Marco Rock OR BRS Reef Saver Rock?

[samdaman]

Which one is better? Why?

[bamf25]

I am thinking of using the Reefcleaners dry rock myself.

[mc-cro]

I went back and forth on this for about a month. I had just about made up my mind to go with Marco, then I got in on a group buy at BRS, and purchased the Pukani rock. From all the reading I have done, Pukani was the best, and the next best was a toss up between Marco and BRS reefsaver. I only needed about 60#, so for the cost difference I think it is going to be worth it. My package is actually due to arrive any minute.

We shall see if it was worth it or not.

[bluezx636]

I voted for marco and really like it but I really don't know if its better or worse BRS

[coker98]

Brs is better. I have had both and the Brs is shaped better and actually looks like live rock. The marco rocks look kind of like a mix between lace and cichlid rock.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

[Turbovr3six]

Marco Rock. Customer service is top notch and it ships fast. I told Marc what kind of aquascaping I was going for and he sent me pieces to fit my build nicely. Plus it was packaged EXTREMELY well. I ordered 150# and I ended up with barely any rubble.

Pics of packaging and total rubble:

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m52/TURBOVR3SIX/1278798943.jpg

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m52/TURBOVR3SIX/1278798933.jpg

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m52/TURBOVR3SIX/1278798863.jpg

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m52/TURBOVR3SIX/1278798815.jpg[/IMG

And a picture of the rock its self attached with acrylic rods:

[IMG]http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m52/TURBOVR3SIX/1279522631.jpg

[samdaman]

Marco Rock. Customer service is top notch and it ships fast. I told Marc what kind of aquascaping I was going for and he sent me pieces to fit my build nicely. Plus it was packaged EXTREMELY well. I ordered 150# and I ended up with barely any rubble.

Pics of packaging and total rubble:

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m52/TURBOVR3SIX/1278798943.jpg

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m52/TURBOVR3SIX/1278798933.jpg

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m52/TURBOVR3SIX/1278798863.jpg

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m52/TURBOVR3SIX/1278798815.jpg[/IMG

And a picture of the rock its self attached with acrylic rods:

[IMG]http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m52/TURBOVR3SIX/1279522631.jpg

Looks good, exactly like the reef saver rocks... almost the same price too.

Did it color up fast?

[dublo8]

Hey Sam, The rock in my 40 is BRS reef saver. Either choice is a good one. If you are able to get in on a group buy with BRS than that's probably your better choice.

[samdaman]

Hey Sam, The rock in my 40 is BRS reef saver. Either choice is a good one. If you are able to get in on a group buy with BRS than that's probably your better choice.

I know, I like your rock lol, and I like Justin's rock!

[halcyonism]

I found BRS to be the cheapest if you can get in on a group buy, which seems to be going on all the time, just check their sponsor forum.

[samdaman]

I found BRS to be the cheapest if you can get in on a group buy, which seems to be going on all the time, just check their sponsor forum.

for 100 LBS, both marco and BRS are the same + tax

[extoker]

I have BRS base rock and the Pukani. It's light for the size/shape of the either type of rock.

[chimmike]

BRS Pukani>all those options.

[jeff@zina.com]

Neither is "better" than the other, though they are a little different. I like the BRS rock, but I usually order it along with other things which I couldn't do from Marco. So for me, in this situation, BRS rock is "better."

Jeff

[mc-cro]

My BRS pukani showed up yesterday, and WOW! It was exactly what I was looking for.

I purchased 60lbs, and asked for 2-3 football size rocks as I am building a couple of bommies. The box arrived, and it was very well packed.
This rock is kind of brittle, it is actually just dead coral heads. However, there was only a handful of rubble in the bottom of the bag that had broken off during shipping.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank025-1.jpg
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank026-1.jpg
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank024-1.jpg
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t95/micahmc/Tank/tank021-1.jpg

[James404]

I am a loyal BRS customer, they always ship fast, and I love their point system.

Heres my 100lbs of pukani I got from them:

http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af223/TheDJ404/DSC_0314_556.jpg

About 50lbs of Reef Saver:
http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af223/TheDJ404/DSC_0375_319.jpg

[Poomba]

I ordered 50 pounds of Reef Saver and 10 pounds of Marco Shelf Rock. I would have gone with all Reef Saver, but I needed a shelf for my aquascape. I guess its all dependent on your needs.

Oh and 25 pounds of Walt Smith Cultured fiji live rock.

[offroadr]

Oh and 25 pounds of Walt Smith Cultured fiji live rock.



Just curious where you got that from?

[Poomba]

Divers Den :)

Its the first time Ive seen it come up, but they have FHI Real Reef live rock quite frequently.

Im trying to go as low enviromental impact as possible, along with limiting the number of pests that make their way into my tank.

[Crusinjimbo]

+1 on Marco rock. I'm very satisfied with their customer service and rock.

[Poomba]

Divers Den :)

Its the first time Ive seen it come up, but they have FHI Real Reef live rock quite frequently.

Im trying to go as low enviromental impact as possible, along with limiting the number of pests that make their way into my tank.

Well so much for limiting pests.

At least one crab that I found while just putting the rock in a tub.

I thought that buying it on buyers den meant it had been quarantined.

Oh well should have read better.

[dano83]

I ordered 40 pounds of marco last year. I would have to disagree about it being packaged well. Mine was only wrapped in one layer of bubble wrap so one really nice longer piece broke in half during shipping. I emailed them about it and got no response back so that makes me wonder if their customer service is very good.

I will be ordering brs rock when my new 180 gets going.

[spsfragger]

brs rocks

[clekchau]

Brs rocks here looks exactly like my Marco rocks. I just ordered 512 lbs of huge cherry picked pieces for 1200 shipped. Customer service was great, he even took pictures for me on request before I agreed to buy. I asked Brs to take pictures and they said was not possible lol

[Lynnmw1208]

I got my brs rocks today and I've gotta say I'm pretty impressed! I ordered 40 lbs of reef saver rock and 20 lbs of pukani. Pukani is DEFINITELY better but more expensive. The pukani is so porous blennies and gobies can sit inside of it, it's so nice! 20 lbs got me 5 rocks, one really large and the rest medium which just tells you how much ligher that rock is too. The reef saver eco rock was definitely less porous but still nice. I'll take pics tomorrow as it took me awhile to set it up in my tank today lol.

My only gripe is it wasn't really packed THAT well... The rocks were all put in a large bag with styro foam pellets around that. so my 40 lb box of eco rock had a lot of rubble on the bottom. I'll prob just use it to frag corals tho, so it's not that bad. Oh and it only took 2 days to get to my house :)

[Bigez]

Either rock is easy to aquascape imo. I went with brs rock cause I could buy all the extra stuff I needed while I was at it. You can't really go wrong either way.

[dublo8]

Either way you go definitely get the emarco cement system from marco rocks. This stuff rocks literally. You can build anything you want with it and it's cured in 24hrs. That's how i built all my structures.

[samdaman]

Either way you go definitely get the emarco cement system from marco rocks. This stuff rocks literally. You can build anything you want with it and it's cured in 24hrs. That's how i built all my structures.

So your rock in the 40 is all stuck together?

[salcedo5]

I just received 40 lbs of reef saver rock for my 65 gals. from BRS and it looks really good, plenty of holes and easy to aquascape. Good stuff.

[Elysia]

I ordered 40 pounds of marco last year. I would have to disagree about it being packaged well. Mine was only wrapped in one layer of bubble wrap so one really nice longer piece broke in half during shipping. I emailed them about it and got no response back so that makes me wonder if their customer service is very good.

I will be ordering brs rock when my new 180 gets going.

I have heard some not so great things about Marco Rock's customer service. Problems with them charging people for rock and not sending it for 8 or more months after and not returning telephone calls and emails. Something to look into, perhaps.

[RcToners]

My vote is Marco :)

Ive never had problems with Marco Rocks, theyre great and the shipping is FAST. Prices are great and the rock is packed with a lot of care. You can put comments on your order page such as "large pieces" or "medium pieces" and I've found that they normally follow your comments if possible.

[bsg]

I ordered from BRS (Pukani and Reefsaver) and the rock is amazing. I asked for specific sizes and received exactly what I hoped for. Packing was top notch, I expected a bag of rocks in a box. I was shocked when I saw bubble wrap and peanuts protecting the shipment.

Big thumbs up!

[samdaman]

Hmm its about even, has anyone tried their substrate?

[Poomba]

Hmm its about even, has anyone tried their substrate?

Just bought some. Its definitely sugar fine sand.
I will post more when I fill up the tank.

