Live Rock vs Dead Rock

[Green Chromis]

:fish1: I see on the forums that many people are using dead rock to start a new tank. What are the reasons you would start a new tank with dead rock over live rock? :fish1:

[SaltyReefDog]

Number one reason I think is to eliminate the possibility of introducing pests that sometimes come in on live rock. Then I would have to say cost is also a factor with some.

[Green Chromis]

:fish1: Hi Salty, wouldn't all the beneficial organism on the live rock out way a few unwanted hitchhikers on the live rock and as far as price for what I have been reading on the website there is a lot of phosphate that are leaching from the dead rock causing algae growth on the rock thus you have to pay for chemicals and other means to treat the unwanted algae growth. :fish1:

[Northside Reef]

Limiting pests is why I used dry rock, also it is so much easier to work with if you want to build intricate structures, you can always add pods and worms later.

[Harriscli]

In order of importance to me

1. No pests.
2. Can build the aqua scape outside of the tank
3. Cost


Cons
1. It slows the cycle
2. No good surprises off the live rock


I'm working on getting everything together for a larger tank now. I would either go all live rock out of a tank that I could see setup first from my local club or I would go with mostly base with a few pieces of live rock.

[alf1096]

I got all base rock. But thinking of getting some live. If you start with all base how do you get Coraline and pods.

[Green Chromis]

:fish1: Thanks everyone, some really good answers, don't stop now I'm sure their are many more. :fish1:

[Northside Reef]

I got all base rock. But thinking of getting some live. If you start with all base how do you get Coraline and pods.

Pods will probably come on corals anyhow even though I dip everything. But I ordered a bit of garph grunge to seed the tank and added some of the pods that Reefs2go sales.

There are very few corals in my tank that did not come from someone elses tank locally (it's a real blessing to have an active local club) If you know the tank well enough a cup of sand or a couple of pieces of LR from an established tank will seed your tank just fine.

you can introduce corline off of snails. there are a couple of sites that sale snails specifically for that but IME you can just purchase standard snails they'll probably have some on them anyhow.

[saf1]

What is dead becomes alive in the end within our tiny boxes we call reefs. Live rock, in my opinion, offers uniqueness in regards to potential good and bad algae, sponges, and life. Some of it dies off, some does not. Then there is the higher possibility of animals both good and bad that hide during shipping and what not.

I've always gone with live but that is just a personal preference.

[fifthtoe]

I don't have my tank set up yet, but I have dead rock soaking right now. My main reason was cost. I may not get any cool hitchhikers but I'm fine with that. If treated/cured properly, I should have minimal phosphate issues using dead rock... I hope.

[Duna_]

Live rock is not only bacteria, coralline algae and pods. Not at all. ;)

Live rock has many strains of bacteria, no need to add commercial strains that requiere daily or frequent aditation in order to take over the other strains.
It can have copepods, anfipods and many living small animals as filtering tube worms, fan worms, and also sponges, microsponges and tunicates (ascidia) which are the best indicators of the water quality and food available.

All that life it's a small ecosistem that controlls itself, filters water and is much richer for the reef tank than a sterile rock system with commercial bacteria and some pods. The difference is obvious. You can't even get closer to the diversity of life that comes with the live rock (good live rock).

[SteelerMike]

I started my 125 with dry rock and 1 good sized piece or LR from a friend's tank. It did take a while, but I have all of the things mentioned that comes on live rock and it was MUCH cheaper. I did have a problem with hair algae about 6 months in and I am thinking it may have been from the rocks leaching. For me, I was OK with waiting as I needed a bunch of equipment that was pretty costly as I have a somewhat large system and so needed bigger equipment, more lights etc.

[Green Chromis]

:fish1: 1 piece of live rock in a tank full of dead rock is not the same as all live rock in the tank. You will never have the biodiversity in a tank with only a piece or two of live rock compared to a tank with all high quality live rock .:fish1:

[hessfish125]

I started my 125 gal with a mixture- heavy on the live rock. This really helped cycle all the new rock. Since the end of June the dead has really come alive with color. Still a ways to go to catch up with the live rock but a lot further along than my son in law's 240 gal that started with all dead rock at the same time. I have around 100lbs rock total.

