Best decision I ever made!! - Page 2

MadCnty · 03/15/2016, 10:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by d2mini

Not me.
One of my most favoritist things is going to the airport to pick up that shipment of fresh LR and other goodies from Tampa Bay Saltwater.
And every single tank I've set up with "The Package" has been very successful.
Will be doing it again soon!

Was you paid for that endorsement??? JS

Again I have nothing against TBSW... I think they are doing the best they can... Is it the best for me IJDK...

joshky · 03/15/2016, 11:30 PM

Had dry rock, but dinos took over my tank and my SPS suffered; to combat the dinos I wanted to introduce biodiversity so I gave TBS 2.1 rock a try, it's been working out excellently. I love this new walt smith 2.1 rock, so even if you decide to use dry rock I highly suggest trying to get some of it. It comes in some really cool shapes and it's easy to aquascape with, I'm a a big fan. I'll probably use TBS rock from now on, it's a lot of fun unpacking it and I'm still finding new things to look at.

Here's some recent photo comparisons, only 9 days in between. This is only a few weeks after putting the rock in my tank.

I should be uploading more comparison photos tomorrow for my thread if I manage to find time.

karimwassef · 03/15/2016, 11:36 PM

I make my own concrete rock but I seed it with as much live rock as possible.

Biodiversity is key to long term success of a captive reef imho. Unless you have another source of safer biodiversity, live rock is king!

If you're worried about critters, then exercise patience. Don't add coral, inverts or fish until you've cycled it with LaCl for phosphates for a couple of months.

If you still get hair algae, use that as an opportunity to set up an ATS.

If you get a mantis shrimp, use a glass jar trap.

If you get aiptasia, get a small army of peppermints and don't feed.

boshk · 03/15/2016, 11:41 PM

I had to use Live Rock because there's no Dry Rock in Hong Kong, otherwise I would have gone down the Pukani rock road with Dr Tim's solution.

So far, during curing in Brute can, I know there is 1 small crab and 1 red crab in the rock.
Found 1 urchin, 2 mussels-like morsels.

Tried the high salinity dip, didn't flush them out.

d2mini · 03/16/2016, 06:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadCnty

Was you paid for that endorsement??? JS

Again I have nothing against TBSW... I think they are doing the best they can... Is it the best for me IJDK...

LOL, I wish. I could really use some free rock!

I just love having an instant reef with no long cycle. It's much more akin to doing a tank move vs setting up a new tank. And after setting up several tanks and having each running for several years with no issues (related to the rock), there is no reason for me to do it any differently. Starting with dry rock reminds me of my freshwater days.... borrrrring.

MiddletoM · 03/16/2016, 06:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KafudaFish

Of all the changes in this hobby over the last 15 years, the one that has been one of the worst is the availability of high quality live rock.

Most of today's live rock at the lfs looks like chunks of concrete from local road work and I think that is why many have issues with it including the cost of it.

My lfs had some of the pest free live rock with a pretty display poster harping on it but they plumbed that bin to all the others.

The "Live rock" in my LFS here in the UK costs £12....thats over $16.50! and it looks exactly as you described with no visable life on it.

Ive opted for dry rock for my tank but i know i would have loved looking at all the life that comes with live rock.

Tweaked · 03/16/2016, 06:55 AM

Matter of preference I guess, just like BB or Sand. I went dry rock on all my builds and more recently went Walt Smith 2.1. I will never buy anything but that moving forward, fast cycle no leaching, etc.

MJT82 · 03/16/2016, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tweaked

Matter of preference I guess, just like BB or Sand. I went dry rock on all my builds and more recently went Walt Smith 2.1. I will never buy anything but that moving forward, fast cycle no leaching, etc.

BRS recommends curing the 2.1 rock... Did you cure yours? If so, how did you go about doing so?

sde1500 · 03/16/2016, 07:07 AM

I used LFS cured live rock to start my nano, and live sand. Transferred it to my 65 to seed the dry rock I used. Honestly not sure what I liked better. The pictures coming from TBS rock looks amazing. I do have some aiptasia, but going to get a predator to eat them, so not too worried. The big difference for me with was the cost. The dry rock I got was just so much cheaper. Luckily had the rock from my small tank to add some bio-diversity.

d2mini · 03/16/2016, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJT82

BRS recommends curing the 2.1 rock... Did you cure yours? If so, how did you go about doing so?