[Lynnmw1208]

I haven't tried their substrate but I'm liking tropic eden reeflakes right now for an idea for u

[clekchau]

I have heard some not so great things about Marco Rock's customer service. Problems with them charging people for rock and not sending it for 8 or more months after and not returning telephone calls and emails. Something to look into, perhaps.

i had the opposite experience, rocks came in early this week.

i emailed asking for availability on monday, returned email monday, pictures tuesday, ordered wednesday and it was freight shipped (on pallet) to my driveway by Monday.

here are pics of 512 lbs worth shipped for $1200 he even threw in a large box of rubble which is not really rubble but smaller pieces of rock. pics don't really do it justice, going to get them ready to cure today and will take more pics.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a365/clekchau/92decd17.jpg

[samdaman]

I haven't tried their substrate but I'm liking tropic eden reeflakes right now for an idea for u

I was looking at that, is it Really white? Does it get picked up by flow?

[Lynnmw1208]

I was looking at that, is it Really white? Does it get picked up by flow?

It seems like the particle size is pretty good. small enough for sand sifting gobies but big enough to stay put. they had miniflakes but I decided to go with this one as it was a bit larger. It is really white with some pinkish piece mixed in. This is the closest pic I have of it right now as the water is cloudy from filling it up with RO-DI and moving rocks around.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_q5zxJxS9jm4/TWb_-Yt8zcI/AAAAAAAAE9E/JBzNmfJnWj4/s800/DSC_0006-4.JPG

[samdaman]

It seems like the particle size is pretty good. small enough for sand sifting gobies but big enough to stay put. they had miniflakes but I decided to go with this one as it was a bit larger. It is really white with some pinkish piece mixed in. This is the closest pic I have of it right now as the water is cloudy from filling it up with RO-DI and moving rocks around.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_q5zxJxS9jm4/TWb_-Yt8zcI/AAAAAAAAE9E/JBzNmfJnWj4/s800/DSC_0006-4.JPG

Nice, looks good, is this in your 125?

[aleonn]

I purchased over 150 lbs of BRS Fiji dry, 25 lbs of BRS shelf rock, and 25 lbs of Tonga branch rock. Couldn't have been happier with the packaging and shipment. The only thing I would have changed is to purchase Pukani, but my budget was more limited at the time.

[iamwrasseman]

i like some of the batches of marco rock that comes in but you have to beware as some of is very dense to the point of im wondering if it can properly house the right numbers of micro bacteria . yes it has the larger holes in it but it weighs alot for its size . ssome batches have come in much less dense and i really liked that rock but the denser i dont like . brs im not familiar with so i cant comment

[Korrine]

Good information. I plan on ordering from BRS for my 75g. Hopefully this summer!

[Lynnmw1208]

Nice, looks good, is this in your 125?

Yep it's in my 125g and thanks for the comment :spin3:

[samdaman]

Yep it's in my 125g and thanks for the comment :spin3:

You're welcome. How many inches did 150 lbs give you?

[Lynnmw1208]

You're welcome. How many inches did 150 lbs give you?

I got about 3.5 inches out of 150lbs. I actually had 2 extra bags since I ordered 7 lol. I wanted a deeper substrate for my jawfish that I plan to get :lmao:

[jennmac415]

taggin along....trying to make this decision myself...


any more pics???

[jennmac415]

bump.....

[MrGoodbar]

I ordered 60lbs of BRS reef saver rock on thursday and im supposed to get it on monday afternoon. It is shipping really fast! I will post when i get it and let you know how it looks!

[jennmac415]

can't wait to see it!

[MrGoodbar]

can't wait to see it!

Me too! i did a group buy and got a bunch of other stuff at a discounted price that is defiantly the best way to go IMO.

[jennmac415]

our club is having a group buy right now too, I guess I will go ahead and order BRS rock
also!

How much of the reef saver rock should I get for a 120??

[MrGoodbar]

Recommend 1 lb per gallon. Im my case i have a new 75g tank so i got 60 lb of dry rock and going to seed it with 15 lbs of fiji live rock from my lfs to start the cycle.

[Essense]

Marco stacks like a dream and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. I was looking closely at both BRS and Marco, but liked the look of fellow reefers Marco the best of any rock i've seen.

My 50lbs came packaged extremely well. I actually got more like 53-54lbs, maybe 1/2lb of rubble.

[MrGoodbar]

Just got my reef saver rock in today and have to say im pretty impressed with it. There a tiny rubble not much which i will be using anyways so it works out great! here are some pics

http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/m629/mrgoodbar911/fa8fc02d.jpg

http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/m629/mrgoodbar911/ef63f21a.jpg

hope this helps :)

[jennmac415]

looks good, how many lbs was that?

