What should I do for live rock?

[The deepwaterhorizon reef]

I am planning to start a 75 gallon tank in about a month and I want to have live sand but am not sure about live rock. I want to have corals and eventually keep an sps dominated tank and I want a decent stocking of fish. I don’t like the idea of having the marco “dead” rock because I don’t want to end up with the uglies for a year. Therefore, I’m now leaning more towards live rock but I’m still a bit concerned about the pests and I don’t think I can afford 75 pounds of rock for the entire tank with my budget. So does anyone have any suggestions on what kind of rock is best for me and how much of it? Thanks

 

[RoanokeReef]

Always could do a few pounds of live rock and the rest dry rock. I've seen many tanks setup this way. I've also setup my new tanks with just dry Tropic Marin rock and had the regular uglies come and go just like live rock over the course of a month, not year. Can't speak to Marco rock though as Ive never used it.

 

[GARRIGA]

Likely ending up buying dry rock and adding live sand or rubble to a reactor and seeding the tank that way. Live sand in a reactor will likely have considerably more BB then equivalent amount of dry rock in pounds therefore less sand needed to get same affect. Uglies will later solve themselves once good bacterial gets established.

 

[Sump Crab]

"pests" are already going to get in your tank anyway. Ocean liverock is the best and easiest way to start a reef tank. I would use as much as you can afford, even if it means cutting corners on other parts of your build. Save some coin and use a jeabo return pump and some inexpensive powerheads. I highly recommend KP aquatics rock. Tampa Bay saltwater has some "treasure chests" that offer an economical way to add some diversity. But keys rock is better than gulf rock IMO.


Edit: This may turn into a pretty divisive thread becuase most people are usually very pro ocean liverock or very anti ocean liverock. So take people's opinions (including mine) with a little skepticism.

 

[BiggestE22]

I would do coralline colored dry rock and 50/50 TBS sand for an LPS tank of 100% TBS sand for SPS. Avoid the pests you get from live rock and still avoid the ugly stage. Also do a 50% water change after 2 weeks and keep lights off for the first 30 days.

 

[Extremeengineer]

I went through this for my 75g about 6 weeks ago. I don't think there is a universal right answer, as I am sure will happen with the replies. They all have their advantages and disadvantages, and how one defines which of those categories some attributes fall in is debated as much as anything else in this hobby.

I think my ideal would have been 50lb. of Australian live rock. But I decided $1500 plus shipping on rock was not a good financial decision for me, and having to QT it. My real world ideal was to get live rock from 2 different LFS, and I just got 2 pieces of live rock from Dinkins. So 3 sources. No, I am sure the mix of purple Marco and Carib-Sea isn't as cool looking in my head as the AU rock, but I also have about 1/6 of the investment, and the fish seem to love all of the caves and cover I have. I've yet to add corals, but I expect long term I'll be happy with what I have.

I've noticed in some pictures here that there are tanks with the minimalist aquascaping, and I wonder where the fish find cover, sort of has the make yourself skinny behind a tree in the park feel to me, but could certainly be personal preference.

 

[The deepwaterhorizon reef]

What does everyone think about bottled bacteria? Would that help take the place of at least some of the live rock. So I would end up with live sand and some live rock but mostly dry rock. Also there’s Carib sea special grade live sand and the tbs live sand? Is one known to have more diversity or be better and how do they compare in terms of flow for sps? Does one get carried into corners more easily?

 

[exnisstech]

Live rock in the sump dry rock in the display is how I did my latest build. Started late March but so far so good.

This one all dry rock and I used trays of rubble in the sump. Coming up on a 18 months Never got any bad uglies.

 

[The deepwaterhorizon reef]

I should add that I’m a big fan of coralline algae due to its looks and that is also a factor in my decision as I would prefer to get a strong coralline algae coverage as expeditiously as I can. So in this hobby probably a year is quick for that.

 

[exnisstech]

What does everyone think about bottled bacteria?

I used fritz turbo start 900 on the bottom tank above at start up. I also dose bacto balance daily. I would not start a tank with out some type of live rock unless I had no choice.