Only cure the dry.
The live 2.1 from TBS goes straight into your tank.

MJT82 · 03/16/2016, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by d2mini

Only cure the dry.

The live 2.1 from TBS goes straight into your tank.

Oh that's nice!

JohnnyHildo · 03/16/2016, 08:19 AM

i went with dry rock and substrate and am happy i did so.
- i get to watch it grow into something instead of having the finished product from the start.
- while i may eventually get unwanted pests from coral the chance of it is certainly better from using another persons rock.
- while i don't know if this is necessarily true or not i feel like if a pest or bloom problem does arise it will be easier to identify as opposed to dealing with many other variables i'd have to take into consideration.

dvgnyh · 03/16/2016, 08:31 AM

White clean rock goes in. Six months later, clean purple rock. It's the best!

solidcore · 03/16/2016, 09:52 AM

back in the old days we used lava rock. I agree, Aptasia just never runs its course.

brett559 · 03/16/2016, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by K.C.

+1

Starting with a sterile environment lasts until you add an invertebrate or a frag.

But you'd have to agree that the odds are MUCH greater when adding say 100 pounds of live rocks vs. a few frags. Of course, nothing is guaranteed. My point was that dry rock reduces the risk in a big way.

People are reluctant to admit another way is better than the way they've chosen to do it. Human nature, I guess. I'm saying that I've done it both ways, and I would NEVER do the pest thing again. I've added dozens of snails and frags to my system, always looking for aiptasias, and none so far.

brett559 · 03/16/2016, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJT82

Specifically what kind of BRS rock did you use? Pukani? Walt Smith 2.1? How did you go about curing it?

I used the BRS reef saver rock. I wanted something easy to aquascape.

Bent · 03/16/2016, 11:01 AM

Not that the OP is guilty of this or I'm accusing...

But I find it highly amusing the amount of people who are anti-live Rock and are all up in arms about pests, yet won't QT their fish.

saf1 · 03/16/2016, 11:29 AM

Multiple ways to skin a cat, glad it worked for you. I think there is a lot of cool educational value in building a tank and using the natural cycle method when establishing new tanks. I'd recommend everyone to do it at least once because it really is a neat process provided you stay the course over the long haul. It isn't something that will happen over night that is for sure. I actually did this with my 100 gallon tank although I did use "live" rock from Fiji. Lots of die off though because it wasn't shipped over night and a much different process. I will say I'm still using a lot of that rock in my 40 breeder today 15 years later.

On the other hand using quick overnight shipped live rock offers the other side of the spectrum whereas it is teaming with life. You get everything. The good, the bad, and the ugly (great movie btw). You get lots of sponges, stars, polyps, good crabs, bad crabs, who knows what sort of shrimp, etc. You have all ready about it here in the forums. But if you want to set up a tank and not go through the long and drawn out process then this offers its own unique spin to a reef ready. Sort of like "just add water"...

Having said that, I'd only use live rock. I've done the other through a 6 month cycle and it turned out great. But as another poster said all bets are off anyway once you introduce your first fish or coral or anything else that is living. At least that is how I see it as I go through my 240 gallon build.

NOTE to P.E.T.A - No cats have been harmed or skinned during this post...

brett559 · 03/16/2016, 11:36 AM

Thanks for sharing. I do agree that some really cool elements of the hobby come with the live rock approach. I did enjoy getting the flashlight out and seeing the weirdos come out at night.

At the end of the day, aiptasia just bummed me out so much with my last tank. But I'm pretty OCD. I'm the guy you would notice the three aiptasias in an otherwise pretty tank. Funny, I'd only do that in my own tank - when I see other people's tanks, I never notice any imperfections. Only in mine.

joshky · 03/16/2016, 11:41 AM

Dry rock, live rock, they both work. In my case my dry rock didn't work out well enough, it caused issues that despite my best efforts I couldn't get under control. Dinos love a low nutrient environment that SPS also thrive in, granted the nutrients weren't zero, and they shouldn't be in any non-zeovit/similar system, however dinos were outcompeting my SPS and also probably doing some chemical warfare which caused the entire health of my system to decline. In my case the pests I might have have received on the rock from the gulf pales in comparison to what I mentally went through with the dinos. If you see TBS rock in person when it first comes in, you'll understand why some people really do love it. I had porcelain crabs literally falling off of the rocks as I picked them up out of the bag, completely teeming with life that for the most part was beneficial, and just plain cool. It's an expensive investment if you compare it to dry rock prices, but it's some of the best, if not the best live rock you can get in the US.

d2mini · 03/16/2016, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bent

Not that the OP is guilty of this or I'm accusing...

