Marco rocks, Pukani, or other dry rocks

[Paolissimo]

Hello everyone

i am in the market for dry rocks. The two popular choices that I am aware of, is Marco Rocks and Pukani from BRS. In the past i bought live rocks from LFS, but I might upgrade my tank and i want to start fresh with dry rocks. Can you provide feedbacks on dry rocks? I bought some pukani and they were nice with lots of crevices, but I have read that the leach chemicals in the water. Never seen marco rocks and dont know too much about it.

Thank you
Paul

 

[evoIX_Reefer]

Just cure the pukani and be happy with it. If I couldn't have tonga rock, I would have went with pukani. It just didn't fit the possibility of doing my rockscape on how I pictured my tank.

 

[Donewiththisplace]

Used marco rocks for my 29 cube build about 14 months ago.

Wouldn't consider using anything but them for any future builds. Didnt do any preparation of the rock prior to its use...just rinsed well in fresh water to remove any dust and loose particles.

Fairly easy to aquascape, they can be sculpted with a hammer and chisel and secured together with the mortar that marco rocks sells.

Tested the water every few days...observed a textbook cycle which lasted about a week or two. Never had a po4 leaching problem like many have reported.

Cheaper and cleaner pest free alternative to live rock, definitely worth it. And now they have plenty of different cuts to make aquascaping easier and more visually appealing.

 

[E.intheC]

Pukani can be shipped in larger pieces, which is a plus depending on the tank situation. I ordered about 40 lbs Pukani rock and will use that along with other live rock I currently have running.

Pukani also has more surface area, which makes it better for harboring (good) bacteria. There's a video on the Bulk Reef Supply Youtube channel which explains it well.

 

[evoIX_Reefer]

I used marco rocks but the look of marco rocks isn't very appealing as other rocks. If you actually want to aquascape vs putting a pile of rocks. I think marco rocks is at the bottom of my list. Tonga for my preferred style (bonsai), pukani for the look, fiji and then I'd do marco rocks.

If cleaning rock is more of a task for you or "labor intensive", then marco rocks is a very good option.

I always look for inspiration before I start a build. Use ideas from inspiration and create your own design.

 

[vio]

Is NOT about what kind the Rocks, i strong believe in Bio, now what you try to accomplish ? Nice Aqua scope ? Tonga is the ans. Try , never leak, easy cure , Marco is the ans. , try to build a refuge nice Bio , Pukani is the ans.

I buy 660 lb. Pukani Rocks take me one year to cure , was pain , i shut bleach, NOT sure , the problem is, how you gone remove all the stuff from inside the Rock ? If you crack one Rock and check what is inside , you will be surprise. But for Bio , Pukani is the best.

 

[Donewiththisplace]

To me, the pukani kinda looks like a funnel cake at a carnival. I would agree it appears more porous...whats the weight of it like? It also appears that it would be more prone to breaking if you tried to shape it being that its so airy...is that the case? With the marco I was able to notch out areas for the next rock to sit into more securely and then mortar it in place. Worked ok for creating an archway in the rockscape.

Worse case do marco rock for the base and pukani for the top....the lighter the rock the bigger openings you can make in the scape without risking a collapse.

 

[Paolissimo]

Hi guys

i want to use dry rocks. I don't think i can find dry tonga rocks. I am trying to achieve a nice aquascape. Ideally over time, the rock will be covered with corals, therefore i don't care how the rock looks. I want a rock that is clean. It sounds like Marco is cleaner then pukani.