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View Full Version : Dry Rock vs Live Rock


KeithB
03/25/2013, 11:22 PM
Is there a significant advantage to starting with all live rock vs using a base of dry rock and seeding it witha limited amount of live rock?

biecacka
03/25/2013, 11:46 PM
Time.
All live rock could be a few weeks cycle 4-6 all base rock could double that.
Budget.
All live rock could be expensive depending on tank size
Just a few...
Corey

silleb
03/25/2013, 11:49 PM
Live rock can come with beneficial critters like bristle worms, copeopods, anthrapods, ect. Downfall is bad critters like mantis shrimp, crabs, ect.

cloak
03/26/2013, 11:59 AM
I kind of prefer going all live rock. (biodiversity) There can be some bad people on the bus sometimes, but if you know what to look out for, it can all be good.

FWIW, I like to "cherry-pick" the rocks at various LFS.

Here's an example of what to look for. You can't dodge them all, but the benefits far outweigh the negatives IME.

http://www.lionfishlair.com/hitchhiker/hitchhiker.shtml

HTH.

justthewife
03/26/2013, 09:57 PM
This is totally my opinion as I am a newbie. I have a 90 gallon tank and I got three large texas holy rock for base rock and the rest was live rock. If I had to do over, I think I would have gone all live rock. The base rock is still giving off silicates after 5 months and we are still seeing diatoms. I think if we had started with all live rock we would have been over the diatoms by now. The base rock we used also attracted bright green algae for a while too. I am always seeing little bubbles coming off of my base rock too. We did base and live to save money.

Reefmedic79
03/26/2013, 10:08 PM
My current set-up consisted of 40lb dry base rock (reefrocks.com) and 10 lbs of LR cherry picked from a fellow reefers tank. Never had any issues with phosphates or silicates personally.

The dry rocks do get a bright neon green algae that grows on it, but in time it darkens up and starts looking like regular LR. Had purple coralline start to show up with 2 months. My tank is almost a year old and you can hardly tell that it was base rock.

alexander_ktn
03/27/2013, 01:38 AM
I kind of prefer going all live rock. (biodiversity) There can be some bad people on the bus sometimes, but if you know what to look out for, it can all be good.

+1

Most of the approaches to setting up a tank with dry rock/live rock work, some take more time than others to look good/perform well, some have increased risks, but I really try to get as many different microorganisms into the tank as possible and that's where going all live rock shines (with all its pros and cons).

AGreyCrane
05/09/2013, 08:34 PM
Not to raise an old thread but... I was checking out reefrocks.net after someone mentioned them above and they had the following to say on their "The Rock" page. After listing the two types of rock they do sent to customers they tell about the rock they avoid.

The final type of rock we come across has similar looking holes and structures as our rock, but has been formed by the release of gas pockets created by the decay of living organisms. This rock needs extensive curing to make it aquarium safe, and even then it still has a tendency to leach phosphates over time. Our staff is trained to recognize these rocks, remove them from the quarry and keep them separate at all times from the rock that is destined for our customers.

KeithB
05/21/2013, 04:05 PM
That's kind of scary...