But I find it highly amusing the amount of people who are anti-live Rock and are all up in arms about pests, yet won't QT their fish.

Agreed, nothing against dry.
But also people who got their rock from unknown sources on craigslist, the bin of "mostly dead rock" at their LFS, etc.
They have a bad experience and get turned off from live rock as a whole when there is a couple really good sources out there.

alton · 03/16/2016, 01:16 PM

I setup my wife's tank in December, the rock (61lbs) came from KP Aquatics over night. There is no way I would ever go back to dry rock (which I did once). I added rock and water and in two weeks I added coral.
I guess it comes down to preference, my question why anyone would buy Fiji? It is great we have so many choices, glad it worked out for you using dry and you are happy which is what counts

sde1500 · 03/16/2016, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brett559

People are reluctant to admit another way is better than the way they've chosen to do it. Human nature, I guess. I'm saying that I've done it both ways, and I would NEVER do the pest thing again. I've added dozens of snails and frags to my system, always looking for aiptasias, and none so far.

To say it is better is your opinion, one you are entitled to, but saying other are reluctant to admit it seems silly. There is no one perfect way of doing things.

toothybugs · 03/16/2016, 01:52 PM

I've done both, and love both. For their own reasons.

Dry rock: do anything with it you want. It's like a blank canvas that needs a "prime coat" (cure) before you can really get going with it.

TBS live rock: Awesome stuff, and TONS of life. TONS. But the crabs are a problem I don't see wanting to deal with in a bigger tank. That said, I'm growing a bunch of stones and gorillas in my fuge, and they are getting BIG

Gulf Live Rock: If you want a display fuge, GET THIS STUFF. I have ordered 2 Nano Packs and the varieties of wild macro growing from them as the months go by is awesome. I quit counting the species when I get to around 25 different varieties. Great for pods and worms, but nowhere near the life of TBS rock. That said, I haven't seen a sprig of macro from my TBS stuff after nearly a year.

So, to each their own.

Mark426 · 03/16/2016, 02:06 PM

This time I went with dry and used marco's mortor. I was my 1st time to actually be able to take my time and arrange and rearrange my scape until I got it the way I wanted. I especially liked how I was able to use the mortar to fasten everything securely (no fear of landslides). Upside is not spending days and weeks hunting down the undesirables. Downside is lack of ANY life at all and the months it takes to resemble anything close to natural. After 9 months and a tank filled with corals I still have a limited diversity of life. What would I do next time??? Not sure.

03/15/2016, 11:30 PM	#27
joshky Acros & Wrasses Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Central KY Posts: 2,546	Had dry rock, but dinos took over my tank and my SPS suffered; to combat the dinos I wanted to introduce biodiversity so I gave TBS 2.1 rock a try, it's been working out excellently. I love this new walt smith 2.1 rock, so even if you decide to use dry rock I highly suggest trying to get some of it. It comes in some really cool shapes and it's easy to aquascape with, I'm a a big fan. I'll probably use TBS rock from now on, it's a lot of fun unpacking it and I'm still finding new things to look at. Here's some recent photo comparisons, only 9 days in between. This is only a few weeks after putting the rock in my tank. I should be uploading more comparison photos tomorrow for my thread if I manage to find time. __________________ Josh My 80g: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2677031

