of the rock. Some people don't care about all of that prep work and just throw it in their tank to start the cycle. There isn't a really a "right or wrong" so much as there is a potentially higher chance for success or failure.

 

[Reefing4eva]

I highly recommend using dry pukani rock for multiple reasons.
(1)-dry rock is cheaper
(2)-pukani rock is lighter and 1000 times more porous than any other rock..therefore it utilizes the whole rock with bacteria.
(3)- dry rock doesn't have any hitchhikers
(4)-using dry rock teaches you the nitrogen cycle and a better understanding on how it works (since it takes longer..lol)
(5)- everything in this hobby is about having patience. .patience with a cycling tank..patience with adding fish..patience with corals growing..etc..etc

 

[d2mini]

IMO, nothing beats starting a tank with truly live rock from places like Tampa Bay Saltwater or similar. Even if it's a mix of live and dry.
This is NOT to be compared to the typical "live" rock at your LFS that is really mostly dead rock.
You do have the chance of getting a few bad hitchers like a mantis shrimp or gorilla crabs, but they are taken care of easily enough and the benefits far outweigh a few unwanted hitchhikers.
Someone mentioned that any rock will get different colored algae eventually... so what? The biodiversity that comes with real live rock is insane.
Check out my build thread for pics and see a brand new tank with truly live rock and sand fully cycled in a matter of days... not weeks... not months.
Being that the rock is shipped in water (not wet paper), and you receive it the same day it's shipped, there is very little die-off.
Not only do you pretty much skip the cycle, there is so much interesting life to watch! Stuff you will never get with dry rock.
I can go look at my tank right now and find a dozen porcelain crabs. See little feather dusters pop in and out of barnacles. Hear the occasional click from little harmless pistol shrimp.
Some people like the sterile look and feel of dry rock, but I much prefer creating an actual functioning mini ecosystem. It looks more natural to me, and it functions like a true reef, working for me not against me.

 

[Reefing4eva]

I once felt the same way till I received beautiful fiji live rock years ago that had various colors and types of coraline algae,multiple types and colors of sponges.and once it was placed in my tank after a few days I noticed it was riddled with thousands of bristle worms..this is my only reason I use dry rock and seed it with some live rock,or have them placed in a sump of a friend's tank

 

[markfmvl]

I started with Marco rocks-and bought a few small pieces of live rock from LFS . Then I did some DIY rock I like the DIY rock because it is very porous and has lots of holes and crevasses for pods etc to hide, and it also creates a tremendous external and internal surface area compared to the marco rocks, which have holes but are pretty solid otherwise. I have been experimenting with cement mixtures and colors. I have been able to produce a fairly light weight rock, compared to my first batches.

 

[BummersReef]

I've used BRS Reef-saver and Pukani. For someone new to saltwater I'd probably recommend the reef saver as it's cheaper and much easier to aquascape and cure. If you're willing to be patient though, I think Pukani is absolutely gorgeous. I personally hate live rock because I think its frequently overpriced and full of stuff I DONT want. There are awesome premium sources for live rock, but I'd rather spend my money on other equipment or fish and coral.

for our next tank ... lol .... depending on the size, I will probably use Pukani as it is so lovely. But we've been real happy with the Reef Saver we got. We did a big arch and it was easy to scape! and has little holes that coral plugs fit into very nice. We had a big tank to fill cheaply. If our next reef is smaller though I'll try Pukani as it is lighter and more porous and I understand also easy to cut and shape.

 

[Sully]

I agree with d2mini. I used tbsaltwater live rock in my latest tank build. You can't beat the diversity of life that comes in on in. Yeah I got a couple stone or gorilla crabs but they've been removed to the sump. The sponges, snails, porcelain crabs are just amazing. If I were to start another tank, I'd do the same thing again. Yeah it's a bit on the spendy side but most of this hobby is anyways.

