LIVE ROCK & DRY ROCK discussion

reefcartel

reefcartel

New member
Ok i need your help making a decision on how Im going to approach this initial set up. Ive always used Live rock and had a few bad instances of pests, I know its inevitable to have hitchhikers but I want to control it as much as possible. With LR of course I will have a better and more stable Bio-Filtration and faster Cycle. So I was thinking of doing a mix of Dry & Live Rock. I know LR would require Light and Flow during the process and Dry Rock would bloom with Algae Film with light during the process. I originally planned to do 80% Dry Rock and 20% LR to seed but I think I am going to flip that and do 80% Live Rock/ 20% Dry

Any suggestions?
 
I set up my new 210 with Marco dry rock (( really pleased with the stuff -- well packed, each rock was bubble wrapped. Been wet about 2 months now, and have had very little algae on it )).

However, since I am taking down my 75 in the process I am moving a few of the cleanest rocks over to the 210. Most will be in the sump, with a few select pieces going into the display.

What size tank are you setting up? For me, with a large tank, part of the appeal of dry rock was the price difference b/t it and live rock. I like your original ratio best -- 80 dry/20 live. While it will take some time, that dry rock will look just like live rock down the road.
 
If I ever set up a new system, I will definitely be using 100% dry rock. I've been in the hobby since 2004 and have set up several systems over the years. The majority of issues I have had, have been a direct result of using live rock. I even tried my hand at the "cooking" process on a batch of rock for 1.5 years, which did end up helping a lot, but I still ended up with hydroids coming back.
 
Plus, now-a-days, most live rock sucks.

Remember back in the early '90s the live rock I would purchase was so full of life. And these were little stores in DeKalb (( no offense dja1980 )), sure in bigger cities it was even better.
 
I would recommend you go 100% dry rock. That way you avoid any pest from live rock especially aiptasia that seems to sneak in on everything.
 
Idk dry is cheaper but i always see alage issues with dry seems like it always leeches phosphates then on other hand u never know what u get with live rock i see some stores selling live rock and has no alage on it at all looks like they buy dry dump it into tank and next day sell as live lol i wont mention names anyway good luck your build looks awsome
 
madjoe said:
Idk dry is cheaper but i always see alage issues with dry seems like it always leeches phosphates then on other hand u never know what u get with live rock i see some stores selling live rock and has no alage on it at all looks like they buy dry dump it into tank and next day sell as live lol i wont mention names anyway good luck your build looks awsome
Click to expand...
With fry rock isn't that why you're supposed to cure it once you get it? To try to get all the phosphates out?

ANARCHY
 
Okay so if I hit it off with 100% Dry Rock and Dry Sand. Im probably looking at a whole year until its fully established and ready for SPS right?

just to get some clarification, I will do my rockscape (drilling, adding rods, rinsing Etc.) and create my Islands for that bonsai look.

Would you suggest I cycle in a separate tub or start directly into the tank? should i turn on the Carx, skimmer, media rx and everything else at this point?
 
Depends on the rock.

My Marco rock has been wet for about 2 months now, still haven't seen a phosphate reading.

Even before I moved any fish over, but was wet, I treated the tank like it had been running for years. Skimmer, lights, reactors, etc all running. It also helped me work out any issues that I had before I had to worry about the fish. I put the rock directly into the tank and slowly filled up the tank.


I would use a couple live rocks to help settle things -- for me, it is going to be a total of 5 pieces, most in the sump.
Figure I would put in the first SPS in there come mid-March. Would be sooner, but going out of town prior to that and want to keep things simple.
 
ToddR said:
Depends on the rock.

My Marco rock has been wet for about 2 months now, still haven't seen a phosphate reading.

Even before I moved any fish over, but was wet, I treated the tank like it had been running for years. Skimmer, lights, reactors, etc all running. It also helped me work out any issues that I had before I had to worry about the fish. I put the rock directly into the tank and slowly filled up the tank.


I would use a couple live rocks to help settle things -- for me, it is going to be a total of 5 pieces, most in the sump.
Figure I would put in the first SPS in there come mid-March. Would be sooner, but going out of town prior to that and want to keep things simple.
Click to expand...

Awesome. Ok so a few more questions for you.

During the 2 months with lights running with the Dryrock were there any algae film growing on the rocks?

Did you put dry rock then live sand or Dry sand? or BB?

How many lbs of Marco did you order? And did you drill for rockscape?

Would you be willing to share some photos of the new set up?
 
