Reefscaping with man made rocks, WOW!

[FastUno]

I just came across this video with Mike Paletta & the technique he used for aquascaping as recommendations by Sanja.


Where can we get those purple man-made rocks. They are flat & perfect for this.

Starts at 16:55 & you see the bigger picture at 20:29

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xifweoA0N4Q

[Guntotn]

That looks like the rock I have. I got it at the LFS but the stuff is expensive.

[FastUno]

They got it from a LFS in the youtube video as well. I have never seen these rocks at my LFS.

They must be online too?

[Saltydrip]

One if my LFS has it from time to time.

[rfgonzo]

One of my LFS has it also but they want like $8 or $9 a pound. no thanks

[dkeller_nc]

If you wish to spend $8 a pound on what amounts to hydraulic concrete and some purple dye, that's your call, but you should at least know what you're getting:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2236768

[MarinaP]

Originally Posted by FastUno

Where can we get those purple man-made rocks. They are flat & perfect for this.

i got mine from DD/LA. I reaquascaped my 200G SPS tank a year ago, replacing existing rock with about 60% real reef rock shelves (some old pieces were moved to the sump). These shelves work nicely, real reef rock is perfectly capable of sustaining fully blown SPS tank. Purple coloring fades away in a couple of months and looks natural.

[Guntotn]

Originally Posted by rfgonzo

One of my LFS has it also but they want like $8 or $9 a pound. no thanks

That's what I was saying, it's expensive. But I was new to the hobby and they recommended it. I do like the way my aquascape turned out. If I get time, I will post pics of the rock.

[PaulieReef]

Now is this rock porous? It looks like its just skinny shelves. I know people said that porous rock helps with natural filtering. How is this vs normal super porous rocks?

[Guntotn]

Well I tried posting pics of the rock but it won't let me and says I need a security token and to contact admin. I'll post them if it gets figured out.

[Guntotn]

I can't put the pics in. Says the file is too large. I'll try this link.

http://s869.photobucket.com/user/guntotn1/library/

[FastUno]

MarinaP: Nice corals, it looks like you have minimum rocks & your corals are awesome.


Guntotn: Nice aquaspacing & rock looks alive.


I don't understand the need for porous. I see only disadvantages to porous, since it just collect ditritus. If you vacuum & constantly clean within the pores with a hose then OK, but you have to be diligent about it.


I would rather the rocks be most nonporous & let the powerheads whisk debri right off.

$8/9 lbs is a lot, although a did splurge & get $14/lb shelf pieces. Can we make shelve pieces out of eggcrate & that right stuff foam. Spray the foam stuff around the shelves? Has anyone tried this?

[MHG]

Originally Posted by PaulieReef

Now is this rock porous? It looks like its just skinny shelves. I know people said that porous rock helps with natural filtering. How is this vs normal super porous rocks?

That manmade "real reef rock" with the purple paint you find in the store I would say I less porous than mists rocks but probably porous enough. I can not stand the way it looks when it is new. I prefer any of the BRS dry rocks for a fraction of the price...

[d2mini]

Originally Posted by FastUno

If you vacuum & constantly clean within the pores with a hose then OK, but you have to be diligent about it.

Never. Ever.
Build a mini ecosystem and let nature do it's job.

[Badfish_Reefer]

Originally Posted by d2mini

Never. Ever.
Build a mini ecosystem and let nature do it's job.

+++1. Could not agree more. In my opinion you're defeating the purpose of the hobby if you use manufactured and artificially colored rocks attached to rods to create an aquascape. The real beauty of a reef tank is that it's a piece of nature you can have in your house, and you should strive to have it be as natural as possible. Porous rock is good because it creates more area for water to flow through and for bacteria to live in.

[FastUno]

Hmmmmmmm

Guys, come on! Have we not seen the rock cooking threads & the amount of crap that gets trapped within the rocks? I don't know about your tank, but mine has plenty of crap in the small crevices & I have a good amount of flow on my 75g tank:

Eheim 1262: 900GPH
Tunze 6060: ~1600GPH
MP10ES W: 200 to 1575 gph


I think there is more than one way to do it. I have seen minimalistic rockscaped tanks & overstocked rocky tanks. There are success stories on both sides. Personally, I am somewhere in between, with medium amount of rocks, but rocks are mostly not that porous. Even with these rocks, I pull out stuff from the small crevices.


So do you guys have many & porous rocks? Can you provide your tank pictures & inspire us?

Here is my current 75g tank:

[d2mini]

My tank is 7' long.
All my rock and sand came straight out of the ocean. I flew down to Tampa Bay and went out on the boat with Richard of Tampa Bay Saltwater. I never rinsed it or anything... it went straight from the bag of natural ocean water it was shipped in earlier that morning right into my tank.
The absolute last thing I would do is "cook" the rock or vacuum it or do anything else to remove all the good stuff populating it.

From a few months ago...

[d2mini]

And here's some close ups of the rock when i got it.
This first piece is probably 30 lbs, easily.
As you can see, tons of nooks, crannies, holes, caves, etc.

[Tenshoa]

If you like the flat pieces of live rock, which is what I have throughout my tank, then you want Haitian Liverock. They are like giant pieces of lettuce with neat designs in them. Most of them are "shelf" pieces and make up about 90% of the rock in my tank. The shelf like design makes for easy stacking and lots of real estate. It is extremely porous and here locally, you can get it for about $5-6 a lb. However, because of how porous it is, they are typically light. Even the very large pieces. So the cost in weight makes up for the size.

[FlyPenFly]

I will never go back to using live rock. I use Cerameco rock.

[bswasta]

I'm getting some purple man made rock off eBay. 5 pounds for $30 free shipping. It's all well and fine to go out in the ocean, and get your own stuff. But if you live in a cold climate, away from the ocean, you make due with what you can get. The closest aquarium shop to me is over 1hour away. The trip can be downright hazardous when snow is pouring down. I have to rely a LOT on buying online.

[dkeller_nc]

Originally Posted by bswasta

I'm getting some purple man made rock off eBay. 5 pounds for $30 free shipping. It's all well and fine to go out in the ocean, and get your own stuff. But if you live in a cold climate, away from the ocean, you make due with what you can get. The closest aquarium shop to me is over 1hour away. The trip can be downright hazardous when snow is pouring down. I have to rely a LOT on buying online.

Well, you can get superb live rock by buying on-line and having it shipped to you, and generally at only slightly increased cost to what you mention, and get a far superior product.

[Tenshoa]

Originally Posted by dkeller_nc

Well, you can get superb live rock by buying on-line and having it shipped to you, and generally at only slightly increased cost to what you mention, and get a far superior product.

+1

Good LR locally here costs less than that

[bswasta]

The purple artificial rock I got is great! My Royal Gramma loves it. He is actually visible now!
I lost all my coral due to a disease. I'm liking just having fish. I'm getting a clean up crew together. It might be a lot easier to maintain once we start traveling too.

[Indiana Reefin]

Originally Posted by FlyPenFly

I will never go back to using live rock. I use Cerameco rock.

Really nice tank man! You have done a great job ballancing LPS and SPS.

I bought man made rock that was dyed but it is live. I bought my rock from premiumaquatics and it is aquacultured with live rock. I like the fact that I'm not taking rock from the ocean plus it looks real to me. No complaints or concerns from me.