 

[PharmrJohn]

Edit: This may turn into a pretty divisive thread becuase most people are usually very pro ocean liverock or very anti ocean liverock. So take people's opinions (including mine) with a little skepticism.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I'm a believer in dry rock only. If there's a way to avoid live rock, I'll take it. But I won't judge those who do things differently. Not my place. Tampa Bay is a good company to go through from what I've heard.

 

[MarineandReef Jaron]

As someone who sells dry rock and bottled bacteria. Go live rock all the way.

I know there is a new generation of reefers that have never had live rock but for those like me who went through a phase of not even considering dry rock I would ask them to list what the worst pest they ever got on live rock was. For me it was aiptasia and vermetid snails. Which are both no big deal IMO and common even on tanks with all dry rock.

The worst pests I have ever had like flatworms, seaspiders, zooanthid eating snails, and monti eating nudibranchs have always come in on corals not rocks. I really don't think live rock is a meaningful source of pests.

 

[TheStrangler]

The middle ground approach that I've decided on is Marco rock in the display and a bit of live rock in the sump. As far as pests go, it's not going to stop the spread of aiptasia, algaes, etc. But it'll keep that surprise crab from murdering your fish.

 

[The deepwaterhorizon reef]

Would my lfs be more affordable for live rock? I presume so because I wouldn’t have to pay shipping but I’ve never really looked. (I live in Atlanta in case anyone knows) Also has anyone had bad experiences with live rock purchased form their lfs or is it no different from the live rock that was in the ocean the previous day?

 

[X-37B]

Save some money and get Live Rock. 50% live/dead works well.
I did my 120 50/50 with caribsea dry. It worked well.
Current systems have Gulf Live Rock, $9 a pound to your door, as I prefer it to any dead.
Tanks BB with 150lbs and is 3 months old with 20+ hard coral
Added and growing.
It may not look like it but there is plenty of space for the fish to hide if needed. Once the corals grow in in 1-2 years their will be pleny more places to hang out for the fish. I have had the great rock wall
on many systems and now prefer a minimalist approach with corals filling in the availabe space over time.

 

[UMALUM]

I should add that I’m a big fan of coralline algae due to its looks and that is also a factor in my decision as I would prefer to get a strong coralline algae coverage as expeditiously as I can. So in this hobby probably a year is quick for that.

This was my order from KP last year....



If coralline and diversity is what you seek why not start out with it right away.
Don't worry about the big bad crabs and shrimp they're easily removable if so desired.

 

[X-37B]

Would my lfs be more affordable for live rock? I presume so because I wouldn’t have to pay shipping but I’ve never really looked. (I live in Atlanta in case anyone knows) Also has anyone had bad experiences with live rock purchased form their lfs or is it no different from the live rock that was in the ocean the previous day?

Most so called live rock from the lfs is just dead that has been sitting in water. Its still better than dead dry rock, imo.

 

[X-37B]

Pic of my old 120 started with 50/50. After 6+ months you could not tell the differece between the dead vs live.

 

[The deepwaterhorizon reef]

This was my order from KP last year....



If coralline and diversity is what you seek why not start out with it right away.
Don't worry about the big bad crabs and shrimp they're easily removable if so desired.

This wouldn’t have even been a decision for me if it weren’t for the cost. That’s the issue; the pests were more just a who has the least and how do I qt to keep them under control.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

I am planning to start a 75 gallon tank in about a month and I want to have live sand but am not sure about live rock. I want to have corals and eventually keep an sps dominated tank and I want a decent stocking of fish. I don’t like the idea of having the marco “dead” rock because I don’t want to end up with the uglies for a year. Therefore, I’m now leaning more towards live rock but I’m still a bit concerned about the pests and I don’t think I can afford 75 pounds of rock for the entire tank with my budget. So does anyone have any suggestions on what kind of rock is best for me and how much of it? Thanks

I set up a 90 gallon last September with 45 pounds of dry rock from ARC which is awesome! Live sand , and about 40 pounds of live Jakarta rock. It did not take long for the dry to become live rock . IF you look at my tank build you will see what the tank looked like in the beginning versus now.