Which Dry Rock?

[lsu_fishfan]

Soon I will be restarting my tank and I'd like to get some new rock. But not sure what to choose. I've looked at Marco rock, BRS rock, and Dry Rock USA.

People who have used the bulk reef supply and/or the Marco rock, what is your opinions/experience with these rocks.

Has anyone used the dry rock USA rock? It is the cheapest option but not sure if tits the best.

Any feedback is welcome.

Thanks

 

[danh]

I've ordered Pukani, reef saver and tonga from BRS. I like tonga but I think I'd only ever buy it again if I could choose the pieces. The reef saver was ok, easy to use, nothing on it. The Pukani was a little dirty but not as bad as it seems some have claimed. It gave off ammonia and phosphate for about a month of curing. I will most likely be buying more Pukani from BRS for my next tank.

 

[lsu_fishfan]

Danh;1094497 wrote: I've ordered Pukani, reef saver and tonga from BRS. I like tonga but I think I'd only ever buy it again if I could choose the pieces. The reef saver was ok, easy to use, nothing on it. The Pukani was a little dirty but not as bad as it seems some have claimed. It gave off ammonia and phosphate for about a month of curing. I will most likely be buying more Pukani from BRS for my next tank.

Thanks for the feedback. Personally I'm not a huge fan of the Tonga rock. I like the Pukani, but it's pricey.

 

[danh]

I guess it is. Watch some of their videos on how they check porosity. Supposedly you need less of it than fiji or reef saver. It's really light for its size too. Reef saver is a LOT heavier because it's less porous. I guess with your tank you're looking at 100lbs+? I think I have about 50lbs total in my 93g.

Maybe 100lbs or so of pukani (or less) and a $55 block of marinepure in the sump? I guess that BRS is trying to push product but their explanations of why the pukani is more cost effective seemed pretty logical and also seemed to be accurate after I bought a few different kinds.

 

[lsu_fishfan]

I am looking at 100-150 lbs

 

[xilez]

Get Reef Cleaners.... Its the most porous, requires no curing, not to mention John (owner) provides great customer service. Ordering that much, I am sure he will knock some off the price for you. Not to mention, he allows you make request on what type of rock shapes you want included...plus you always get some extra.

https://www.reefcleaners.org/aquarium-store/rock">https://www.reefcleaners.org/aquarium-store/rock</a>

Should be a lot of testimonials on nano reef or reef central...but I can honestly say that I will only order Reef Cleaners rock for the rest of my reefing career (unless I wanted LR of course)

 

[lsu_fishfan]

xilez;1094514 wrote: Get Reef Cleaners.... Its the most porous, requires no curing, not to mention John (owner) provides great customer service. Ordering that much, I am sure he will knock some off the price for you. Not to mention, he allows you make request on what type of rock shapes you want included...plus you always get some extra.

https://www.reefcleaners.org/aquarium-store/rock">https://www.reefcleaners.org/aquarium-store/rock</a>

Should be a lot of testimonials on nano reef or reef central...but I can honestly say that I will only order Reef Cleaners rock for the rest of my reefing career (unless I wanted LR of course)[/QUOTE]

Thanks for sharing. I will check them out.

 

[Adam]

I used a mix of "Marco" and Pukani, 2 to 1 100/50lbs. I got the Marco from Billy's Reef. I also got 2 pieces, about 20lbs, of TBS live rock from MvM as he had some extra. I highly recommend getting a little TBS, the amount of life that comes on it is just incredible. In just that little bit of rock I got 2 urchins, 3 or more pistol shrimp, several snails & crabs, countless feather dusters and more. It's a great way to seed the dry rock you get. If you could get 2 or 3 people to split a shipment with you can keep the cost lower.

 

[elfloyd]

I've used Marco (twice), am very happy with it, and I will use again. But, I've only used Marco so can't compare.

 

[bulkrate]

I was going to suggest Reefcleaner's as well for much the same reasons as xilez states. Base rock prices for stuff you know isn't going to turn out to be leaching phosphates. Free shipping on the 30, 50 and 90 lbs packages, too.

I've also used Marcorock & RealReefRock. The latter's practically unscupltable (dense & lacks enough pores for epoxy/cement to grab hold well) & 4 years later STILL has bands of fading paint from the "fake coraline" it was hosed down with - avoid it. But the Marcorock's been pretty decent, especially the shelf cuts.

 

[snowmansnow]

Pukani IMO. No contest. It's porous, you get a LOT for the weight, and it's very easy to cut and shape.



So long, and thanks for all the fish.

 

[dball711]

SnowManSnow;1094562 wrote: Pukani IMO. No contest. It's porous, you get a LOT for the weight, and it's very easy to cut and shape.

Agree! BRS Reef Savers, Marco Rock and Reef Cleaners Florida Reef Rock are the same (very heavy, impossible to cut or shape but great to stack if thats what you are looking for). I like LARGE pukani rocks, I have 2 in my 75g, one about 45lbs and one about 10lbs. Stacking rock is ok till something moves/causes it to fall daown. I could never put it back the way it was or worse it hits and scratches the glass.acrylic as it falls.

 

[danh]

I was able to drill a hole in my reef saver that I'm using on the base of a stack. I put a piece of pvc through that then stacked two 5lb pieces of pukani on top of that.

 

[lsu_fishfan]

Danh;1094566 wrote: I was able to drill a hole in my reef saver that I'm using on the base of a stack. I put a piece of pvc through that then stacked two 5lb pieces of pukani on top of that.

Pics?

 

[lsu_fishfan]

SnowManSnow;1094562 wrote: Pukani IMO. No contest. It's porous, you get a LOT for the weight, and it's very easy to cut and shape.



So long, and thanks for all the fish.

dball711;1094564 wrote: Agree! BRS Reef Savers, Marco Rock and Reef Cleaners Florida Reef Rock are the same (very heavy, impossible to cut or shape but great to stack if thats what you are looking for). I like LARGE pukani rocks, I have 2 in my 75g, one about 45lbs and one about 10lbs. Stacking rock is ok till something moves/causes it to fall daown. I could never put it back the way it was or worse it hits and scratches the glass.acrylic as it falls.

Great point on the amount of rock due to how pours it is. I am wanting to do more than just stack rocks so the pukani might be the best option.

 

[danh]

<!-- gcu-updated ame -->https://youtu.be/6zJ1t0dfHlY<!-- gcu-updated /ame -->

 

[danh]

You can see that part at 2:00 or so.

 

[lsu_fishfan]

Nice aquascape.

 

[snowmansnow]

LSU_fishFan;1094572 wrote: Great point on the amount of rock due to how pours it is. I am wanting to do more than just stack rocks so the pukani might be the best option.

the stuff is like lego blocks, especially if you're willing to take some sort of saw to it.
super easy to drill for acrylic rods too.

 

[scrilla]

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Here's a couple of shots of my recently setup tank. I've used nothing but Marco Rock and am quite pleased with it. Very porous and you can get many of the pieces to interlock/stack into whatever shape you like with minimal effort. :up: