Starting a reef..Live rock or Dry rock?

ROB712

New member
ok so ive been waiting for a shipment of DRY fiji to come in now for some time now...most everyone i talk to says im crazy to not start my tank off with live rock...but my LFS which i trust and knows their stuff really good says i should use dry rock because later down the road my tank will be infested with worms and parasites etc etc...what is your opinion on this? its been a long time and i really wanna get my tank going now its been sitting there for weeks but my LFS says i have put so much $ into it and its such a nice tank that i would ruin it by buying live rock and infesting the tank..its a 300g reef btw

What is your opinions on this? start it with LIVE ROCK or wait for the DRY ROCK? thanks guys!
 
It's fine to start with dry rock. But I would suggest getting some live rock as well to seed your dry rock. It'll be beneficial for the cycling process. Plus, live rock is where you get your critters from (like pods, bristle worms, feather dusters, etc.)
 
I bought 225lb of dry rock for my next tank will either be a 280 or 300 and will be seeding it with about 40lb of live rock from my solana. That way i should get all of the creatures i want but i will not have to worry about a bunch of unknowns. Or fill your tank will dry rock and buy some live rock for the sump i may do this as well.
 
In my experience, dead rock will take much much longer to become 'biologically active' and thus prolong the time it takes your system to stabilize. At the very least seeding is a must. Not sure what your LFS is telling you but besides aiptasia and nuisance algae, there are very few bad things that come with live rock. The bristle worm debate will go on forever. With live rock, the good far outweigh the bad.

One other thing to mention is that I have seen some of the most gnarly algae blooms on dry rock. I suspect it is from high PO4 levels on the surface of the rock. Most likely this is because the rock was once covered in life.
 
thanks guys! he says hes gonna get a shipment of live rock in and dry it out then we'll put it in my tank. should i just tell him i want live rock and start my tank?
 
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