The cost is a factor but if you are really wanting your DT to pop I suggest going with the live rock as much as possible.

[saf1]

:fish1: 1 piece of live rock in a tank full of dead rock is not the same as all live rock in the tank. You will never have the biodiversity in a tank with only a piece or two of live rock compared to a tank with all high quality live rock .:fish1:

Hmmm...not sure I agree 100% but then again do not also disagree if that makes sense. Chances are high that the more live you put in the better off you will be. I agree. However, there is still the die off from the tank cycle. That "could" be somewhat controlled by actively changing the water and staying on top of it but in a "new" tank we are talking about the potential 30 to 45 day window.

Adding seeds to a new tank after the cycle does help though and becomes alive. Thus my comment. But has you say you will miss out on some of the infauna and algae that could come from it. Same applies to corals and hitch hikers both good and bad.

[ltkenbo]

Price is the most important to me behind that decision (I plan to use mostly dead rock) but pests definately comes in at a close second. You also have to consider what type of dead rock you'll be using as well however, because if it contains previous die off, it may need to be cured for a month or so before using it in your tank.

[beachguy]

i get mine from a lfs that gets it straight from divers in the keys. awesome colors and life, i like the hitchhikers.

[ReeferBatman]

Live rock is not only bacteria, coralline algae and pods. Not at all. ;)

Live rock has many strains of bacteria, no need to add commercial strains that require daily or frequent agitation in order to take over the other strains.
It can have copepods, anfipods and many living small animals as filtering tube worms, fan worms, and also sponges, microsponges and tunicates (ascidia) which are the best indicators of the water quality and food available.

All that life it's a small ecosystem that controls itself, filters water and is much richer for the reef tank than a sterile rock system with commercial bacteria and some pods. The difference is obvious. You can't even get closer to the diversity of life that comes with the live rock (good live rock).

+ 1

Live rock helps diversify the ecosystem of our tanks. Although I don't like bristleworms, or care about pods... they help clean the leftover food the fish miss... And the extra tubeworms and sponges everywhere are awesome!



When I buy any rock i look for surface area.

The more surface area, the more area our beneficial bacteria can inhabit...

which is the primary reason for more rock/aquascape in the first place... more surface area = more bio load capable.

[beachguy]

exactly same here. shape and color for me.

[dkeller_nc]

One thing to consider is that the "no pests" argument needs some qualification.

For this actually be a factor, you must start with dead rock and dead sand and you cannot place any live rock into the tank as a seed (this doesn't count bacteria as the "live" component - obviously, a bottle of bioSpira doesn't count).

Furthermore, you will have to scrupulously quarantine all living anything as you are stocking the tank. That means setting up a QT that is not just sufficient for fish, but also has the high intensity lighting and water quality management of the DT so that each coral or fragment can be isolated for 3-4 weeks. This is about the only way to avoid the more serious coral pests such as montipora-eating nudibranchs or acropora-eating flatworms. The vast majority (though certainly not all) of hobbyists are unwilling to go this far. Moreover, no matter what you do you cannot avoid introducing spores of the more troublesome algae pests in the reef hobby, such as valonia and bryopsis.

So the "no pests" argument doesn't withstand the logic test. That leaves the only really justifiable argument - cost.

That's fine, but there are definitely some risks associated with certain sources of dead rock that aren't applicable to live rock - principally the high dead bio-load and/or phosphate problem.

So the dead rock needs to be treated, and unlike live rock that can be purchased "cured", I'm not aware of a source that provides dry rock that doesn't require pre-treatment by a hobbyist, at least a prudent hobbyist.

[d2mini]

There is only TWO reasons I would use dead rock.

1) If aquascaping is the top priority, requiring rock to be assembled outside of the aquarium

2) If I didn't have access to really fresh live rock like that from Tampa Bay Saltwater (one of Reef Central's sponsors).

I'm on my third tank that was setup completely with this rock and wouldn't choose any other option. Everything from the overall health of the tank to the awesome life forms that come on it is what keeps me going back for more.