View Full Version : Man Made Live ROCK?? Yes or No
aquaskilz
03/25/2013, 08:19 AM
I was watching a very good you tube (How to set up a saltwater aquarium - Mike Paletta Starting a Reef Tank - LED Experiment - Part I ) and the aquarist Mike showed a cool way to build his aquascape with man made live rock and fiberglass poles. He mentioned he got the rock on line from wetpets I believe but I had no luck finding this site to order some. Is anyone familiar with thise site? Can anyone help or give a site that has good quality man made rock and service at a reasonable price? thanks!
PS. He mentioned this rock is best for drilling purposes.
TimeConsumer
03/25/2013, 10:27 AM
Sorry, I don't know a website that offers it, but a lot of the rock in my tank is manmade from my LFS. The shapes of the rock are great, but it's not without problems. When you get rock you want the lightest, most porous rock you can find. And if the manmade rock is anything like mine, it's about as light and porous as a chunk of concrete.
Have you thought about dry rock from BRS, Marco Rock, or Reefcleaners?
dan-in-gr
03/25/2013, 10:32 AM
Several years ago I got some man made aqua cultured rock from Florida (50 lb box), it was thick as a brick, heavy and no porosity. I will never get it again.
HeadleesSon
03/25/2013, 10:45 AM
Many man made live rocks use concrete and unless designed to be porous will basically be cement. If the maker takes the effort to design better, then some live rock will be light weight and porous. Normally that is done by mixing organically like rice or cereal into the mix. During the curing process the organics dissolve away.
cj7jeep81
03/25/2013, 10:50 AM
I looked into making my own rock for my tank because I'm trying to save money. However, if you buy dry rock (I bought from reefrocks.net), it just isn't cost effective. By the time I bought all the sand, cement, salt, oyster shells, and containers to mould it in, I wasn't saving much money. Add in all the time it would take to make and cure, and it just doesn't make sense for me.
If I really had to have a very specific shape, maybe it would. But for a new tank, nope.
silleb
03/25/2013, 10:51 AM
Most people will tell you no.
aquaskilz
03/25/2013, 12:47 PM
Thank you all for your comments! I feel like ur all family! @ Timeconsumer- No I havent brought any dry rock before? I always purchased LR from my LFS and im gonna upgrade so I want to save money. Should i try those websites u mentioned? what do you recommend?
@ dan n gr... I saw that before totally disgusting!
Did anybody check out the video??
Electrobes
03/25/2013, 12:51 PM
Man Made live rock is really, REALLY hard to do well.. it takes several months of practice runs to get the whole practice right (Chemically and appeal-wise). I've been doing it professionally for about 5-6 years and I can tell you it took quite a while before I could make it appealing to reefers (About a year in development and practice).
For anyone wanting to make their own rock, I suggest they have a whole lot if patience. On top of getting it just right, form-wise.. you still have to Kure it, which can take a lifetime. It can be cost effective if, and only if, the tank requires a decent amount... otherwise I would buy it off a retailer or even go for other reefer's live rock (After you thoroughly inspect the heck out of it.. or just remove the life from it), should they post it up for sale.
At this stage in the reefing game I feel like porosity has it's limits in terms of filtration... meaning I don't think you need a certain amount to keep a reef tank happy. As of now, the filtration sold today can easily compensate for the filtering abilities done by the bacteria on rocks. As ironic as this sounds, with me being a retailer, I suggest people go for less rocks in their tanks.. mainly because a lot of reefers forget that their corals will grow... if you let them of course! ;) Another reason for less rock is the buffer between the rock and tank walls. I like my walls clean, as do many reefers.. so I, like others, will suggest any where between 3-6 inches of nothingness, so scrapers and the such will have the room to be used.
Nothing will replace the life that live rock gives, so even I am guilty of liking certain (I am picky) tanks with a whole lot of rock in it. If you like it go for it.
In the end I feel like rock all comes down to how you want it, as opposed to function (Touching on porosity again). Just remember to try and predict the future of your livestock like hiding places for you fish list, corals' growth patterns, etc. It will save you a ton of headache in the future!
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