Live rock

[Mmsetta]

I am setting up a 38g fowlr tank. First time in 13 years I am going salt. I have a good skimmer and a hot magnum with a biowheel. Unfortunately it seems I am limited in terms of lighting both because of budget and because my bowfront tank is not conducive to some of the cheaper led options (it is odd size and has a bar going down the middle of it).

Here is my question. I do not expect much growth out of any live rock I put in the tank due to the lighting limitations. I have a fixture with just one t7 (or maybe a t5 not sure) bulb. So, do I spend big money on good live rock, or do I go cheap so I can use it just for the bacteria for bio filtration? My lfs suggested a 50lb box of uncured for a about $165. I can cure it myself by just soaking it in fresh water right?

I know I'll need about 30lbs or more of live rock- could I get by with 20lbs of good cured rock. That would cost me about the same as the 50 lbs of uncured.

I guess my issue is that I am using the rock for bio filtration for fish. I do not expect any other cool growth from them. So should I go cheap and get more? Or should I go expensive and get less?

Also, the lfs said to ditch the biowheel and magnum. Would you suggest that too?

Thanks experts!

 

[Reefing Madness]

You'll get growth on the Rock reguardless. You could go all dry rock, and no live rock.
But to cure rock, no you don't throw it in FW, its just like running it in a full blown tank, you need it to go through a cycle, to grow the bacteria needed to sustain a system. Go cheap on the rock, no need to go big on the cash on this one.
Yes, ditch the bio, or you could use it for GFO or Purigen. But in general its not needed in SW.
If you go with a simple 2 lamp T5 HO unit, thats all you need, and thats plenty of light.

Curing Live Rock to use in saltwater or reef tanks | Successful Reef Keeping

 

[Shamus]

Get the 45# box of premium fiji from liveaquaria.com. Was on sale for 69.99 plus shipping. Probably be around 140.00 shipped I got a box 2 weeks ago and it was very nice.

 

[NanaReefer]

Better yet is the dry Pukani from BRS!

 

[gtbarsi]

Better yet is the dry Pukani from BRS!

+1
Go dry so you do not have to deal with all of the surprises that come with live rock.

 

[Dragonreef202]

I have ordered from marcorocks before and waiting on 50 lbs of dryrock. It was $109 with free shipping. When I first started I just bought a few poundsof live rock from lfs and bought majority dry rock. It eventually will spread. Just be sure to soak therocks befire adding to main tank. I will be soaking mine in the water I have taken out for water change. It will be there for a week to make me comfortable before putting in the tank

 

[Mmsetta]

Thanks for the advice. Good news. One follow up. By "dry" do you mean "not cured". I assume that's what you mean. And dice I am just starting my tank, cAn I just put the dry rock in my tank with some live sand and let the magic happen (ie, bio filtration, cycle) for a month or so. In other words, can I "cure" the rocks in my actual tank since I have no fish in it yet?

Also, what is the difference between "base rock" and "dry rock". ?

 

[Mmsetta]

Dat, when you say "soak" is that in saltwater? And why do you soak it instead of just putting it in the tank?

Sorry about all the questions but I hope to do this right the first time.

 

[NanaReefer]

I cured 30# of dry Pukani in a rubbermade bin for 2 weeks. Then added it to my tank and using SeaChem Stability cycled it for 4 weeks. Having tested all parameters and found them stable I transferred all live stock from my 8g into the new setup! Been running now for almost 3yrs
Reason I didn't do it in the tank is simple...wow the smell!! Lol Using a rubbermade tub with a lid & a bag of carbon, some added flow made it a lot better.

 

[Mmsetta]

Reefing madness, great article. Answered most of my questions.

 

[gtbarsi]

If the dry rock is clean (white) you should not need to cure it. When I started my 40 gallon bow front I added my sand and rock (both dry) then filled with fresh mixed salt water. I did a fishless cycle using DR Tim's one and only and ammonium chloride per Dr Tim's directions. It took about 6 weeks to complete the cycle, it got a little smelly but that stopped once I added carbon to my canister filter that I am using as a reactor in my sump. After that I added my first fish, two weeks later I added 2 more fish, and so on. I never had a problem.

All curing does is breakdown the dead stuff on the live rock, so if it is clean already your should not have a problem. In addition if there is a "small" amount of stuff on / in your dry rock that breaks down it should not be a big deal. The only issue I would anticipate is additional ammonia during the cycling process.

Another bonus is it is a lot easier to cut, drill, and chip dry rock then it is live or even just wet rock. You can take days laying out your dry rock out of your tank or even in an empty tank until you have exactly what you want. Once the rock is live (bought that way or cycled) you have to worry about keeping it wet or there will be loss of bacteria or other die-off that creates problems.

What I am getting at is with dry rock there are no extra steps and you will not have any of the problem hitchhikers in your tank as you start. It is much less expensive, so you can take your savings and put it toward a better skimmer, or light, or reactors. It is available online or at most LFS, and some of it comes out of the ground (mined from a land-based fossilized coral reef and does not damage ocean habitats in any way) instead of live reef systems.

 

[Mmsetta]

Last question. I see a lot of key largo dry rock out there very cheap. Any difference between this and pukani or dry Fiji? Other than the look of course. L

 

[Mmsetta]

Well, I went ahead and bought 25 lbs of marcorocks key largo for $60 (free shipping). Going to seed this with some live sand and maybe a couple live rocks from my lfs. Let's see if this works. I parted with my fresh water fish (my friends for 4 years) who went to a nice home. So, I am ready to convert to salt. Can't wait to post pictures of my new build once my rock comes in. Hope I made the right choice!

 

[Reefing Madness]