[Tampico96]

I bought rock from reefcleaners a couple weeks ago and its the best I have ever gotten. Great price too.

http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h345/tampico96/IMG00324-20110221-1413.jpg

http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h345/tampico96/IMG00327-20110221-1413.jpg

http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h345/tampico96/IMG00329-20110221-1414.jpg

http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h345/tampico96/IMG00331-20110221-1414.jpg

[pkirby]

I just got in a shipment of 50lbs Marco rock. It was 54lbs according to USPS, Very nice rock :-) I'm pretty happy with it right now!

[jennmac415]

pics!! pics!!! :)

[greg0385]

just got my 100lbs of marco, less than a week of shipping, actual 108lbs. every rock was wrapped by itself. the rubble out of both boxs(50lbs each) is less than a handful.

[jennmac415]

pics pics.........

[RcToners]

Just finished my aquascape for my new 375 g, I went with marco rock and could not be happier. Here are a few pictures, I got 300 lbs of the marco rock and another 100lbs of the premium shelf rock.

http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/rctoners/d544a3ea.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/rctoners/18ce3d6b.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/rctoners/27d3ea6c.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/rctoners/e830fd3e.jpg

[MrGoodbar]

i got 60lbs it looks like they gave me extra rock too. i will be aquascaping it tonight so i can post some more pictures of what it looks like out of the box.

[phillyfishguy]

rctoners looking good! Where did you buy your sand?

[MrGoodbar]

So here is my BRS reef saver rock 60 lbs of it you can see the tiny rubble pile i got with it in the bottom of the pic. It wasnt very much
http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/m629/mrgoodbar911/df4063dc.jpg
and this is how it looks in the tank prob will change it up a few times but i like how it turned out.
http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/m629/mrgoodbar911/2c3442cc.jpg

[pmrossetti]

Just finished my aquascape for my new 375 g, I went with marco rock and could not be happier. Here are a few pictures, I got 300 lbs of the marco rock and another 100lbs of the premium shelf rock.

http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/rctoners/d544a3ea.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/rctoners/18ce3d6b.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/rctoners/27d3ea6c.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/rctoners/e830fd3e.jpg

gorgeous aquascape!
love to see a pic of what's under the tank! :)

[samdaman]

Those "shelves": look good.

[samdaman]

I will try Marco Rock on my nano, once I get on the BRS preferred customer thing I will try BRS Reef Saver Rock.

[Mouse]

I have 100lbs of Marco showing up this week, Ive gotten it from them in the past and was pleased with the product, as others have said, very well packed little if any rubble. We will see how this batch is when it arrives.

As to which is best? I have the feeling all are similar quality in both product and service, once you get a good product you stick with and promote it.

[samdaman]

I have 100lbs of Marco showing up this week, Ive gotten it from them in the past and was pleased with the product, as others have said, very well packed little if any rubble. We will see how this batch is when it arrives.

As to which is best? I have the feeling all are similar quality in both product and service, once you get a good product you stick with and promote it.

Cool, post pics when it arrives. I will do the same. Ordered today...so I'm guessing by Friday it should arrive.. I wouldn't mind any rubble because my nano will have a goby/shrimp pair. and with that rubble I can re enforce the corners so they can build away...

I now have another question.. has anyone used the substrate?

[duncantse]

Can't wait for some pics from both samdaman and mouse :)

[jennmac415]

I ordered 100 lbs of the reef saver rock from BRS last Sunday, received it Friday.I actually got 115 lbs!! It is AWESOME!!! I can NOT wait to get my tank up and aquascape with this rock!! Here are some pics...

<a href="http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y66/jennmac415/?action=view&amp;current=P3180457.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y66/jennmac415/P3180457.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y66/jennmac415/?action=view&amp;current=P3180451.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y66/jennmac415/P3180451.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y66/jennmac415/?action=view&amp;current=P3180453.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y66/jennmac415/P3180453.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y66/jennmac415/?action=view&amp;current=P3180447.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y66/jennmac415/P3180447.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[duncantse]

Whoa, those are big rocks.

[progman2000]

I've been very happy with the BRS rock.

[glenns]

I recently bought 100#'s of MarcoRock. So far I'm happy with the experience. Each piece was wrapped in bubble wrap. There was very little rubble. The rock sizes are medium to large pieces.

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa440/gsj530/90Gal_Rebuild/100_0253.jpg

Having never bought the BRS rock, I cannot give an opinion on their product or service.

[samdaman]

received my rocks today:D

[samdaman]

http://i819.photobucket.com/albums/zz119/monsieursam/SprintPhoto_bhcfke.jpg
http://i819.photobucket.com/albums/zz119/monsieursam/SprintPhoto_b335oe.jpg
http://i819.photobucket.com/albums/zz119/monsieursam/SprintPhoto_bovjte.jpg

Im not gonna lie I did receive more rubble than i expected...Looks like on big rock broke

http://i819.photobucket.com/albums/zz119/monsieursam/SprintPhoto_b0stve.jpg

[Mouse]

OK, rock showed up the other day finaly got around to opening it up. Ill pass on pics of the packaging as that is well documented how well they do. Im tellin ya, marco must have a family member in the bubble wrap buisness....
9 rocks in total, ruler for size referance. Last pic is of the rubble, quite abit however it is from damage durring shipping not as filler. I will be soaking this rock in RO/DI water for a period of time ( I belive you CAN cook rock in FW) then a soak in SW before the tank goes up.
http://i398.photobucket.com/albums/pp70/Mousejockey_pics/347.jpg
http://i398.photobucket.com/albums/pp70/Mousejockey_pics/345.jpg
http://i398.photobucket.com/albums/pp70/Mousejockey_pics/345.jpg
http://i398.photobucket.com/albums/pp70/Mousejockey_pics/348.jpg

[samdaman]

Nice!

[willj313]

looks like marco all the way

[TRENT_G]

Just ordered 100 pounds of Pukani from BRS. Experience and pictures to come.

[mc-cro]

The pukani is great stuff, be sure to cure it outside of your main tank.

I put about 50lbs in a seperate container to cure, there must have been a lot of dead organics in the rock. The skimmer went crazy for about a week, and the water turned as yellow as pee.

[Dactylopterus]

Has anyone pictures of the coralline growth on the Dry rock? how much did it take to start growing? and opinions on wich type of rock will be better to colonize coralline algae?

[mc-cro]

I dont think one type is better than another for growing coraline. You can grow coraline on beer bottle. You wont be worried about the coraline on the rocks when they are all covered in corals. :)

[Dactylopterus]

:beer:

My question is because my tank is new, and I bought an urchin that eats like a pig, he is eating all the algae and even the coralline, so I would like the coralline colonizing and growing fast on the dry rock.

[willj313]

Lets see some pics of marco rocks in some tanks

[samdaman]

Lets see some pics of marco rocks in some tanks

I have some in my tank...but its without water and stuff, let me know and Ill post a pic.

[glenns]

Here's a thread under MarcoRock's forum with pics.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1678248

[OregonReefer]

Just ordered 100 pounds of Pukani from BRS. Experience and pictures to come.

I ordered 50lbs of Pukani from BRS. While there was a little snag with the shipping they MORE than made up for it... Seriously the best customer service EVER!

The shipped weight was 56lbs, the packaging was probably around 2-3lbs.

I got 3 rocks and about 5lbs of rubble/breakage... amazing show pieces!

The largest was 19.5" "tall" (yes it'll be standing on end)

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/rtrons/dadfishtank008.jpg

[willj313]

lets see some pics

[NickC5FE]

Ordered 75 lbs of Reefsaver rocks from BRS for a 90 gallon project I am starting next week. I also have about 70 lbs of live rock in my established tank to help seed it. Can't wait to see it, it should arrive Friday! I do know that it reads out as 86 lbs on the tracking labels! BRS has been great to work with.

Question, what is the best way to transfer my rock/corals/fish between tanks? With the reefsaver, is there a need to cycle the tank-assuming the established rock goes in with it?-thanks

[TRENT_G]

Rock looks nice. I should get mine Monday. As you know some of the LFS want 6.00 plus for dirty rock (pest, aiptasia ect). This is the way to go.



I ordered 50lbs of Pukani from BRS. While there was a little snag with the shipping they MORE than made up for it... Seriously the best customer service EVER!

The shipped weight was 56lbs, the packaging was probably around 2-3lbs.

I got 3 rocks and about 5lbs of rubble/breakage... amazing show pieces!

