A question regarding a tank build with dry coral

[Carmen]

I don't have a tank yet. I am still in the planning stages, and am probably several months away yet. I was considering a 75-gallon tank, but the way things are panning out, I should have room for a 125-gallon tank. Yes, I'm a first-time reefer, and am a little overwhelmed by the size, but it would allow me to keep some fish that would be impossible in a smaller tank. So.....

My question is regarding coral. The cost of live rock would be so expensive, I would be afraid to show the bill to my husband! :shock: I was telling the local LFS guy I would want to get dry coral, and then about 10-15 lbs worth of live rock. He said if I did that, that the house would smell, because of the dead animals on the rock and that I would be changing the water every 3-4 days because of the smell. I'm on the forums, lurking a lot to learn as much as I can....have never read anything like this so I'm wondering if it's true. If it is, at least one of the rock vendors sells "fake" coral that looks as good as the real stuff and is comprised of crushed rock some how.

Can anyone comment on what the LFS person said? Thanks for your time.

 

[Chichas01]

Welcome to RF!
When you say "dry coral" what you are referring to is dry rock. There should be no problem purchasing dry rock and then using a small amount of live rock to seed it. Your LFS employee seems to be hyping things up a bit and would probably make me seek out a different store for my purchases. 10-15 lbs of live rock that I'm assuming you are going to order online, will most likely not stink up your home. Live rock that is ordered online can have some die off due to the time out of water during shipping but if you are worried about it, you can always find a local reefer who might be selling of some of their live rock.

I purchased 40lbs of cured live rock online when I started my first aquarium. There was not stink at all when it showed up or after placing it in the aquarium.

 

[mcoomer]

Uncured live rock can smell bad due to the die off of the critters and algae that used to inhabit it. Typically, your local store will buy this rock, stick it in a tank, and cure it with water circulation and a skimmer to remove the dead material before they sell it to the hobbyist. If you buy cured live rock online, from the store, or from another hobbyist it shouldn't have that bad smell. Nicely cured live rock should have a nice, fresh ocean smell. I always liken the smell to seafood like freshly shucked clams and oysters.

As far as the cost of live rock, buying from your local store is probably the most expensive way to get it. Check out the classified forum here and on other sites for hobbyists that are getting rid of extra or unwanted rock. Buy dry rock in bulk from online sites like Bulk Reef Supply. Right now they have a sale on 50lbs of dry Fiji rock for 99.99. You don't have to buy 100lbs of rock all at once at $9.00/lb from your local store. Look around and find the bargains that are out there. This hobby can get very expensive in short order but there are a lot of things one can do to cut costs and not skimp on quality.

Mike

 

[jrgilles]

Look into buying either live or dead rock on the classifieds here or on craigslist. Way way cheaper.

You can get great deals on large amounds of rock from people taking their tanks down, just examine it closely and make sure you don't see any of the following:

Bryopsis algae, aptasia (glass anemonies), mojano anemonies, red planaria flat worms. There are other pests, but those are some of the big ones to watch out for.

You can also get a lot of dead rock, and seed it with a few pieces of dry rock. Cycle will take longer and you may not get the robust colonies that fix phosphates that live deep in the rock, but you should be fine and your pocketbook will be happy.

rob

 

[Carmen]

Thanks for all your replies!! Okay. This is what happens when you get a newbie in who doesn't understand yet the language of her new impending hobby! I said it wrong....what I wanted to do was get mostly dead rock---dry rock... with just about 10-15 pounds of LIVE rock. He said the dead rock would stink up the house because of all the former living residents on it and that I would be constantly changing the water to control the smell. He said I had to buy all live rock to keep the smell from overwhelming the house. That freaked me out, the idea of buying all live rock for a 125-gallon tank.

But based on how you guys responded to my question...I'm wondering if I said it wrong to him and that he didn't understand the question. Anyway..if I just buy mostly dry rock like from Bulk Reef Supply (which I was going to look into) and suppliment with a few pieces of live rock from a local reefer or the LFS I should be good with little or no smell overwhelming the house, right?

 

[jrgilles]

Yes, I don't think there will be a huge smell issue. There will be some dead stuff that will need to be consumed by bacteria, any you will have to let it cycle until you detect no ammonia or nitrites, but I wouldn't worry too much about it. That is a very common approach to getting a large tank going.

Buying all live rock for a tank that size could be quite expensive.

