Lets talk rocks

[TwistedMind]

All from BRS .

And now it's time to meet the Contestents.

Contestent #1 BRS Fiji Dry Rock
Contestent #2 BRS Reef Saver Dry Rock
Contestent # 3 BRS Pukani Dry Rock


I don't know anything about these rock. After a bit of research I have found that Pukani leeches alot of phosphates, but this is curable using some phosphate binding pool chemicals, a weeks time and a couple gallons of water.

All the pictures I have seen they appear to be the same structures, I saw Pukani first and fell in love with it, for its workability, size to weight ratio, and porosity.


Anyone have experiance with these and care to chime in?
As it stands im leaning towards 50 pounds of Pukani in a 75 G display. cured, chemicaled etc etc.

Please ignore my made up words and mispellings :cp

EDIT : Cost is a factor here, im trying to save money without cheaping out to hardcore. Trying not to spend 200 bucks on 50 pounds of rock, but if I have to i have to.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

There are many ways to create art. The question should be what do you want to do?:bigsmile:

[koa25]

http://www.marcorocks.com/

[reefreak]

Ever thought of using oystercrete?

[rrasco]

I have used BRS Fiji. I have had good success with it and like how it worked out for my tank and corals. I did also soak it in lanthanum chloride to make sure I didn't get any phosphates. In hindsight, on future tanks, I might go with the Reef Saver since it has nice shapes and also doesn't have the same risk pukani does regarding phosphates. On the other hand, pound for pound, pukani will fill your tank faster, is lighter, and is more porous with more interesting shapes. You can always treat with LC for phosphates. I chose fiji because they sold it in 50# boxes for $100 and I needed a lot. Nothing against it, I'm happy with tanks I've used it in, but the shapes of reef saver and pukani are more interesting. I really want to try some pukani on a future build though, but the reef saver also has my attention.

[Big_Pun]

why not go to a local fish store and buy some. from what it sounds like your really not saving money after all the time and extra stuff you have to just to have save a buck in dry rock. I picked up all the rock I needed from a LFS, you get to hand pick every rock instead of a mystery box that needs pool chemicals so you can safely us it!!

[Flyride95]

^+1 I completely agree

[TwistedMind]

why not go to a local fish store and buy some. from what it sounds like your really not saving money after all the time and extra stuff you have to just to have save a buck in dry rock. I picked up all the rock I needed from a LFS, you get to hand pick every rock instead of a mystery box that needs pool chemicals so you can safely us it!!

I dont want live rock, I want to aquascape so ill need dry stuff to cement together into the desired shapes, you don't have to use LC dip but it cuts down on the curing and it dosnt have to sit outside in a bucket of water for six months leeching phos into the water.
There's no mystery about it. From the websites photos the rocks look very similar in texture and structure. Im wanting to know if its an optical illusion or if they are indeed similar in texture and structure.

Marcorocks ~ Thanks for the link they appear to be an option as well.

[Big_Pun]

live rock will work when you aqua scape, I've used the same mortar Marco rock sales on live rock with no probs, you actually need the rock wet to get proper adhesion. now I wouldn't buy rick with coral line all over that may hinder the bond.

as for their rock I've seen both and yes very similar in structure I believe price diff is because they are sourced from two diff places.

[TwistedMind]

Ordered 75 pounds of Key Largo dry rock from marco rocks. Hopefully it will get here friday, but im not going to hold my breath for that one.

[koa25]

I'm buying some cuts from them. Have heard a lot of good things. I believe a couple members have used them.

[Roo&Lis]

Good thing you didn't go with the pukani. That stuff almost made me quit as soon as I started my tank. The phosphates turned my tank into a turf algae jungle in no time. A bunch of water changes, a gfo reactor, and a lot of hydrogen peroxide later, and I'm good to go. Besides the whole nightmare phosphate thing the rock is awesome. :whew:

[rrasco]

That's because it was harvested and the organic die off on the rock contributed to the po4. The same thing would happen if you pulled LR out of your tank, let it dry out, and then reintroduced it into a system. Doesn't mean it's bad rock, just has to be handled with care.

You could always go with reef saver which is not supposed to have any organics on it since it is mined. I went with fiji which is also harvested so I decided to treat with LC. LC bonds to the po4 molecules thus allowing you to pull most of the po4 before using the rock. You're not necessarily treating the rock with the LC, you are treating the water it's in to get rid of the po4.