The largest was 19.5" "tall" (yes it'll be standing on end)

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/rtrons/dadfishtank008.jpg

[dre09]

Here is my tank with 45 lbs of the reef saver rock. My tank is only about 2 months old but the rock seems to be getting greener and darker each day. This pic was taken 2 weeks ago. I can't wait until it is covered in coraline.
144786

[TRENT_G]

Just ordered 100 pounds of Pukani from BRS. Experience and pictures to come.


Received Monday, here are a few pictures. 100 lbs large pieces. I'm sure most know this but be sure to soak and clean before use. Very happy with my order.

http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r479/TRENT_G_album/DSC02878.jpg
http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r479/TRENT_G_album/DSC02881.jpg
http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r479/TRENT_G_album/DSC02880.jpg

Pictures of 24 hour soak. Then to the cycle tank for a few months.

http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r479/TRENT_G_album/DSC02890.jpg
http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r479/TRENT_G_album/DSC02887.jpg

[jennmac415]

do you have to soak the reef saver rock from BRS too? I got 100 lbs and was just going to place it in my new tank when I set it up and seed it with a few pieces of live rock...

[TRENT_G]

do you have to soak the reef saver rock from BRS too? I got 100 lbs and was just going to place it in my new tank when I set it up and seed it with a few pieces of live rock...

Jenni, Yes you should soak it first. This is also from BRS. I soaked it in RO/DI water for 24 hours then used a 1200 GPH powerhead to blast the rock (kind of like a pressure washer). Then placed it in a 150 gallon SW tank to cure.

[jennmac415]

are you the same TRENT on our PNWMAS??? small world!!! :)

[TRENT_G]

are you the same TRENT on our PNWMAS??? small world!!! :)

Yep, that's me. I did recognized you too. How the tank build going?

[OregonReefer]

We seem to have a lot of Oregonians building new tanks...

[jennmac415]

hey neighbors!!

My tank build is going slowly....i have everything ready but I am waiting on my husband to do a little construction on the spot we are placing the tank...and I am getting IMPATIENT!!! LOL with all the unpacking and organizing we have been doing since we finally moved into a house... it is taking longer to get around to this project than I like....

[jennmac415]

and we are all setting up 120s too! :)

[jennmac415]

could I just clean it with a hose??? Then put it in the tank to cure since it is a new set up... nothing else will be in there???

[OregonReefer]

could I just clean it with a hose??? Then put it in the tank to cure since it is a new set up... nothing else will be in there???

Considering that pic of Trents with the rock in the bucket I'm not sure the hose would be enough.

Thanks for the tip Trent!

[duncantse]

could I just clean it with a hose??? Then put it in the tank to cure since it is a new set up... nothing else will be in there???

Is your tank still cycling?

If not, I would just put all rocks in trash can then turn powerhead on to blast any pieces of dirt stuck on the rock for 24 hours. Then I will place in tank.

[FastUno]

Nice rocks, BUT
Have we not learned anything from our bio-ball experience? Are we too entrapped with the beauty of these rocks and the ease of aquascaping. Enwrapped with the ideology that microorganisms, within the rocks wormholes, will transport all that goes in to a parallel universe. Never to be dealt with or inconvenienced by forth wit.

And if you don't believe me just ask the rock cookers out there. No difference between cleaning out the undergravel filter, your web of bio-balls, or YES even the precious and porous rock bio-filters turned villainous nitrate factories.

[MrGoodbar]

could I just clean it with a hose??? Then put it in the tank to cure since it is a new set up... nothing else will be in there???

Jenn i got 60lbs of brs reef saver and i put it in my tank with just rodi water for about 2 days with everthing running and then added live rock about a week later and it worked fine for me. The tank had nothing else in it i am about a month into cycling with it and have had good results getting algea on the rock and now im about to add a cuc.

[jennmac415]

Nice rocks, BUT
Have we not learned anything from our bio-ball experience? Are we too entrapped with the beauty of these rocks and the ease of aquascaping. Enwrapped with the ideology that microorganisms, within the rocks wormholes, will transport all that goes in to a parallel universe. Never to be dealt with or inconvenienced by forth wit.

And if you don't believe me just ask the rock cookers out there. No difference between cleaning out the undergravel filter, your web of bio-balls, or YES even the precious and porous rock bio-filters turned villainous nitrate factories.


