The audio on this was like a roller coaster..love the topic but only caught half of it..i definitely use dry rock every time though. I find you waste more time and money fighting problems than just pure patience from the start. Slow and steady means stable in my book
I started doing the dry rock to live rock in the summer 20lbs. Now am ready to start a new 25 Gallon reef tank project for new years, I would pay someone to that has done it with Marco Rock too and considering doing this for my surrounding area Reefers, now that I have the room to run a 75G tank full of dry rock for this purpose only and sell the rock.
hi hier in the netherland at my LSF they have a man made reef rock called dutch reef rock made from cruched live rock and they also sell it cycled maybe worth a look into
I'm planning a "forever tank" as my second tank (lots of reasons in my case). My current tank is "newly" established, roughly a year old. Tons of info in this... in short, top couple of rock options for highest path to success would be.....?
Ick lives in all aquarium water regardless it shows up on fish when their immune system is weaked from stress most the time from a rapid change in water temperature,. You can't prevent bacteria and pest come on frags I just removed 3 tiny apitasha from a frag had to use glasses and a magnifine glass to see and remove before placing in tank.
Im having a hard time understanding where to find purple rock that comes pest free with no harsh side effects and is easy to scape? I dont want rock that comes with living pest thats why i want to know where i can find purple dry rock that is day 1 instant purple man made .
Check out Real Reef rock or CaribSea LifeRock. Both have a purple appearance right out of the box and won't have any pests on them like traditional live rock might have. www.bulkreefsupply.com/bulk-dry-live-rock-live-sand/dry-live-rock.html
@@BRStv Thanks both of these rock sound like what i want. I think im going to buy Real reef rock since it looks the best and seems easy to scape dose this rock need to be Cured if so what is the safest way to cure this rock?
Personally...if you have the patience, dry rock, dry sand. You kinda know what you in for starting that way... who knows what your going to get with live rock, sure it cycles quicker but what else is in the rock???? Only time will tell.
I am brand new and haven’t set my tank up. I am getting whiplash and pretty overwhelmed by all the info. I have had freshwater tanks my whole life and want to make the leap. What is your opinion on wet sand but dry rock? Does the wet sand have the same critter problems?
@@tammygreen7674 I just started up a 30 gal with dry rock and live sand (1st time using). Fishless cycle with Dr. Tim's. Currently in the diatom (ugly brown) stage. About 6 weeks in. So far no critters but only time will tell. Do have small CUC crew and 2 clowns, 1 week now. Don't know if that helps but I decided to give it a try. Figured it was the lesser of 2 evils🤣 and didn't want to go through a 6 month cycle. The key is to test and keep an eye on ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & phosphate during your cycle.
So is the “ugly stage’ inevitable? How long does it take to pass. I agree with the lesser of 2 evils. Because I am just starting, I don’t want to make all the mistakes and have an ugly mess. How long did you cycle before you put in fish? Did you use any boosters? Appreciate your response very much.
@@tammygreen7674 the ugly stage is pretty standard, it kinda marks the end of your cycle. How long it lasts...well, couple weeks to a couple months. CUC crew can help keep it in check but it's really a natural part of the tank maturing. We ALL make mistakes in this hobby, lol, but patience is the key. Most things work themselves out. I didn't use anything other than Dr. Tim's, due to live sand I didn't dose ammonia (live sand would supplement). At this point I test every 3 days, nitrates & phosphates are up but that's typical for the brown stage. I'm about 6-7 weeks in from adding water to the tank (I have the BRS 200gpd 7 stage RODI unit) . Just added 2 clowns 6 days ago, small CUC crew 4 days ago. I have to say, I don't like the brown stage either..its ugly to look at. The 2 medium turbo snails I got are tearing through the diatoms so that's nice. No lights during the first 2 weeks of my cycle then only blues until I hit 0 ammonia and nitrates hit 4.8ppm (about 4 weeks in), then whites came on. Hence the ugly brown stage took off...lmao.
Thank you so much! Would a UV help with that? I heard it helps with algae and some bad stuff but not sure it’s necessary. That is some solid, appreciated advice. There is soooo much info out here. Skimmer, no skimmer. Sump, no sump, what lights you have, i mean damn, it’s a lot but my hubby is a dog trainer at Petco so they will order just about anything for me so that is nice. Just so much to learn. Stoked I found these guys. The community has been pretty awesome answering random questions so I can’t wait. Also waiting for Petco’s 1$ a gallon sale before Christmas!
You guys are great but no one mentioned anything about CaribSea’s Liferock! Can you give me any feedback on what you think about this rock? Do you guys only believe in the Real Reef Rock as a good man-made rock? Any feedback would help it took my wife and I to lift the 75 lb arch into our tank, I would hate to take it back out. LOL thanks Jeff
Caribseas liferock isn't very porus. I like Marco Rock, the more porus your rock the more bacteria it can hold. That being said, im not saying not to use it. Maybe use it in combination with another rock. Just keep that in mind 👍🏾
We've used the LifeRock on a number of builds including the new Red Sea 3XL 900 in our studio. Great stuff and available in some really unique sizes and shapes! We stock a lot of their rock options right here: www.bulkreefsupply.com/bulk-dry-live-rock-live-sand/dry-live-rock.html
I want to farm live rock totally worth it
The audio on this was like a roller coaster..love the topic but only caught half of it..i definitely use dry rock every time though. I find you waste more time and money fighting problems than just pure patience from the start. Slow and steady means stable in my book
Great job guys as always
I started doing the dry rock to live rock in the summer 20lbs. Now am ready to start a new 25 Gallon reef tank project for new years, I would pay someone to that has done it with Marco Rock too and considering doing this for my surrounding area Reefers, now that I have the room to run a 75G tank full of dry rock for this purpose only and sell the rock.
hi hier in the netherland at my LSF they have a man made reef rock called dutch reef rock made from cruched live rock and they also sell it cycled maybe worth a look into
Holland ftw
I'm planning a "forever tank" as my second tank (lots of reasons in my case). My current tank is "newly" established, roughly a year old. Tons of info in this... in short, top couple of rock options for highest path to success would be.....?
