My 160 setup using plastic fake rocks

[Shane1975]

Had to move my tank and start over 6 months ago and decided I wanted to ditch the live rock. So far it has been much easier to maintain. Your thoughts?

 

[Auquanut]

It looks really nice. Is it porous enough for good biological filtration, or are you using something else? How does it compare cost-wise to dry rock. I'm sure it's much easier since you don't have to cure it.

 

[Shane1975]

Just finished vacuuming the sand bed after seeing the pics, lol. I do have some live rock in the sump to help with biological filtration.

Cost wise I’m sure it was cheaper but maintenance wise it is miles ahead. I can just take it out and scrub it if needed which I haven’t had to do yet. Very little algae has grown on it and I run 560 watts of lights over my tank that gives me close to 200 par at the sandbed. Each piece weighs between 10-15 lbs I guess. The fish love being able to go inside and hang out at night. It’s been in the tank for around 6 months now.

My yellow tang picks at the algae and eats it all day so I’m sure that helps some also. Most of that algae is just painted on to look real.

 

[Auquanut]

I really do like it. It's just built with the fish (hidey holes) and coral placement in mind. And it looks great. Gonna have to consider this for my next build. Let us know how it stands up to the test of time.

 

[Hemmdog]

What’s your nutrient levels? I’m curious how it’s actually functioning. Live rock plays a crucial role in our reefs. They help so much with stability amongst countless other things.

 

[Shane1975]

Just tested

Alk 13.4
Ca 350
Mg 1400
Ph 7.8
Nitrate around 1
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0

Will be replacing my ro/di filters this week along with a 20% water change. Hopefully that will help bring down my nitrate.

 

[Shane1975]

These guys are getting big and healthy.