AND SOOOOO......forgive me for not understanding, but what is it that you mean??? :spin3:

[Sharpie_]

I won't read through the thread but when it comes down to it, I have to go with eco-reefer rocks. Their rocks are quarry harvested and I've had awesome results with it, took about a full year to colour/life up to the point where others can't tell which was wild collected and which was quarry mined. It's a canadian company with similar prices, and I can go in to hand pick my rocks without paying for shipping. If your Canadian (Southern Ontario) then this is the place for you.

Here's a pic of my rocks, can you tell? I`ll give you a hint, two of three rocks in this shot (foreground) are ocean harvested, from separate parts of the world.

http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/l624/Zachary_Melo/IMG_0118.jpg

I turned the lights on just for you guys! :)

For good measure, here's a shot of the tank before I was maintaining "perfect" parameters with my CA/ALK/Mag etc.

http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/l624/Zachary_Melo/DSC09940.jpg

[Sharpie_]

Nice rocks, BUT
Have we not learned anything from our bio-ball experience? Are we too entrapped with the beauty of these rocks and the ease of aquascaping. Enwrapped with the ideology that microorganisms, within the rocks wormholes, will transport all that goes in to a parallel universe. Never to be dealt with or inconvenienced by forth wit.

And if you don't believe me just ask the rock cookers out there. No difference between cleaning out the undergravel filter, your web of bio-balls, or YES even the precious and porous rock bio-filters turned villainous nitrate factories.

You clearly don't understand the nitrogen cycle... It doesn't dissapear, at that point (after being broken down into nitrates) we remove it with macro, carbon dosing, water changes, or any other plethora of methods. I've got seeded rock in my tank and shortly after it's transfer my nitrates were at 0 and stayed there.

I don't know what you're thinking with your post (I may be misunderstanding you entirely) but I think you need to read up on the nitrogen cylce.

Waste
Ammonia
Nitrites
Nitrates
Filamentious Algaes

^with my luck I messed up some how, I'll look dumber then ever!:uzi::o

[jennmac415]

Please explain to me what " FastUno" is trying to say??? I am just not getting it.

[samdaman]

Please explain to me what " FastUno" is trying to say??? I am just not getting it.

porous rock bio-filters turned villainous nitrate factories

[FastUno]

Forgive me; I must have had too much beer that day. What I was trying to say was that I am questioning the LONG term usefulness of HIGHLY porous rocks or EXCESSIVE rock clustering.

Based upon scrutiny of my past tanks & the tanks of others who have had issues with NA & PO & met the following conditions:

-Used good skimmers rated for tank or better.
-Followed members who have used BB tanks (so we can't blame sand bed).
-All used RODI water with low TDS readings.
-All had 12hr or less photo period and had moderate to great water flow.
-Members in question were feeding less to avoid additional NA & PO.
-All were using some form of counter measure, such as carbon, PO treatment/reactor. Some even external NEW DSB.
-All were doing weekly water change 10-20%, without any significant changes to quality.
-All had highly porous LIVE rock and/or many rock layers.

Yet, NA & PO levels would persist. I would imagine what happened was that the feeding debris and detritus was built up within the rock & the nutrient transport mechanism (live rock, skimmer, mechanical filtration (carbon/PO reactor) could not keep up with leakage of the nitrate factory.

The culprit for me & during that time seemed rather clear. Interestingly enough, back then a new breed of rock cookers started to pop-up on threads & provided me with additional support on my speculations.

There are those who met the above conditions & who claim their nitrates and PO levels are zero. Although there are too many factors to consider, one can possibly attribute this to the variation in the organisms taking refuge on the rock and water column, or even the balance of a particular organism taking or neglecting to take a foothold in the system.

Just for the record, my last two tanks did extremely well, with no signs of issues other than the reading of the NA & PO. Something that had kept me on the edge of my seat, expecting a tank crash of some sort.

[IridescentLily]

I like brs.
Here's a video of how it looks:
I was gonna buy Marco rock but they were out and wouldn't have more for a month. On a suggestion I went to the brs site, did a little researching from other brs users and decided to buy some.
I bought 100lbs. I video'd some of my tank setup but a couple of them show what the BRS rock looks like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78e9ci8sulI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SwuznVwCMs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5hO0mPU4ic&feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5dSOH0ld3c&feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs-wFvZTAIA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[IridescentLily]

We soaked/cured them in one of these
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymFEd_kLCHI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

And I cant find the video where we took it out after a couple weeks, but after we took it out we scrubbed it with a hard brush, then sprayed it with the hose and got any stuff still on the rock, then that's it, it's ready to use! :)