Hey guys, I ordered 30lbs of Real Reef Rock from a reputable online seller. Upon receiving the package I noticed all the Rock was completely dry. It came covered in what looks like dead algae, and dried plant material of sorts. I got the rock wet and this is what I found. Any ideas on what this is? Am I going to experience die off from the rock and should cure it? Thanks!
“Real Reef Rock” issues
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MaxxuM
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It didn't come wrapped in wet paper? Hummm. Dead sponge and macro algae. And oh, yeah, real live rock can take a while to cure due to all the die off. Last time I did real reef rock I cured it in a trash bin for two months before it was more or less stable.
I did not come wrapped in wet paper. In fact it was so dry that a lot of it crumbled in transit. I’m bummed because I was told this stuff was good to go immediately without the need to cure it.
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I would be contacting the online seller and complain! Did they say it would be shipped dry and out of water? Or was shipping delayed?
MaxxuM
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It's been years since I've done real reef rock. There was a lot of push back to harvesting from real reefs and some companies were dumping dry rock into the ocean and let it become colonized and then they used that vs harvesting real reefs. I have no clue how it's done today. I was looking at some rock that is seeded in holding tanks and sold wet. It really surprises me that they'd send dry rock. Maybe it's 'seeded' rock and not actually wild stuff. I know they sell that kind of stuff. I'd go look very carefully at the description of your product. Maybe they sent you the wrong stuff.
They didn’t specify whether it was sold damp or dry on the website. I could tell by the packaging material that there was no way it was shipped wet. I ordered other items at the same time that was packaged together in the same box as the rock. I called and spoke to customer service and they said they only ship it dry and it’s suppose to be covered in dead algae. I just wanted to heard from fellow reefers that this is indeed true. My first inclination was this Rock was used in a reef tank prior by the looks of the dead material.
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They need to specify on their site that they don't ship live rock wet, that it's all dry and dead. I mean you could have bought dead clean rock and been ahead. Now you have to clean it up and cycle it.
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MeMyFishandI
Active Member
If it’s sold as live rock, but shipped dry, is it really live rock?
I love my Real Reef rock and when I got it (super wet) it was stable pretty quick.
I love my Real Reef rock and when I got it (super wet) it was stable pretty quick.
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What did he say when you called him about it?Hey guys, I ordered 30lbs of Real Reef Rock from a reputable online seller. Upon receiving the package I noticed all the Rock was completely dry. It came covered in what looks like dead algae, and dried plant material of sorts. I got the rock wet and this is what I found. Any ideas on what this is? Am I going to experience die off from the rock and should cure it? Thanks!
Maybe it was a mistake, if a reputable dealer.
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My experience.Hey guys, I ordered 30lbs of Real Reef Rock from a reputable online seller. Upon receiving the package I noticed all the Rock was completely dry. It came covered in what looks like dead algae, and dried plant material of sorts. I got the rock wet and this is what I found. Any ideas on what this is? Am I going to experience die off from the rock and should cure it? Thanks!
$75 for nano special, 15ish lbs of farmed rock, cheaper than lfs.
Mostly happy, except for the critters that died in shipping (clams).
This is shipped in wet paper towels for cost, not all will survive.
Encrusted with coralline, sponges limpets all sorts of ocean vermin.
Nice rock.
MaxxuM
Active Member
It seems like a play on words... "...Real Reef Rock..." doesn't say "...live..." in it. It probably is real reef rock; just that it's more or less real dead reef rock.
It has probably sat in the sun for days or weeks but, it should still be treated as coming from the ocean. Take a brush and clean it in salt water. Line up three buckets - one for scrubbing, second for swishing and third for rinsing. Then toss it into a clean bin with fresh sea water or in your tank with fresh salt mix and cycle as normal. It may take longer to cycle due to the large amount of die-off. I'd probably toss a bottle of bacteria in there to help with the cycle too. Clean your rock at least one more time to remove the crud that will definitely be falling off it.
It has probably sat in the sun for days or weeks but, it should still be treated as coming from the ocean. Take a brush and clean it in salt water. Line up three buckets - one for scrubbing, second for swishing and third for rinsing. Then toss it into a clean bin with fresh sea water or in your tank with fresh salt mix and cycle as normal. It may take longer to cycle due to the large amount of die-off. I'd probably toss a bottle of bacteria in there to help with the cycle too. Clean your rock at least one more time to remove the crud that will definitely be falling off it.
I didn’t want to blast the company before I heard from others regarding if this was common practice for this rock specifically. I purchase the rock from saltwateraquarium.com
Again, I’m very disappointed that I now have to wait at least a month for this rock to cure when Real Reef claims there rock is pre cycled and ready to use immediately. I had to incur the extra expense of a brute trash can, the time and expense to make 20 gal of rodi water and wasting good salt for the curing process. Oh well, lesson learned.
Thespammailaccount
2500 Club Member
For the cost you have gone with gulf rock minimal cycle and minimal algae issues
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