Poll: Rock Preference for New System

[dbl]

Let's discuss what your preference is for rock when starting a new system. We have plenty of choices and it's often debated which is "best". So let us know what you preference is and feel free discuss your reasons below.

 

[Luno]

Originally I used live rock generally acquired from lfs and selling adds. Later on I used dead rock purchased from the same way or rock I had. Treated it, cured it and off I went. Last year I purchased dead rock the same way that I had planned to use myself. A friend asked to use some and had nothing but dramas. Turned out the rock was copper treated. Now after that experience I'm deciding to only use rock like Caribsea. However I don't buyinto the colored rock hey have. Something about coloring rock makes me think surely that can't be good or may eventually leach something they did to color it. Plus I don't wanna pay extra money for rock that's already purple, coralline will come soon enough. So my plan from now on is the Carib sea base rock.

 

[Elegance Coral]

I voted, "dry live rock", but the rock isn't live if it's dry. It's dead dry rock, but there was no option for that. I prefer dead "base rock" like marco rock.

 

[jda]

Dry/dead rock can hold massive amounts of phosphate. In a recent test, it was able to bind over 350x the tank reading on P at a ratio of 1 pound of aragonite to 5 gallons of tank water. People might choose differently if they knew what could be in their rocks. The several-years of algae and phosphate issues is very real for a lot of people.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/phosphate-absorption-rates-in-aragonite.352405

The purple is most likely epoxy. It is safe, but it coats the rock from being able to let in water to the more center regions to process nitrate in nitrogen gas where the oxygen gets depleted.

 

[mahindra.dev]

Dry Live rock it is. Or as @Elegance Coral says Dead Dry Rock .
Pukani or Reef-saver and add some marine pure blocks in the sump for added surface area.

 

[Gareth elliott]

I like both, live rock and dry rock.

Live rock makes your cycle a cinch, keep wet, bring home, add rock. I have also had pleasent experinces from hitch hikers, i suppose my outlook would be different if i ended up with pest anemones or fish eating inverts.

Dry rock on the other hand is so much CHEAPER! Also easier to scape with. I am in the process of removing some rock and replacing with dry tonga branch. The whole attachment process to create a single peice out of many would be 10x more stressful if i had to worry about killing the bacteria. Suppose if the dry rock is something easier to scape with this concern is easily mitigated.

 

[Brew12]

This is complicated.

Take aquacultured live rock.

Tampa Bay Saltwater is aquacultured by hauling it out to an ocean site and letting it age.
Technically, if your LFS keeps live rock in a tub in their store, it is aquacultured.
These two types of aquacultured live rock are no where near the same. IMO there is little difference between rock aquacultured in tubs or troughs and adding bottled bacteria to dry rock.

 

[Ento-Reefer]

This 180 gallon was my first tank started using mostly, about 95% dry rock. I chose reef cleaners Florida rock because it seems the least likely to have bound up phosphates. I added a couple pieces of 5 year + live rock from my 95 g as well as some live sand and mud ordered from Indio Pacific Sea Farms. This tank has turned out to be my most trouble free, algae free, and pest free, tank start.

So my vote is mostly dry rock with also seeding with a small amount of live rock / sand/mud from more than one system.

 

[vlangel]

I prefer live rock from the ocean, even if it was dead rock and submerged for a year or 2. Years ago when everyone setting up a marine tank used live rock from the ocean, dinos were unheard of. I think the diversity of life on rock from the ocean is more vast and as a result a better source as a biofilter. I understand the risk of hitch hikers but if one is diligent they do not have to be problematic.

 

[mta_morrow]

I have used #reefcleaners on my 2 builds. So I chose "other" above.

 

[K. Steven]

What is dry live rock? Isn't that an oxymoron? Or is it referring to dry rock with dried, encrusted fauna that needs to be cured before setup?

I prefer dry rock to prevent nuisances.

 

[AdamNC]

I picked other as I prefer about 25% live rock and the rest dead. It’s cheaper and never had any real issues doing it this way. On my current new build I’m using 10lbs of live and about 30lbs of dead.

 

[jda]

Dead rock from the ocean is different than dry rock from a terrestrial mine. They usually have different issues to overcome that can be hard with the same label since people usually cannot tell the difference until they have been in the hobby for a while.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Yeah, as @Brew12 said, some clarification on "aquacultured" would be nice.

Personally, the best tank I ever had was using Live Aquaria's "uncured" rock. This rock wasn't quite as live as "ocean" rock from TBS, but it's the most live rock I've ever seen aside from that. It also was ridiculously stable. I never had any algae issues ever, and I used tap water, fed pellet food heavily, and never did water changes. If there was a cheaper or easier source for ocean rock (or near ocean rock), I would buy that in a heartbeat.

 

[Fourstars]

Cultured is the responsible choice. Doctors and scientist have discovered how important diversity of microflora is in our gut for preventing disease. Why would a reef tank be any different? Lots of the issues we see on these boards are caused IMO but the lack of use of live rock.

 

[jda]

Any rock from the ocean should be phosphate free coming from an oligotrophic environment. I consider TBS Rock to be "live rock," but we will all differ on this.

Boat Rock from the pacific is about $3-4 a pound shipped. Not as cheap as dry, but it might after you consider the potential for lots of GFO, work and time set back. This stuff has usually been partially cured, has been washed of decaying debris and does not usually have any pests whatsoever.

The stuff that is living on the outside is not the prize. The prize is the phosphate, free porous structure that can keep N and P low, but not too low, and allow the microfauna to thrive.

 

[saltyhog]

I voted other. Maricultured live rock such as TBS sells. The rock is cultured in the ocean for maximal biodiversity and does not envolve damaging reefs to remove live rock.

Aquaculturing I can do myself.

 

[Ashish Patel]

I have 4 different kind of Rock (dry Reef saver, dry caribsea, dry pukani, live fiji) in my system and each has its own benefits. Reef saver rock is so clean I never had issues with phosphates and use it for frag plugs without issues. However, its a haven for aiptasias compared to the other rock and tends to accumulate detritus. Pukani is great for aquascape but because of the curing process I wouldnt recommend, I had a cured piece so it was no issues. I am adding a new rock right now and its caribsea shapes, I think this rock is the best looking man-made rock i've seen so in the future this will be my first choice.

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

Real live rock from the ocean. Nothing creates a stable, natural, ecosystem in the tank like it. Use dead rock and you've got a dead, lifeless tank unless you spend $$$ to seed it with stuff. Even then, it won't be the same. Kind of a case of "you don't know what you've got until it's gone". I think a lot of people who have come into the hobby in the last several years don't truly understand what live rock does for a reef tank because they've never used it. The pros far outweigh the cons IMO.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Live rock all the way if you can find it (Luckily I have an LFS that air freights from overseas. Pricey though). Florida or Gulf aquacultured is also good. One should try to maximize biodiversity.

Dry rock is fine too, but...

The problem I see mostly is people start with dry rock and then proceed as if they were using live rock. Cycle for a month and then start loading in fish and corals. The trick to making dry rock or dead rock work, in my humble opinion, is

• a long curing process
• a cycle period
• a LONG maturing process where the cycled rock is seeded with life (pods, stars, worms, etc.) either from addition of these creatures themselves or from adding some established live rock

It seems many dry rock users get past the cycle stage and think they are done. For the best long term success I recommend letting that rock mature as long as possible with a variety of life.