 

[Fishman144]

IMO, nothing beats starting a tank with truly live rock from places like Tampa Bay Saltwater or similar. Even if it's a mix of live and dry.
This is NOT to be compared to the typical "live" rock at your LFS that is really mostly dead rock.
You do have the chance of getting a few bad hitchers like a mantis shrimp or gorilla crabs, but they are taken care of easily enough and the benefits far outweigh a few unwanted hitchhikers.
Someone mentioned that any rock will get different colored algae eventually... so what? The biodiversity that comes with real live rock is insane.
Check out my build thread for pics and see a brand new tank with truly live rock and sand fully cycled in a matter of days... not weeks... not months.
Being that the rock is shipped in water (not wet paper), and you receive it the same day it's shipped, there is very little die-off.
Not only do you pretty much skip the cycle, there is so much interesting life to watch! Stuff you will never get with dry rock.
I can go look at my tank right now and find a dozen porcelain crabs. See little feather dusters pop in and out of barnacles. Hear the occasional click from little harmless pistol shrimp.
Some people like the sterile look and feel of dry rock, but I much prefer creating an actual functioning mini ecosystem. It looks more natural to me, and it functions like a true reef, working for me not against me.

Is this were I can buy the Tampa Bay Saltwater Rock? or is there another website you used?
http://www.tampabaysaltwater.com/ordering/pricelist.html

 

[d2mini]

Is this were I can buy the Tampa Bay Saltwater Rock? or is there another website you used?
http://www.tampabaysaltwater.com/ordering/pricelist.html

That's it. You can only buy direct.

 

[becks]

I used pukani rock because I did not want any pests and I wanted to plan my Aquascape. I placed it in a a 55 gallon drum for 48hours in ro water with bleach and a powerhead, then rinsed with the rock left it to dry out. No leaching phosphates.

The other issue people may not be aware of is live rock could have ich cysts on them depending in how your LFS stores the live rock etc

 

[SaltyFrog]

I used live rock on my first tank, biocube 29, way too many hitchikers. Lost livestock. Now building a 75 g using dry rock. In the aquascaping phase.

 

[RMS18]

Go for dry... using live rock and sand was the biggest mistake I made entering this hobby.

 

[Valkyrie]

I was given my first tank, a 29g w/live rock already in it and I replaced the sand that was in it. Even though I couldn't really do things much different than I did since I had to get everyone home and set up asap, I now have a 55g that I bought also used, but it's been setting now for a few months. I haven't done anything with it yet. It came with metal halide lighting and a sump system. So I get to start from scratch and I'm really playing with the idea of dry rock this round. But how does it become live? Where do the organisms come from? I already bought live sand, though I suppose I don't have to use it. If I don't then the question remains, where do the beneficial organisms come from? What am I missing?

Edit 8/9/16 to add: Nobody knows?

Edit 8/12/16 *crickets*

 

[PlanB]

I was given my first tank, a 29g w/live rock already in it and I replaced the sand that was in it. Even though I couldn't really do things much different than I did since I had to get everyone home and set up asap, I now have a 55g that I bought also used, but it's been setting now for a few months. I haven't done anything with it yet. It came with metal halide lighting and a sump system. So I get to start from scratch and I'm really playing with the idea of dry rock this round. But how does it become live? Where do the organisms come from? I already bought live sand, though I suppose I don't have to use it. If I don't then the question remains, where do the beneficial organisms come from? What am I missing?

Edit 8/9/16 to add: Nobody knows?

Edit 8/12/16 *crickets*

If you want to seed the dry rock with beneficial bacteria (BTW this makes it "live" rock), then adding the live sand to the tank will help. The sand contains dormant bacteria that will activate in the right environment, and multiply during the cycling process. You can also speed up the process by using additives like BIO-Spira, which accelerates the establishment of the bacteria necessary for successful biological filtration.

 

[Valkyrie]

If you want to seed the dry rock with beneficial bacteria (BTW this makes it "live" rock), then adding the live sand to the tank will help. The sand contains dormant bacteria that will activate in the right environment, and multiply during the cycling process. You can also speed up the process by using additives like BIO-Spira, which accelerates the establishment of the bacteria necessary for successful biological filtration.

Thanks!