Aquascape and apurplereef.com

[Tikosyn]

Hey guys,

So I am still in the early planning stages of my first marine aquarium but I believe I have made some decisions. One being I believe I am going to use apurplereef.com live rock in a red sea reefer 525xl (109 display tank 30g sump). First question is, how much rock do I need? I have been told anywhere from 80-110 lbs.

Secondly, does anyone have any experience with apurplereef.com? Lastly, how exactly do you aquascape using live rock? I can't take too long with the rock outside of water because then all of the bacteria will die off, but I don't want to rush it either. Will I be forced to aquascape with my tank full of water? Side note this live rock does not come with any pests/critters so I am only worried about bacteria die off.

Thanks for any info!

 

[JVan82]

When I was planning mine I planned for 1 pound of rock per gallon, now with you having a sump you can add a few blocks of marinepure in the sump and have less rock in the display. I'm not 100% sure bit I think apurplereef rock comes dry, so no need to hurry setting up your aquascape. I took egg crate that I used in the tank to build my rock on out the the tank first. The put in the egg crate then rock then sand.
I also wanted to use purplereef rock, but then never returned my email asking about when it would be available, ( so sold out at the time) so I went with reefcleaners rock.

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[gffpm1247]

I am in the early stages of setting up 75 gal tank and got 63 lbs of rock. I did 30 lbs of live rock and 33 lbs of dead rock. Live rock can come with pests from what I read. I haven't seen any known pests yet. I have a rock anemone, a mushroom and a pulsing Xenia that came with the rock. So far they have survived the cycling so far.

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[gffpm1247]

I also aquascaped with the water in the tank. I was able to buy the live rock locally so I put it in the tank when I got home. Then slowly stacked the rock until I liked what I saw.

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[Pelagic_e36]

I also aquascaped with the water in the tank. I was able to buy the live rock locally so I put it in the tank when I got home. Then slowly stacked the rock until I liked what I saw.

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Exactly what I did.

 

[bmackcw]

I have a reefer 425xl. You can do any of the methods above. Personally, I started with less than the "minimum," then started adding more piece by piece. To this day, I like to take out large pieces to frag or just redecorate. Nothing is locked or glued in permanently. About the eggcrate, though, BRS just researched it, and I'd avoid using it as a base.

You can also have rock and coral out of the tank longer than you'd think.

 

[FLSharkvic]

How do you like Real Reef Rock?

How do you like Real Reef Rock?

So how do you all like the Real Reef Rock?

Real Reef Rock Is The Best Man Made Reef Rock

Real Reef Rock is made of 100% natural Eco-Friendly green materials. Materials composed of the same mineral building blocks as coral skeleton live rock, without the environmental damage to the World's Coral reefs. Real Reef is composed of several different types of mineral aggregates. Some are very similar to high-end media used in modern Calcium Reactor dosing systems. Real Reef Rock is high in Calcium Carbonate, with amounts in the 82-85% range. Unlike coral skeleton which is primarily Calcium Carbonate, Real Reef Live Rock contains a variety of essential trace elements and minerals. This remaining 15-18% consists of minerals and trace elements such as Magnesium, Strontium, and Iron.

http://www.aquariumcreationsonline.net/RealReefRock.html

 

[Sk8r]

Aquascaping is best done with the tank watered, as I do it. I don't glue anything, but stack rocks cleverly---and since their handling in water is different than out of water (some seem trickily light, compared to others) and their balance changes in water, underwater is the best way to do it. Naturally this has to be salt water.

 

[Tikosyn]

Thanks Sk8r. This is an old thread but I did finally end up getting a red sea reefer 750, I made a build thread for it. As for apurplereef, I have decided to go with reefcleaners for a few reasons. 1. Reefcleaners has glowing reviews basically everywhere I've looked. 2. I emailed apurplereef with questions months ago and got zero response, also called a few times, very poor customer service. Also their rocks are very expensive and I don't like the idea of painted rock.

I'll take your advice about aquascaping though, thanks for the tips.