I don't have any personal experience with aquacultured live rock, so I don't know if this is going to be very helpful or not.
I think you will ultimately be the one to decide what you really want. I'll just try to sum up some of the pros and cons of both aquacultured and gathered live rock.
Aquacultured pros:
Better for the environment, as this rock is specifically placed in the ocean for later retrieval and has virtually zero impact upon the worlds reefs.
More visible flora and fauna. Most companies in the aquaculture business know that their biggest asset is the abundance of life on their rock. It is litterally plucked from the ocean, packed in water, and sent to the airport nearest you.
Often sold in packages. You get the rock, sand, and cleanup crew for one set price.
Freebies. You can sometimes get a really good coral or crab that has hitchhiked on your rock.
Aquacultured cons:
Some people find the rock is boring because the shape may not be as interesting as some varieties of gathered live rock.
Some may find that picking up their aquacultured rock at the airport is not for them.
Shipping costs may be higher with aquacultured rock, since they ship their rock in water to achieve minimal die off.
Freebies. Sometimes you'll get an undesireable hitch hiker or two.
I've read of some people who find the aquacultured rock to be too dense. They may find that it just doesn't have the same nooks and crannies that certain varieties of gathered rock may have.
Price. Some may find the price of aquacultured rock to be more than they are willing to pay. Others find the abundance of life well worth the extra cost.
Availability. There are times where the weather does not allow the aquacultured rock to be gathered. Sometimes you have to wait for the weather to get better before they can go out and gather your order.
Gathered rock pros:
It's readily available just about everywhere.
Some find the variety of shapes more pleasing.
You can usually get it shipped right to your door or pick it up at the local fish store.
Generally a lower or zero count of undesireable hitch hikers. Gathered rock usually goes through a process to remove undesireables and things that may not survive the long shipping times.
Gathered rock cons:
It seems to have so much less life than aquacultured.
Curing gathered live rock may be an unpleasant smelling experience.
The environment is somehow impacted by all the gathering of live rock.
Now I've read many a thread where people just rave about their aquacultured live rock and how much they love it. There are very few threads, in comparison, about how people were disappointed in their aquacultured live rock. Hopefully you'll get some people chime in who have bought it and can share their first person experiences with you. I think you'll probably find that they will highly recommend going aquaculture, if you want to start with the most amount of flora and fauna on your live rocks as possible.
Hope that helps.
