"real reef rock" reviews?

[Devaji108]

Hello all just wondering about this man made eco friendly product.
I have not does much research on it. did a quick youtube and RC search.

has anyone used this? photos experiences...thoughts
does it leach Po4?

thanks

[ryeguyy84]

I've never had any issues with it. my tank is about 50% reel reef 50% dry rock.

Before:
http://i1338.photobucket.com/albums/o686/ocon2262/biocube/52DC4570-1AD4-4CED-A647-647B5B04641B_zpssubvts1l.jpg (http://s1338.photobucket.com/user/ocon2262/media/biocube/52DC4570-1AD4-4CED-A647-647B5B04641B_zpssubvts1l.jpg.html)


I don't have a whole tank shot at the moment but here is a piece that is covered in zoas.

http://i1338.photobucket.com/albums/o686/ocon2262/Office%20Tank/Biocube/7CF97B96-A379-487E-BB7D-C2316072A282_zpsli63mmyx.jpg (http://s1338.photobucket.com/user/ocon2262/media/Office%20Tank/Biocube/7CF97B96-A379-487E-BB7D-C2316072A282_zpsli63mmyx.jpg.html)

Heres a top down shot I found. . .

http://i1338.photobucket.com/albums/o686/ocon2262/BBFFFFE9-16A9-496D-970A-CE3E65764622_zpsp2fu2zls.jpg (http://s1338.photobucket.com/user/ocon2262/media/BBFFFFE9-16A9-496D-970A-CE3E65764622_zpsp2fu2zls.jpg.html)

Basically I can't see the rock anymore so i'd say use what you want. This stuff is a bit heavier than other rock and is less porous but it works for me.

Also, it gets less fake purple and more real coraline purple with age.

[RocketEngineer]

While I've never owned it, I've seen it in person at my LFS. It looks very fake to me. I would much rather get dry pukani. If all else fails, get some old rock from someone shutting down their system and acid wash it. JMO.

[genetao]

I've never had any issues with it. my tank is about 50% reel reef 50% dry rock.

Before: Basically I can't see the rock anymore so i'd say use what you want. This stuff is a bit heavier than other rock and is less porous but it works for me.

Also, it gets less fake purple and more real coraline purple with age.

The real reef rock is pretty dang heavy and denser. Which to me translated into two things:

1) Costs more per pound for the same size live rock because it's heavier/denser.

2) It's not as porous and thus won't house as much nitrifying bacteria.

Given those two issues, I wouldn't really think it's worth the coin. But I have to say that the tonga branches look really sweet. But that's some serious coinage, like $15 a pound. So unless you're looking for a large, sweet looking tonga branch, I'd much rather stick to live rock.

[SoloChromis]

Not a fan of it. It looks very fake to me and there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of variety as far as shapes and sizes. like someone above me said, if I were going with dry rock, personally I'd stick to the BRS stuff and allow the fauna to populate on it naturally in my tank. Good luck either way :beer:

[vanbro1]

I use it - and love it

[DaveRaz]

I bought several shelf pieces and i like it.

[Devaji108]

^ can we see some pics of your tank plz.

yeah it is kinda spendy for sure. my original plan is to get the cherry primo florida aqua cultured LR. had it in the past and really liked it and it's a bit cheaper by .40cents per pound. at the shop 4.5 hrs away.
most likely i"ll just go with that as it fits my need very well. but it is kinda heavy too and dense too.

i guess real reef rock has a newer version that lighter and not as dense...did you guys use it or the older stuff?

[ryeguyy84]

Mines about 2 years old

[bellis31]

Best rock I have ever purchased... I love the look!

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=23594530&postcount=54

[murdock84]

I bought this from my LFS. I bought it already cured. I have a 110 and got about 120 lbs of rock. I used "dry" sand and had about a 2 week cycle at most. I had a little bit of hair algae during the cycle and haven't had any issues so far since then. Below is the most recent full tank shot I have. I like the way the rock shape and look was over the other "live" rock that they had at the time.

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn32/murdock84/Fish%20Tank/02-19-15_zps694194b7.jpg (http://s300.photobucket.com/user/murdock84/media/Fish%20Tank/02-19-15_zps694194b7.jpg.html)

[ReefBum]

I am starting my tank with dry rock from Marco Rock. Here is a progression video.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jwoZ2dRZ-cc?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[ReefBum]

Double post.

[Raoul5Duke]

I have a few pieces and I like it. They have a variety of shapes including shelf and branching tonga type. I found it to not leach phosphates like the BRS rock tends to do. I don't think it looks fake once its in your tank but that is just my opinion. Check out Mr. Saltwater Tank TV, he uses it and did a review on it a while back.