Live rock for brand new tank?

[albie]

We are new to saltwater aquariums, only having had freshwater tanks previously. We have an Innovative Marine SR Pro 2 AIO 60 gallon aquarium and an RODI system, but have done nothing to set up yet. We think we want to order some live rock, but wanted to check that was a good idea for a brand new tank. And, if so, what was the best order to do things in? Put in the rock first to help cycle the tank, or cycle the tank first with only sand (we have CaribSea Arag-Alive Special Grade still in its bags) to not kill off any beneficial life in the rock? Lights needed first or not? We are thinking we will eventually want a tank of fish and soft corals.

 

[tzabor10]

Live rock is the best way to set up a new tank. I just got some Tampa Bay Saltwater @LiverockRocks Looks beautiful despite only having base rock and sand. The diversity is amazing and your tank is instantly cycled.

 

[paragrouper]

You will get two very different (and passionate) responses to this question. Some prefer using live, others choose alternatives. I personally prefer live rock. You can check with tbsaltwater.com, who are pretty good about helping you plan your setup based on your specific needs. I used them in the past and found them most helpful.

 

[paragrouper]

Live rock is the best way to set up a new tank. I just got some Tampa Bay Saltwater @LiverockRocks Looks beautiful despite only having base rock and sand. The diversity is amazing and your tank is instantly cycled.

You beat me to the punch.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

We are new to saltwater aquariums, only having had freshwater tanks previously. We have an Innovative Marine SR Pro 2 AIO 60 gallon aquarium and an RODI system, but have done nothing to set up yet. We think we want to order some live rock, but wanted to check that was a good idea for a brand new tank. And, if so, what was the best order to do things in? Put in the rock first to help cycle the tank, or cycle the tank first with only sand (we have CaribSea Arag-Alive Special Grade still in its bags) to not kill off any beneficial life in the rock? Lights needed first or not? We are thinking we will eventually want a tank of fish and soft corals.

There is not much that could better for starting a new tank than live rock! Tampa Bay Saltwater has great rock.

 

[tzabor10]

There is not much that could better for starting a new tank than live rock! Tampa Bay Saltwater has great rock.

Who else but TBS is dealing hidden cup corals and tunicates?

 

[X-37B]

Who else but TBS is dealing hidden cup corals and tunicates?

Before adding anything get a plan.
This is not a hobby to wing it.
With a plan an an understanding of what it takes to maintain a system you will be ahead of 90% of the new reefers who dont.
With that said.
I got 150lbs of GLR delivered to my door. More than happy with the results and would say take a look @Gulf Live Rock.
Tank is 30 days old cycled and I have been adding coral since week 3.

 

[jabberwock]

Real Ocean Live Rock or BUST!
I also used TBS, very pleased with the results. Check my tank thread to see how I did it.

I would go with no sand at first and watch your rocks for a couple weeks so you can remove undesirable hitchhikers.

 

[Uncle99]

We are new to saltwater aquariums, only having had freshwater tanks previously. We have an Innovative Marine SR Pro 2 AIO 60 gallon aquarium and an RODI system, but have done nothing to set up yet. We think we want to order some live rock, but wanted to check that was a good idea for a brand new tank. And, if so, what was the best order to do things in? Put in the rock first to help cycle the tank, or cycle the tank first with only sand (we have CaribSea Arag-Alive Special Grade still in its bags) to not kill off any beneficial life in the rock? Lights needed first or not? We are thinking we will eventually want a tank of fish and soft corals.

I’ve never found it necessary to use live rock.
I use Carib Sea Purple Rock (I hate white rock) a bottle of bacteria, saltwater, heat and flow.
I wait a week and add two clowns.
I like to know what’s in my system.

 

[GARRIGA]

I'm old school dense at times and live rock is the best approach but not always pragmatic and why I'm going to experiment with live rubble including placing a large volume in a canister to seed the tank.

 

[SaltyЯeeferNC]

I suppose that you can go either way. You'll get different opinions. Personally I started with dry rock but also see the benefits of using live rock.

As I said different opinions, I went with dry rock and Dr. Tims one and only and let the system do it's "thang".

 

[Huskereef]

I just got 10 pounds of real Australian live rock from Eric at tankstop.com. Stuff is incredible and reminds me of the old Fiji and Marshall Islands live rock. He will send pictures of pieces he has for you to pick. Great guy to work with. Rock came covered in different shades of coraline, sponges, some macro. Haven’t found one undesirable pest and I have had it for a few weeks. I’m assuming he inspects it well before shipping. 10 pounds goes a long ways. Super porous and branching rock

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

You will get two very different (and passionate) responses to this question. Some prefer using live, others choose alternatives. I personally prefer live rock. You can check with tbsaltwater.com, who are pretty good about helping you plan your setup based on your specific needs. I used them in the past and found them most helpful.

I'll present the 3rd opinion.

Fake carribsea rock and live sand. Real live sand from somewhere like TBS @LiverockRocks. It gives me the needed bio diversity and hitchhikers from the ocean. But it also lets me finagle my scape into exactly the form I want. One could also order a small amount of their decorators rock to use in their scape to add even more life.

But real live sand and a fake rock scape worked great in my system. Their rock is gorgeous and would be an immediate beauty and diversity boost to a new system.

 

[steveschuerger]

Live rock camp here. My favorites are TBS rock and Gulf Live Rock. Did a nano build with 75% CaribSea and the rest live rock from my larger tank at the time. Wasn’t super happy in the long run . So I’ll stick to all live rock. Plus I love hitchhiker surprises.