Live rock dry rock debate

[Blndbunny]

I've hit the point where research is no longer helping and I'm utterly confused as to what I want. I'm upgrading from a 16 nuvo to a 40g shallow cube (24x24x16) with sump. I will be transfer I rock, corals (primarily sps) inverts and fish to the new tank when it's ready. I believe either option will need to cycle, and I know nothing good comes when you rush building a reef.

Live rock will provide me with more biodiversity, but runs the risk of some serious nasty hitchhikers. I will likely order in my live rock if I go this route since my LFS have what looks essentially like wet dry rock.

Dry rock, gives me the ultimate control of what's in my tank, no mantis, no crabs, no freaky worms, apitasia, nudis, or others. However they are known for leaching phosphates into your system. That will only add to the new tank algea blooms and brown out all my sps corals.

If this was your tank what would you do and why? What company would you order rocks from, live or dry?

 

[Oxylebius]

Live rock for me.

tampabaysaltwater - I haven't bought rock there, but based on this thread (http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/reef-hitchhiker-id/92469-stow-away-fish-id.html) and the two very cool hitchhikers, I would be purchasing my next order of rock with them.

 

[Blndbunny]

Their rock looks absolutely amazing! They are very high on my list if I go for live rock. And all though I think mantis are the coolest invert in the sea, I'd want a dedicated tank for them, not giving them free run of my sps reef :-/ not to mention stone and gorilla crab remova

 

[PSU4ME]

Live rock here as well. I got mine from premium aquatics.

 

[Joeys Tank]

Cheers to Oxy for liking my Stow Away thread.

TBS does a fantastic job with LR and LS. However, reading through your thoughts/research/concerns, I am not sure I would go this route for my new tank. I have had some amazing hitchhikers with TBS and I have had some not so amazing. I am currently thinking about getting some dry rock and "seeding" them down in my sump. Most of the nasty HH stays in the display tank. The sump is a "safe" zone to build up bacteria. There are pros and cons to everything. One of the cons has been me spending 5 days trying to catch the 3" mantis shrimp which was a HH. I tried the bait in a bottle trick, moving the rock to the sump and waiting him out, squirting various liquids into his den to irritate him out. Finally, I took a hammer to the rock and broke up his den area. Crabs? You bet. Not sure when I will be done chasing all of these guys down.

But I sure do love all of the critters that Richard sent along with my LR/LS.

 

[Oxylebius]

Isn't everything about trade-offs.

Lots of positive responses on Tampa Bay live rock here (http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums...ssion/87541-tampabay-saltwater-live-rock.html)

 

[Blndbunny]

There are pros and cons for everything! I'm at the head spinning from research point, and will have my tank here in about two weeks. Time to make decisions!

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

1st tank 100% expensive choice Tonga Branch LR worked great, 2nd tank 90% Marco Dry Rock & 10% hand pick LR from LFS worked great

have done it both ways once... 1st time 34 gallon tank, both times it worked out great ... the dry rock was much cheaper (2nd tank 65 gallon) and allowed me to spend the extra $$$ on corals

I might have felt differently if I had problems with the all LR (bad HH's I could not overcome) but I didn't

I don't think you will go "wrong" either way...

Good advise from all above & see what others think...

 

[reefer gladness]

+1 Live rock (much cheaper than dry rock in my area also)

Even if you start with all dry rock however you will be adding corals that come from where? Usually places where all the aforementioned undesirables can still hitchhike in. I've put new corals mounted on ceramic frag plugs in a newly setup quarantine tank and observed bristle worms show up a week later that weren't visible before. There was no other way for them to come but on the coral frag. Same could happen with aiptasia, cyano, etc.

 

[whippetguy]

When I upgraded from my 16g to the 50g cube, I added dry rock. You can let it soak in saltwater for a few weeks prior to transfer if you have the time. That would get any phosphates out. If you were building from scratch, I'd say get live rock if you want the diversity. I wasn't going to chance anything killing the things I had in my 16g that I was transferring. I didn't soak mine and got a little cyano on the dry rock, but after about a month, it was gone with suctioning and water changes that I would've done anyway. My 50g is aiptasia free, btw.

