Live rock vs dry rock

[jd120988]

What's everyone's opinion on live rock vs dry rock? My first 2 reef tanks I used live rock for both of them. One had kp aquatics live rock and the other had gulf live rock. I liked the life on kp aquatics more but the rock was definitely not as loaded with macro as the gulf live rock. Both had their share of pests between the bobbit worm in kpaquatics rock and the aptasia on the gulf live rock. My most recent tank is loaded with dry caribsea life rock and i have to say it's been a roller coaster of issues getting this tank to mature and I can't keep sps as easily as my live rock tanks it seems. With my 120 upgrade in progress I decided to purchase some live rock to add to that system. I settled on going with kp aquatics again as I felt like the quality was better (my opinion) so I just ordered a 15lb package. Has anybody ordered from kp aquatics recently? I'd like to know if the quality is still there and if there was any regrets.

 

[DYIguy]

I've never bought live rock online- have bought fish etc from KP and was very pleased. I hate to admit it but the live rock I bought from Petco was good- only 'pests' were bristle worms- hitchhikers included snail, spaghetti worms, feather dusters and amphipods
Best live rock I've got is from fellow reefers here- coated with coralline algae, no pests, few hitchhikers
I'm sure if you ask nicely, you can get some for free/cheap too

 

[diana a]

I see a difference in my current KP rock tank vs the tank I started 8 years ago that was started with dry rock. KP rock tank is very stable were the dry rock tank took 2 years to get to stability. My KP rocks were purchased in Jan. I got rid of the pests....except for one....never had aptaisa like the gulf live rock. Would I buy it again...definitely

 

[jd120988]

I see a difference in my current KP rock tank vs the tank I started 8 years ago that was started with dry rock. KP rock tank is very stable were the dry rock tank took 2 years to get to stability. My KP rocks were purchased in Jan. I got rid of the pests....except for one....never had aptaisa like the gulf live rock. Would I buy it again...definitely

Thank you @diana a I'm happy to hear this and i hope it helps me. How many lbs did you pick up and is there any chance you have some pictures of what you received?

 

[Deleted member 27248]

I would never use dry, and never use fake rock if possibe. It’s not porous at all.

 

[jd120988]

I would never use dry, and never use fake rock if possibe. It’s not porous at all.

It's trash I'll never do it again. The caribsea has zero porosity to it. At this point I'm going to transfer it to my 120 because it's estanlished over a year now but I'll never start with it again or at minimum it will be accompanied by live rock. I want rock from wherever you got it from because that stuff grows anything lol.

 

[Deleted member 27248]

It's trash I'll never do it again. The caribsea has zero porosity to it. At this point I'm going to transfer it to my 120 because it's estanlished over a year now but I'll never start with it again or at minimum it will be accompanied by live rock. I want rock from wherever you got it from because that stuff grows anything lol.

Haha I can’t tell You that!…I would try and someone selling tank and buy there rock…I’m always on the the look out for more real rock.

 

[diana a]

This is 15 pounds ....5 rocks in total in a 20 gallon quarantine tank. It was shipped in water to my house

 

[erics210]

This is 15 pounds ....5 rocks in total in a 20 gallon quarantine tank. It was shipped in water to my house

View attachment 40721

What would something like that sell for?

I sometimes I feel I have been too good on some rock from my tanks. I know Petco charges $29.99 for something smaller than a Nerf football.

 

[jd120988]

Haha I can’t tell You that!…I would try and someone selling tank and buy there rock…I’m always on the the look out for more real rock.

I think I'll be good with what I have and if not I'll grab another 15lbs. I wish i would have done live rock from the start.

 

[jd120988]

This is 15 pounds ....5 rocks in total in a 20 gallon quarantine tank. It was shipped in water to my house

View attachment 40721

That looks great and I'm glad to see it's a couple rocks. I wasn't sure what 15lbs would yield. It's been 5 years since I ordered from kpaquatics. Looks like the quality is still there. Any mantis shrimp? I think that would be a neat hitchhiker to toss in the sumps refugium or a species only tank.