LIVE ROCK & DRY ROCK discussion

this was my plan when the marco rocks arrive. (Pls correct me if I should go another direction)

As soon as they arrive before washing them off I will start drilling holes for the rods to create a bonsai island look --I will flatten the bottom of the base rock to create a stable foundation-- Then I will rinse them off and soak in a brute with RO diluted with Vinegar for about a day. --Then add to my tank--hit the switch to the saltwater mixing station for a couple hours --Fill the tank-- Turn on all the equipment (CaRx, MediaRx, Skimmer) -- Adjust flow and adjust equipment -- Add dry sand (Shallow bed 4cm of 2mm Special grade DRY sand) -- Wait for everything to settle -- Add Ammonia -- Then Sit back and be patient while testing Po4 and Ammonia.--

now, im still trying to figure out if I should Add the LR During the process or After? Also, once I get that LR established (Even during the Die off and ammonia spike) I will start "Day1" of the ZeoVit. Just as long as i know bacteria is available to be fed.

Lol let me know if this is a good algorithm and also let me know what you would do different. Thx
 
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if its not too much to ask. Do ya'll mind sharing some photos of your Rock Scape? plss :) Just trying to get more ideas. google is played out lol
 
reefcartel said:
Awesome. Ok so a few more questions for you.

During the 2 months with lights running with the Dryrock were there any algae film growing on the rocks?

Did you put dry rock then live sand or Dry sand? or BB?

How many lbs of Marco did you order? And did you drill for rockscape?

Would you be willing to share some photos of the new set up?
Click to expand...

Sure thing...

Very very slight amount -- picture will show.

I put in the sand first, and then the rock. This was more about timing. I didn't want to clean the sand in the bathtub, there was a warm (( above freezing )) November weekend. Didn't have space to store 200 pounds of clean sand, so I put it in the tank.

Want to say that I ended up using around 175 lbs of the rock, and mixture of normal and the shelf rock. Didn't drill it. In hindsight I should have, but I am still pretty happy with the rock work --- plenty of caves for my dwarf angels.

Pics,

When it was finally full,

FTS1-5_zps61b38e8f.jpg


This is 2 months of algae, with no clean up crew,

DSC_0366_zps815f2186.jpg


DSC_0358_zps2c8d51fe.jpg
 
ToddR said:
Sure thing...

Very very slight amount -- picture will show.

I put in the sand first, and then the rock. This was more about timing. I didn't want to clean the sand in the bathtub, there was a warm (( above freezing )) November weekend. Didn't have space to store 200 pounds of clean sand, so I put it in the tank.

Want to say that I ended up using around 175 lbs of the rock, and mixture of normal and the shelf rock. Didn't drill it. In hindsight I should have, but I am still pretty happy with the rock work --- plenty of caves for my dwarf angels.

Pics,

When it was finally full,

FTS1-5_zps61b38e8f.jpg


This is 2 months of algae, with no clean up crew,

DSC_0366_zps815f2186.jpg


DSC_0358_zps2c8d51fe.jpg
Click to expand...

This is freeakkin sweeet! thanks for sharing. IMO marco Largo Rock is the best looking rock I came across so far. I think it even looks better than Bukani lol the slight algae on your rock isnt even that bad (Maybe bcuz its under the blues) and it has only been a couple months.

Let me drop a few more Q's for you.

So you put LR in your sump? When did you initiate that?

Whats your light schedule?

How long did your cycle take with the Marco?
And when did you add the first fish?

Did you use dose Ammonia?
 
reefcartel said:
This is freeakkin sweeet! thanks for sharing. IMO marco Largo Rock is the best looking rock I came across so far. I think it even looks better than Bukani lol the slight algae on your rock isnt even that bad (Maybe bcuz its under the blues) and it has only been a couple months.

Let me drop a few more Q's for you.

So you put LR in your sump? When did you initiate that?

Whats your light schedule?

How long did your cycle take with the Marco?
And when did you add the first fish?

Did you use dose Ammonia?
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot.

At first the rock that I put in the sump was 2 extra pieces of Marco. A week ago tomorrow I moved those 2 pieces over to the sump of my 65. I had someone pick up a bunch of polyp covered live rock from my 75. With those rocks gone, I could get to the "clean" rocks from that tank. I put those pieces in the sump, along with one for the tank.

I did put in a baseball sized from from my 75 into the DT about a month ago.

I have 8*80 ATI T5s. 2 of them are one from 11 AM to 11:30 PM
6 of the 8 are on from 12:30 PM to 9:30 PM.

Shortly after I had the tank running on put in a couple "clams on the half shell". A week after that I added 2 clowns. That was Jan 4th with I moved the clowns over.
1/22 was when I moved the 3 fish pictured above over.

The whole time I really didn't see an ammonia reading --- on the test kit it was never above .25 -- the lowest reading besides 0.
 
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