Ick lives in all aquarium water regardless it shows up on fish when their immune system is weaked from stress most the time from a rapid change in water temperature,. You can't prevent bacteria and pest come on frags I just removed 3 tiny apitasha from a frag had to use glasses and a magnifine glass to see and remove before placing in tank.
Sweet.
Im having a hard time understanding where to find purple rock that comes pest free with no harsh side effects and is easy to scape? I dont want rock that comes with living pest thats why i want to know where i can find purple dry rock that is day 1 instant purple man made .
Check out Real Reef rock or CaribSea LifeRock. Both have a purple appearance right out of the box and won't have any pests on them like traditional live rock might have.
www.bulkreefsupply.com/bulk-dry-live-rock-live-sand/dry-live-rock.html
@@BRStv Thanks both of these rock sound like what i want. I think im going to buy Real reef rock since it looks the best and seems easy to scape dose this rock need to be Cured if so what is the safest way to cure this rock?
Personally...if you have the patience, dry rock, dry sand. You kinda know what you in for starting that way... who knows what your going to get with live rock, sure it cycles quicker but what else is in the rock???? Only time will tell.
I am brand new and haven’t set my tank up. I am getting whiplash and pretty overwhelmed by all the info. I have had freshwater tanks my whole life and want to make the leap. What is your opinion on wet sand but dry rock? Does the wet sand have the same critter problems?
@@tammygreen7674 I just started up a 30 gal with dry rock and live sand (1st time using). Fishless cycle with Dr. Tim's. Currently in the diatom (ugly brown) stage. About 6 weeks in. So far no critters but only time will tell. Do have small CUC crew and 2 clowns, 1 week now. Don't know if that helps but I decided to give it a try. Figured it was the lesser of 2 evils🤣 and didn't want to go through a 6 month cycle. The key is to test and keep an eye on ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & phosphate during your cycle.
So is the “ugly stage’ inevitable? How long does it take to pass. I agree with the lesser of 2 evils. Because I am just starting, I don’t want to make all the mistakes and have an ugly mess. How long did you cycle before you put in fish? Did you use any boosters? Appreciate your response very much.
@@tammygreen7674 the ugly stage is pretty standard, it kinda marks the end of your cycle. How long it lasts...well, couple weeks to a couple months. CUC crew can help keep it in check but it's really a natural part of the tank maturing. We ALL make mistakes in this hobby, lol, but patience is the key. Most things work themselves out. I didn't use anything other than Dr. Tim's, due to live sand I didn't dose ammonia (live sand would supplement). At this point I test every 3 days, nitrates & phosphates are up but that's typical for the brown stage. I'm about 6-7 weeks in from adding water to the tank (I have the BRS 200gpd 7 stage RODI unit) . Just added 2 clowns 6 days ago, small CUC crew 4 days ago. I have to say, I don't like the brown stage either..its ugly to look at. The 2 medium turbo snails I got are tearing through the diatoms so that's nice. No lights during the first 2 weeks of my cycle then only blues until I hit 0 ammonia and nitrates hit 4.8ppm (about 4 weeks in), then whites came on. Hence the ugly brown stage took off...lmao.
Thank you so much! Would a UV help with that? I heard it helps with algae and some bad stuff but not sure it’s necessary. That is some solid, appreciated advice. There is soooo much info out here. Skimmer, no skimmer. Sump, no sump, what lights you have, i mean damn, it’s a lot but my hubby is a dog trainer at Petco so they will order just about anything for me so that is nice. Just so much to learn. Stoked I found these guys. The community has been pretty awesome answering random questions so I can’t wait. Also waiting for Petco’s 1$ a gallon sale before Christmas!
Woof 🐶
You guys are great but no one mentioned anything about CaribSea’s Liferock! Can you give me any feedback on what you think about this rock? Do you guys only believe in the Real Reef Rock as a good man-made rock? Any feedback would help it took my wife and I to lift the 75 lb arch into our tank, I would hate to take it back out. LOL thanks Jeff
Caribseas liferock isn't very porus. I like Marco Rock, the more porus your rock the more bacteria it can hold. That being said, im not saying not to use it. Maybe use it in combination with another rock. Just keep that in mind 👍🏾
@@seand4433 my whole Tank is this rock you got me worried. Will my sand bed help? Red Sea xl 425
How can I send you a picture?
We've used the LifeRock on a number of builds including the new Red Sea 3XL 900 in our studio. Great stuff and available in some really unique sizes and shapes!
We stock a lot of their rock options right here: www.bulkreefsupply.com/bulk-dry-live-rock-live-sand/dry-live-rock.html
Pukani rock is the best rock lol too bad it's not here
It’s pure gold if you can find it nowadays
Suppppppp guys
👋