 

[jd120988]

What would something like that sell for?

I sometimes I feel I have been too good on some rock from my tanks. I know Petco charges $29.99 for something smaller than a Nerf football.

Not sure what Diana paid but it cost a pretty penny for my 15lbs at 250 shipped overnight. This is way more than I would like to pay but it's shipped full of water so die off is supposed minimal and after all the issues with the tank I'm more than willing to drop the extra cash to get the biodiversity.

 

[Deleted member 27248]

Not sure what Diana paid but it cost a pretty penny for my 15lbs at 250 shipped overnight. This is way more than I would like to pay but it's shipped full of water so die off is supposed minimal and after all the issues with the tank I'm more than willing to drop the extra cash to get the biodiversity.

That’s insane

 

[jd120988]

That’s insane

I agree lol but I'm not known to do sane things

 

[diana a]

What would something like that sell for?

I sometimes I feel I have been too good on some rock from my tanks. I know Petco charges $29.99 for something smaller than a Nerf football.

Not sure what Diana paid but it cost a pretty penny for my 15lbs at 250 shipped overnight. This is way more than I would like to pay but it's shipped full of water so die off is supposed minimal and after all the issues with the tank I'm more than willing to drop the extra cash to get the biodiversity.

yup $250 which includes next day shipping to your door. There is a cheaper cost for the same quality shipped in water but it's the airport.

 

[diana a]

That looks great and I'm glad to see it's a couple rocks. I wasn't sure what 15lbs would yield. It's been 5 years since I ordered from kpaquatics. Looks like the quality is still there. Any mantis shrimp? I think that would be a neat hitchhiker to toss in the sumps refugium or a species only tank.

yes I have a mantis....green and red....last seen on Thanksgiving afternoon. I have been trying to catch it. Last time I pulled out one of the rocks it went into. Flooded the rock holes with RODI and when that didn't work I used peroxide on the rock. Now I had SPSs on that said rock which is now died. Mantis must have ran to the next rock when I was pulling it out. Later that night I hear the dame thing clicking in the DT. So the plan is to set up two QT. I will remove 1 rock each day I hear clicking into QT until I hear no clicking coming from DT.

 

[Deleted member 27248]

yup $250 which includes next day shipping to your door. There is a cheaper cost for the same quality shipped in water but it's the airport.

BRS blew the next day liverock deals up…said it’s not out of the ocean the day before it’s shipped to you…it’s false advertising…I’ll try and find the video.

 

[jd120988]

yes I have a mantis....green and red....last seen on Thanksgiving afternoon. I have been trying to catch it. Last time I pulled out one of the rocks it went into. Flooded the rock holes with RODI and when that didn't work I used peroxide on the rock. Now I had SPSs on that said rock which is now died. Mantis must have ran to the next rock when I was pulling it out. Later that night I hear the dame thing clicking in the DT. So the plan is to set up two QT. I will remove 1 rock each day I hear clicking into QT until I hear no clicking coming from DT.

If your going to remove the rock maybe try dipping it into some high Salinity water like 1.031. That should make the mantis fly out of the rock. If there's corals on the rocks this may be an issue though.

 

[jd120988]

BRS blew the next day liverock deals up…said it’s not out of the ocean the day before it’s shipped to you…it’s false advertising…I’ll try and find the video.

I'm sure that's the case for most places which is unfortunate. Kp has a great rep for selling rock right out of the water or close to it though. I've had good experiences with them in the past so I have high hopes the rock will be quality like I've gotten before.

 

[paintman27]

I used all marco rock on my build and havn't had any problems. I am 16 months in now and only went through a small ugly phase back in the spring. I seeeded the tank with MB7 and GARF grunge and let it cycle for 3 months in a total black out. Tank is doing great! I would do dry rock again. I think the key was the GARF grunge.