For both live and dead rock, I would check the classifieds and craigslist though. You can probably get some really good deals. There is a lot of it around. Also, being able to see the rocks allows you to pick and choose what pieces you want, which can help you build the kind of rockscape you want.

 

[Carmen]

Thanks jrgilles... I will look on craigslist. That seems to be the popular posting spot here. Appreciate your help!

 

[mcoomer]

I think dry rock seeded with a few select pieces of live rock is the route most folks take. The same can be said for sand if you're going to use it in your tank. Buy your dry sand and find a local reefer who will trade you a few pounds of live sand for dry. As long as you maintain the water parameters mother nature will take what you've seeded and spread it throughout your tank.

Mike

 

[seattlereef]

I bought dry rock from Bulk Reef Supply and did a preventure cure in Brute Tash bins in the garage with a PH + Heater for a couple weeks while my tank was getting setup. I did one waterchange on it before sticking it in the display. Haven't regreted it and I like the control of not adding hitchickers. There was some smell but not bad at all and plus it being in the garge was a non-issue. I didn't add any live rock and am just waiting for things to establish on there own. I did purchase one bag of reef pods plus dr tims one and only to get things jump started.

 

[Carmen]

Yeah, the LFS guy was insisting on live sand too. It didn't maks sense to me that anything could still be living in those bags of wet sand after all the traveling it did, probably in both cold and hot environments before it reached the store. I will go with dry sand and see if I can buy a handful of sand from the LFS or someone local, although I haven't met anyone local yet. Posted on their website twice since last September and no answer yet. Appreciate you guys guiding me. Other forums are recommending Coral RX for dipping live rock before you put it in your tank. I guess it chases out lots of unwanted hitchhikers. Did anyone here do that?

 

[Chichas01]

Coral RX is for treating coral, not rock. You use it on newly acquired corals to make sure you don't introduce any unwanted critters that can harm existing corals in your display. If you are using dry rock then there won't be anything in/on it that is alive. Live rock that you get should be inspected and then put into QT for observation of any unwanted pests before you introduce to your display if you want to go that route.

 

[Carmen]

Oh, right, Coral RX. I forgot. So how long would you have it in quarantine typically before unwanted critters will show their face, or is it just a matter of observing?

 

[vinny2261]

Hello and welcome to the hobby. To help in your original question and answer form you local FS. The smell is from the dying off of the live critters and things living on the rock. You can "restart" or re cycle rock if you are worried about the above mentioned pest or undesirables. Simply let it dry out and dye off. You can get a large tote or trash can and then place it in fresh water with a powerhead to rinse it out. I have even seen post where they have baked their rock in the oven. LOL After the rock has rinsed you can put it in a saltwater solution or in your tank to finish the cycle process. I personally enjoy watching the tank cycle and start coming to life, it is really amazing to see different things in your tank everyday, almost everyday if you look. To start life you can add a piece of rock, plants in your filter, a little sand from an established tank. Almost everyone on the forum would be happy to help in getting you going and keep you going in the right direction.

 

[Carmen]

Thanks for the welcome, vinny! I am excited to start but am waiting for some remodeling to be done to my house before I can start. Cant's wait! And am looking forward to seeing the tank come to life. It's all new to me as I will be a first-time reefer....exciting!

 

[Sasquatch]

lol Carmen, what do you mean by smell? that's the perfume of life, living by the seaside, a wisp of a dream, forget about that " I love the smell of napalm in the morning" stuff its all about perception and an airwick or two, now for smelly.. just wait for skimmer cup cleaning day, that can choke a pig haha

 

[Carmen]

Personally, I love the smell of the sea! lol...no I was just repeating what the LFS guy said, that it would be so bad that I would have to change out the water every other day.... I know what the skimmer will smell like. I have a 7,000-gallon koi pond that I run a skimmer on. The resulting stuff looks like tar and smells like %$#&!! (gotta keep your face away from it...very important..) But I pour it around my trees and they love it!

 

[NC2WA]

carmen,

purchasing live rock comes down to this: live rock that is CURED smells like the ocean, uncured live rock smells like sulphur/sewer water..

 

[Carmen]

carmen,

purchasing live rock comes down to this: live rock that is CURED smells like the ocean, uncured live rock smells like sulphur/sewer water..

Good to know! When the time comes, I'll make sure I get the right kind of live rock!