 

[Steve L]

I have a 70 gallon reef with 100 pounds of Marco dry rock, and have never experienced an increase in phosphates. If you add corals you will eventually have hitch hikers (good and bad) and the price LFS's charge for live rock is just nuts. My "now" live rock is covered with coralline and teeming with life, and it was a fraction of the price for the live rock.

Dry rock also gives a huge advantage of being able plan out your rock structure ahead of time without worrying about everything dying off.

 

[Hammond]

always dry mate

 

[Blndbunny]

I know that I will be adding things into the tank with my existing corals, and live rock along with everything new that goes into the tank. I just want to make the transition from my smaller tank to this tank as smooth as possible and create the healthiest environment I can

 

[sirrealism]

Ok guys I am from tampa and know tampabay saltwater and hes a nice guy who I have nothing against. But I just left a coral frag swap. We had booths from WWC, next reef just to name a few and there is a new player in the game and his rock is much nicer and comes from deeper water and cheaper. Its called tamps bay aquaculture. WWW.tampabayaquaculture.com He had some rock with him and it was amazing. Also his rock has been in that water for 14 years. not 6 months like tampabay saltwater. All I am saying is check this guy out. He is new so give him a chance. I almost always start with dry but my next system is going to be live from these guys.

 

[Snid]

I went with Live Rock and I'm glad I did. You mention your main concern is hitchhikers, but the truth is, those can come in many different ways; New Corals, New Plants, even New Snails! I didn't have any Aiptasia until after I added some Livestock, and then it showed up. It may have been hiding on my Live Rock all along, but I'm honestly not sure where it came from. The point is, if you are worried about hitchhikers, then you really can never add anything new to your tank. Sure Live Rock is the easiest way for it to get in, but not the only way.

 

[newo11]

Premium live rock every time. Especially with transferring an established tank into a new one. Cure the live rock or have your LFS do it for you. The premium, choice tonga rock is worth the money - it's the backbone to your tank, along with your skimmer.

 

[Blndbunny]

The really nasty hitchhikers make me nervous. My 14g biocube was set up with some awesome live rock and that tank practically runs itself. I had some awesome hitchhikers there and a few annoying ones but nothing horrible. Now my 16g nuvo I purchased my live rock from the same store but it was no where near as nice, nothing great as far as hitchhikers, just a stupid detrimental gorilla crabs, a giant snail eating flat worm, and was riddled with apitasia. I know this is why I'm concerned with what I'm introducing with the new tank. I know everything you place in a tank is a possibility for hitchhikers, it's part of what the hobby is. I always quarantine new inhabitants, and carefully dip and remount all of my coral frags to keep my reef happy and healthy as I can.

I just want to set a good foundation for a thriving reef

 

[Choff]

Man I would love to do something like TB rock. That's just what a reef tank should be. I initially had 50/50 live rock and dry rock (my live rock was from the LFS and not in league with TB rock). Things were dying in my tank and couldn't put my finger on it. I have since switched over to cermecos vidarock. I had concerns over my tank being too sterile and missing out on exciting HH, but the reality for me is I love it. I know exactly what is in my tank and I no longer have things mysteriously dying on me and wondering why. HH are a double edged sword.

You have to do what you think you will enjoy the most.

...stupid auto correct

 

[tbaquaculture]

Live rock all the way, yes there are hitchhikers, but most are easily removed. Check us out, I personally dive and pick out each rock.

 

[tbaquaculture]

Thanks! I am sure you will love it!

Ok guys I am from tampa and know tampabay saltwater and hes a nice guy who I have nothing against. But I just left a coral frag swap. We had booths from WWC, next reef just to name a few and there is a new player in the game and his rock is much nicer and comes from deeper water and cheaper. Its called tamps bay aquaculture. He had some rock with him and it was amazing. Also his rock has been in that water for 14 years. not 6 months like tampabay saltwater. All I am saying is check this guy out. He is new so give him a chance. I almost always start with dry but my next system is going to be live from these guys.