Rock Decisions...

[SFish]

:fish1: Nothing is better than a high quality live rock, nothing, it is more expensive then man made rock, for a reason. If you can afford a good high quality rock go for it, if not save up your money until you can afford it. After all , the live rock is the main biological filter for your tank. Why not wait until you get back before you buy your rock from TBS? :fish1:

All rock will become live rock in time. I would say it depends on how you intend to scape the tank. Base rock is way better if you intend to chop the rocks up to make new ones that don't exist. As for rock being the main filter in the tank that is true but ceramic plates in your sump can do a way better job then rocks can. I would focus on making the scape you want then throw a few plates in the sump if it looks like your light on rock in the DT.

 

[Egg]

So it is fake rock then right? I wasn't talking about the filtration capability, just the color in general. That's not natural IMO.

As far as filtration goes, I'll take live rock over the ceramic plates 8 days a week and twice on Sundays. These ceramic plates were designed to be rocks, only in a different form.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rs/feature/index.php

 

[SFish]

You clearly don't understand what the plates are. Rock doesn't have that much surface area. A lot of rock won't let water just run through it because it so pours. They are not designed to be rocks they are designed to be a better filter then rocks. I would not put them in the display tank. Just because it's not natural rock doesn't mean it can't be just as good or better.

 

[Mr.Mulley54]

Ya I mean with the walt smiths 2.1 my tank cycled in 5 weeks so it's got to be doing somethin right, I have looked into the bio plates myself but as of now it's doing just fine and they clam the Walt smiths rock is just as porous if not more then natural live rock it just has the purple coloration people desire, plus without a ton or coraline algae my calcium will get taken up my my corals rather then the algae/ less dosing. But it's just my opinion I like the look of it and it does look natural in the tank. Just my two cents but it is rather expensive.

 

[Egg]

You clearly don't understand what the plates are. Rock doesn't have that much surface area. A lot of rock won't let water just run through it because it so pours. They are not designed to be rocks they are designed to be a better filter then rocks. I would not put them in the display tank. Just because it's not natural rock doesn't mean it can't be just as good or better.

lol, do you believe everything you read?

There's a reason why you don't see this stuff in the DT. I'll dunk all over you Shaq. You don't know who your dealing with here. Moderators might...

 

[SFish]

I agree for man made rock it does look good. I've even seen people make their own rock before. Nothing wrong with that. I would rather not take rock from the ocean if possible.

 

[SFish]

lol, do you believe everything you read?

There's a reason why you don't see this stuff in the DT. I'll dunk all over you Shaq. You don't know who your dealing with here. Moderators might...

What ever. Plates have been used by several people and they work. Put one of your rocks under the sink and see how much water runs through it. Would you put square blocks in your DT? All you can do is talk sh t. Like I said you don't know what your talking about. If you did some research instead of making ignorant comments maybe you would learn something.

 

[Green Chromis]

All rock will become live rock in time. I would say it depends on how you intend to scape the tank. Base rock is way better if you intend to chop the rocks up to make new ones that don't exist. As for rock being the main filter in the tank that is true but ceramic plates in your sump can do a way better job then rocks can. I would focus on making the scape you want then throw a few plates in the sump if it looks like your light on rock in the DT.

:fish1: Your way of setting up a system is only one way to do it, but I like using the system that the oceans use to start my system. Dead rock you buy from BRS or anywhere else will never have all the wild life on it as a very high quality live rock you get out of the ocean, unless you seed it with a high quality live rock from the ocean. One more thing I also use live sand I collected from the reefs off the Florida Keys, which will add even more biodiversity to my system. Try it the next time you set up a system, yes it is more expensive at the start, but it is well worth it. :fish1:

 

[SFish]

I have nothing against live rock. I cut and chiseled every rock I bought for the DT I would not want to try and do that with live rock. Also if you have to put rock in your sump then space wise I would rather use one of the blocks in the picture above. It will do the same thing as a bunch of rock and take up less space. I'm not saying not to use live rock and sand but it is more cost effective to seed the tank with a small amount then to fill it. The end result will be the same it will just take some time to get started.

 

[Mr.Mulley54]

I have nothing against live rock. I cut and chiseled every rock I bought for the DT I would not want to try and do that with live rock. Also if you have to put rock in your sump then space wise I would rather use one of the blocks in the picture above. It will do the same thing as a bunch of rock and take up less space. I'm not saying not to use live rock and sand but it is more cost effective to seed the tank with a small amount then to fill it. The end result will be the same it will just take some time to get started.

I agree , I'm new to the hobby ... Well been out of it for a while and have done a ton of reading on the bio plates and they seem *****in you can have just about anything in your DT and have the same effect you would with live rock. Ya you may not get all the critters and sponges and pods but this can always be seeded and your end result will be the same. If not in a way , a bit better, no pests and can scape the way you want to without a crazy amount of die off if you were using live rock. But either way both will work so it's all pref.

 

[Mr.Mulley54]

*****in = b*tchin haha

 

[SFish]

There's a video where a guy has pods living in the plates. I thought that was cool. As far as live sand goes i've seen a bunch of people buy sand box sand and throw a cup of live sand in with and turn it into live sand. It's unnecessary to have all live sand or rock. The cost alone would be crazy high to do that. I would rather spend that money on fish and coral. Personally I would rather have mix of rock and sand not just all one thing. My tank will have 3 or 4 different types of rock and the sand will be a mix of 3 different types. I'm not saying this is better I just think it makes the tank more interesting.

 

[getindavan]

i'd like to add that with rocks like pukani might need to be blasted with a turkey baster once in a while since detritus can settle in it.

 

[Green Chromis]

There's a video where a guy has pods living in the plates. I thought that was cool. As far as live sand goes i've seen a bunch of people buy sand box sand and throw a cup of live sand in with and turn it into live sand. It's unnecessary to have all live sand or rock. The cost alone would be crazy high to do that. I would rather spend that money on fish and coral. Personally I would rather have mix of rock and sand not just all one thing. My tank will have 3 or 4 different types of rock and the sand will be a mix of 3 different types. I'm not saying this is better I just think it makes the tank more interesting.

:fish1: Yes, using live sand and a very high quality live rock, is very expensive, but I would never do it any other way. I can collect all the live sand I will ever need, and only purchase the rock once. You can shape and chisel live rock, been their, done that many times, it's amazing all the stuff inside the rock once you break it open, something you will see in dead rock only after many, many years and a lot of money spent on seeding your tank. Also every time I use live sand and rock, I never seem to have diatom or algae issues, plus all the life on and in the rock is more entertaining to watch then the fish. :fish1:

 

[SFish]

You cut up live rock and had it out side the tank for a month? I'm talking about cutting the rock all up not just a few pices here and there. You can cut live rock but you have to keep it wet correct? For a detailed scape I would not want to have to worry about things dieing. Algae can grow on any rock. I got a tank from a friend that had live rock in it and it was full of algae.

Both types live rock and non live rock have been used by many people for years. I doubt that one method is superior to the other as they both work.

You can see this debate

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2374198