03/15/2016, 11:36 PM	#28
karimwassef Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 11,033	I make my own concrete rock but I seed it with as much live rock as possible. Biodiversity is key to long term success of a captive reef imho. Unless you have another source of safer biodiversity, live rock is king! If you're worried about critters, then exercise patience. Don't add coral, inverts or fish until you've cycled it with LaCl for phosphates for a couple of months. If you still get hair algae, use that as an opportunity to set up an ATS. If you get a mantis shrimp, use a glass jar trap. If you get aiptasia, get a small army of peppermints and don't feed. __________________ Failure isn't an option It's a requirement. 660g 380inwall+280smp/surge S/L/Soft/Maxima/RBTA/Clown/Chromis/Anthias/Tang/Mandarin/Jawfish/Goby/Wrasse/D'back. DIY 12' Skimmer ActuatedSurge ConcreteScape

03/15/2016, 11:41 PM	#29
boshk Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Posts: 184	I had to use Live Rock because there's no Dry Rock in Hong Kong, otherwise I would have gone down the Pukani rock road with Dr Tim's solution. So far, during curing in Brute can, I know there is 1 small crab and 1 red crab in the rock. Found 1 urchin, 2 mussels-like morsels. Tried the high salinity dip, didn't flush them out. Last edited by boshk; 03/16/2016 at 12:07 AM.

03/16/2016, 06:55 AM	#32
Tweaked FUP&A Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Madison, CT Posts: 7,722	Matter of preference I guess, just like BB or Sand. I went dry rock on all my builds and more recently went Walt Smith 2.1. I will never buy anything but that moving forward, fast cycle no leaching, etc. __________________ DSA 105 Pro, Cebu Sun-Radiums-M80 Ballasts, 4 T5's, XHO LEDs. Through Wall 55g Sump, 10g Frag and 29g Display attached, Vertex V6, 3 mp40's, Gyre, 2 mp10's, GFO, Carbon, Pellets - 10g Bar Tank

03/16/2016, 07:07 AM	#34
sde1500 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Glocester, RI Posts: 3,336	I used LFS cured live rock to start my nano, and live sand. Transferred it to my 65 to seed the dry rock I used. Honestly not sure what I liked better. The pictures coming from TBS rock looks amazing. I do have some aiptasia, but going to get a predator to eat them, so not too worried. The big difference for me with was the cost. The dry rock I got was just so much cheaper. Luckily had the rock from my small tank to add some bio-diversity. __________________ My build thread: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2548422 Current Tank Info: 65 gallon mixed reef, Eshopps sump and HOB overflow, RO-110int skimmer, Reefbreeder 32" photons V1.

03/16/2016, 08:19 AM	#37
JohnnyHildo Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Posts: 669	i went with dry rock and substrate and am happy i did so. - i get to watch it grow into something instead of having the finished product from the start. - while i may eventually get unwanted pests from coral the chance of it is certainly better from using another persons rock. - while i don't know if this is necessarily true or not i feel like if a pest or bloom problem does arise it will be easier to identify as opposed to dealing with many other variables i'd have to take into consideration. __________________ 120G Standard - 40G Sump. Apex - DOS - ATI Current Tank Info: Acros - Zoas - Palys

03/16/2016, 08:31 AM	#38
dvgnyh Moved On Join Date: Mar 2016 Posts: 3	White clean rock goes in. Six months later, clean purple rock. It's the best!

03/16/2016, 09:52 AM	#39
solidcore Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Posts: 80	back in the old days we used lava rock. I agree, Aptasia just never runs its course.

03/16/2016, 11:01 AM	#42
Bent I got nothin' Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: The anals Posts: 6,420	Not that the OP is guilty of this or I'm accusing... But I find it highly amusing the amount of people who are anti-live Rock and are all up in arms about pests, yet won't QT their fish. __________________ Quitters never lose. [QUOTE=CStrickland]Who gets mad at a starfish?[/QUOTE] Current Tank Info: 75g DT, 30G refugium, 10g chaeto tank, 50g stock tank basement sump

