Marco dried rock or Live rock?

[Elmareefer]

1 pound per gallon has always seemed perfect for me.
I just used 40 pounds of This in a 75 gallon tank

Mixed with live rock from TBS

Thanks, the cost of some of this live stuff is nuts

Is that pretty porous stuff? Or is it very heavy/dense? Is that painted on bacteria like Real Reef company does.
Thanks again!! I’ll be posting a new reef build on this forum when I get it all in

 

[griss]

Thank you
How’s the Marco live rock say compared to KP? I only see comments on the white dried Marco Rock

I have no idea. Never used the Marco live but, I’ve seen people are happy with it. Obviously, coming from the ocean, TBS, KP or Gulf will have a lot more life on it.

 

[griss]

Thanks, the cost of some of this live stuff is nuts

Is that pretty porous stuff? Or is it very heavy/dense? Is that painted on bacteria like Real Reef company does.
Thanks again!! I’ll be posting a new reef build on this forum when I get it all in

Yes, it’s dry rock, colored to look like coralline and I don’t believe any bacteria.

Hint: This hobby is expensive and addictive lol.

 

[Uncle99]

Thanks, the cost of some of this live stuff is nuts

Is that pretty porous stuff? Or is it very heavy/dense? Is that painted on bacteria like Real Reef company does.
Thanks again!! I’ll be posting a new reef build on this forum when I get it all in

I use the Carib-Sea version of the same.
Good live rock makes sense financially, if you’re reasonably close to the source, don’t need much,or very rich.

There’s always been a debate about which is better. I think in the end, they both work well. Ocean bacteria’s and algae’s get into the system with your fish and coral adds anyways.

For me, I want to ensure no pests enter the system. This goal I stick to. Way too much time getting out, things I don’t want in.

The uglies I can deal with easier.

 

[griss]

So, as seen in this thread, there is no single “correct” way to be successful in this hobby. Trial and error and find what works for you and your tank

 

[wvned]

Those things you call pests. They are animals from the sea. I love keeping and watching them.
It is why I do this.

I would like to add, I don't think the live rock we get now is nearly as good as what it used to be. I think the turnover has increased to meet demand and it isn't in the sea as long. Just a guess.

 

[griss]

I would like to add, I don't think the live rock we get now is nearly as good as what it used to be. I think the turnover has increased to meet demand and it isn't in the sea as long. Just a guess.

I agree. The rock we used to get from Fiji, Tonga, Namoli, Kaelini, Marshall Islands, etc was fantastic rock. It was all so full of hitchhikers and corals.

 

[wvned]

So, as seen in this thread, there is no single “correct” way to be successful in this hobby. Trial and error and find what works for you and your tank

I assure you, there are only a few ways to be correct but an almost infinite number of ones to screw it up.
When you screw up things die. I have killed some things but not nearly as many as some people considered go to people now.
That is why only a few stick with it long term.
I did a lot of reading on the net when I started but most of the places are gone now. I don't know where you would find that knowledge now.

There is a dichotomy in what reefing means now.
A sterile environment started with dead rock that contains only what is placed in it.
Not for me. I wanted a tiny bit of the sea in my home with all of the things that few square feet would normally contain on a reef.
I succeeded for a while but time and life has caught up to me now. I do have a few corals much larger than my head still. I don't have the energy to clean the glass most weeks anymore. I have about 20 feet to do.

It's your tank. It should be what you want. Neither way is wrong, but it explains the polar opposites in answers to some questions.

 

[alton]

Whole lot of ways to get there but the fastest is liverock. It's hard to believe it has been 10 years since I purchased my first liverock from KP Aquatics $5 a pound at the time and yellow tangs $25. My have things changed
First picture 12-15 second picture 2-16

 

[alton]

In 2018 I moved the tank to my office and used as a isolation tank. Except for a pair of clowns I brought in new fish they went into this tank first before going into my larger tanks. With being in my office 11 hours a day I was able to feed multiple times while watching them closely.

Including this jewel

All worked out great until the cleaning crew came in on a Saturday versus a Sunday and splashed water on my power strip and said nothing

One clownfish survived (which I relocated) and a couple Welsophyllia. I added a clam. I have since sold this aquarium and now I keep a camera on my tank at work 24/7. Cameras are great insurance for our aquariums

 

[Timfish]

Welcome to the forum and the hobby!

Here's my 2 cents (guess that colloquial saying will need to be changed now :/ Here's my 2 nickles ). I always use some ocean sourced live rock. Bottled stuff is fine but only about 2% of the microbial stuff can be cultured and stuck in a bottle. Additionally there are a host of organisms beneficial (sponges and fungii) and certainly some can be acquired from other systems but unfortunately established reef aquaria invariably have skewed populations compared to wild reef ecosystems. Aquabiomics article is an excellent example of how ocean based liverock is beneficial.

Regarding the amount of rock needed the question is largely an esthetic one that needs to be answered by the aquarist. FWIW, I use roughly 3/4 lb per gallon and that will be roughly a 50/50 mix of locally collected limestone (free) and ocean sourced live rock (air frieght only but $$$).

As you are new to reef systems here's some links you may find informative:

Drilling rock for aquascaping

"Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas " This video compliments Rohwer's book of the same title. Used copies are available on line and it may be free to read on Internet Archive. Both deal with the conflicting roles of the different types of DOC (carbon dosing) in reef ecosystems and how it can alter coral microbiomes. While there is overlap bewteen his book and the video both have information not covered by the other and together give a broader view of the complex relationships found in reef ecosystems and are an excellent starting point to understand the conflicting roles of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC, aka "carbon dosing") in reef ecosystems.

Delbeek Molar Ratios

Changing Seas - Mysterious Microbes

Microbial view of Coral Decline

Nitrogen cycling in hte coral holobiont
- YouTube

BActeria and Sponges Jones
- YouTube

Maintenance of Coral Reef Health (refferences at the end)
- YouTube

Optical Feedback Loop in Colorful Coral Bleaching
- YouTube

DNA Sequencing and the Reef Tank Microbiome
- YouTube

Richard Ross What's up with phosphate"
- YouTube

To Save Corals in an Oahu Bay, First Vacuum up Invasive Algae, Then Apply Sea Urchins | response.restoration.noaa.gov

response.restoration.noaa.gov