Live rock vs. FNI Reef man made Rocks

[ericbm]

Starting another system and not sure what rock to use? Fish Heads or real live? Thoughts?

 

[jrgilles]

Just looked up the fish heads rock:

Fish Heads’ Real Reef line adds Shelf and Nano Live Rock!

looks pretty sweet, especially the shelf rocks.

Why not use a mixture of both?

 

[mojoreef]

If it were me and I was setting up a brand new tank I would not touch real LR (except for a small peice for seeding). Their are so many negatives associated with LR its just not worth the head aches. Prior to seeing the artifical rock you mentioned most of the available types were ugly but the FH stuff looks very good.

Mojo

 

[Red C Aquarium]

After seeing the FHI REEL REEF rock ,I think its ok but its painted purple and its IMO very heavy.



Most peolpe like the lightest rock with the best shape.

You may find some lightweight real live rock that maybe cheaper.
If you were making a 100% Aqua cultured tank is a must have !


Red C

 

[steven11]

The only reason we look for light rock is because we pay by the pound. I seen the FH rock at seamax. I personally liked the way it looked.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

 

[user 2204]

Ditto on the LR by the pound price. But from what I understand is the FHI Reef Rock sells by the pound too. I may be wrong, but I did see on their site that the MSRP is $7.99 a pound.

I know that Premium Aquatics has it for $6.99 a pound.
L-REAL-REEF Premium Aquatics - L-REAL-REEF Aquarium Supplies

Which if the FHI Real Reef Rock sells by the pound, thne it wouldn't make sense for them to be heavier than real LR. Otherwise they would be hard pressed to sell the stuff. IMO

Cheers,
Alex

 

[Maxx]

I like the idea behind the FH stuff, but unless you're buying it from a local vendor and thus not paying shipping,(but paying sales taxes and dealer mark up necessary for a business to survive), it makes more sense to by dry rock and seed it yourself. Its cheaper, and just as safe(hitch hiker wise).

Nick

 

[Tony Vargas]

Call me old fashion, but I really like the micro and macro critters that Real live rock can bring. But, I am not opposed to a mixture of the two.

Does anyone know what this fake rock is made from and what kind of paint they are using to paint the rock?

 

[TJL]

Hey Tony, Rob and All, I believe after speaking with one of the owners its hand-made of calcium carbonite then aged/cured for 4-6 months within vats in greenhouses. They use/dose some sort of coraline cultures and something similar to Purple Up. So natural coraline algaes and already alive with bacteria, this was my understanding anyway. But I'm with you Tony in liking my R-E-A-L Live Rock with all the critters and such.

Cheers, Todd

 

[user 2204]

Yes it is calcium carbonite and they do let them cure in there warehouse for a few months before selling it to distributors. They use a dye to color the rock purple.

Cheers,
Alex

 

[user 2204]

Here's a video from FHI Real Reef Rock. I'll let them explain the whole process. And I guess they have both a greenhouse as well as an indoor facility.

Cheers,
Alex

‪Fish Heads, Inc. + FHI Coral Farms Presents: REAL REEF‬‏ - YouTube

 

[barrierreefcf]

I'd use 80% FHI and 20% real. I would cure and work the real stuff to do everything possible to remove unwanted hitchhikers. Then I'd use it to seed the Real Reef. IMO the 50lb of FHI Real Reef we brought back to the store was almost identical in density compared to most real live rock types. Jakarta and the more basic Fiji rocks are probably even more dense.