03/16/2016, 11:29 AM	#43
saf1 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: California Posts: 2,259	Multiple ways to skin a cat, glad it worked for you. I think there is a lot of cool educational value in building a tank and using the natural cycle method when establishing new tanks. I'd recommend everyone to do it at least once because it really is a neat process provided you stay the course over the long haul. It isn't something that will happen over night that is for sure. I actually did this with my 100 gallon tank although I did use "live" rock from Fiji. Lots of die off though because it wasn't shipped over night and a much different process. I will say I'm still using a lot of that rock in my 40 breeder today 15 years later. On the other hand using quick overnight shipped live rock offers the other side of the spectrum whereas it is teaming with life. You get everything. The good, the bad, and the ugly (great movie btw). You get lots of sponges, stars, polyps, good crabs, bad crabs, who knows what sort of shrimp, etc. You have all ready about it here in the forums. But if you want to set up a tank and not go through the long and drawn out process then this offers its own unique spin to a reef ready. Sort of like "just add water"... Having said that, I'd only use live rock. I've done the other through a 6 month cycle and it turned out great. But as another poster said all bets are off anyway once you introduce your first fish or coral or anything else that is living. At least that is how I see it as I go through my 240 gallon build. NOTE to P.E.T.A - No cats have been harmed or skinned during this post... __________________ -saf1 Current Tank Info: 210 gallon mixed reef

03/16/2016, 11:36 AM	#44
brett559 In Memoriam Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Visalia, CA Posts: 1,790	Thanks for sharing. I do agree that some really cool elements of the hobby come with the live rock approach. I did enjoy getting the flashlight out and seeing the weirdos come out at night. At the end of the day, aiptasia just bummed me out so much with my last tank. But I'm pretty OCD. I'm the guy you would notice the three aiptasias in an otherwise pretty tank. Funny, I'd only do that in my own tank - when I see other people's tanks, I never notice any imperfections. Only in mine.

03/16/2016, 11:41 AM	#45
joshky Acros & Wrasses Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Central KY Posts: 2,546	Dry rock, live rock, they both work. In my case my dry rock didn't work out well enough, it caused issues that despite my best efforts I couldn't get under control. Dinos love a low nutrient environment that SPS also thrive in, granted the nutrients weren't zero, and they shouldn't be in any non-zeovit/similar system, however dinos were outcompeting my SPS and also probably doing some chemical warfare which caused the entire health of my system to decline. In my case the pests I might have have received on the rock from the gulf pales in comparison to what I mentally went through with the dinos. If you see TBS rock in person when it first comes in, you'll understand why some people really do love it. I had porcelain crabs literally falling off of the rocks as I picked them up out of the bag, completely teeming with life that for the most part was beneficial, and just plain cool. It's an expensive investment if you compare it to dry rock prices, but it's some of the best, if not the best live rock you can get in the US. __________________ Josh My 80g: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2677031

03/16/2016, 01:16 PM	#47
alton Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Zuehl, Texas Posts: 4,460	I setup my wife's tank in December, the rock (61lbs) came from KP Aquatics over night. There is no way I would ever go back to dry rock (which I did once). I added rock and water and in two weeks I added coral. I guess it comes down to preference, my question why anyone would buy Fiji? It is great we have so many choices, glad it worked out for you using dry and you are happy which is what counts

03/16/2016, 01:52 PM	#49
toothybugs In Memoriam Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: The smallest county in Illinois Posts: 1,986	I've done both, and love both. For their own reasons. Dry rock: do anything with it you want. It's like a blank canvas that needs a "prime coat" (cure) before you can really get going with it. TBS live rock: Awesome stuff, and TONS of life. TONS. But the crabs are a problem I don't see wanting to deal with in a bigger tank. That said, I'm growing a bunch of stones and gorillas in my fuge, and they are getting BIG Gulf Live Rock: If you want a display fuge, GET THIS STUFF. I have ordered 2 Nano Packs and the varieties of wild macro growing from them as the months go by is awesome. I quit counting the species when I get to around 25 different varieties. Great for pods and worms, but nowhere near the life of TBS rock. That said, I haven't seen a sprig of macro from my TBS stuff after nearly a year. So, to each their own.

03/16/2016, 02:06 PM	#50
Mark426 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: South Carolina Posts: 2,479	This time I went with dry and used marco's mortor. I was my 1st time to actually be able to take my time and arrange and rearrange my scape until I got it the way I wanted. I especially liked how I was able to use the mortar to fasten everything securely (no fear of landslides). Upside is not spending days and weeks hunting down the undesirables. Downside is lack of ANY life at all and the months it takes to resemble anything close to natural. After 9 months and a tank filled with corals I still have a limited diversity of life. What would I do next time??? Not sure.