Live rock or dry rock?

[9kin]

I am building some decorations with foam and Florida Reef Rock (from reef cleaners). I kinda like this rock and would like to use it in my tank. However i also have live rock in my tank that has some dust worms, algy, sponges and all other things growing on it.

Should i give live rock away/sell and use new rock, or should i try to save live rock and use it? I know that most of you will suggest me to keep it, but i don't really like the shapes and the way my live rock looks. Would it be too bad if i start with completely new rock?

If i do go with dry rock is there a way to re-seed it? Or i should just wait and let time take its toll?

Also Floria base rock is very porous. Will a lot of junk be stuck inside of those crevices creating a problem? Or how do i keep my rock clean? My current plan is to try to direct current through t o it takes all the dirt out. Is it a good plan?
Thanks.

 

[petecomas]

I'm still quite new at this, but I researched a lot before I started my system, so take my advice for what it's worth.

You want very porous rock. And you want "junk" to get inside of it -- specifically bacteria. It's the bacteria that grow in very deep live rock crevices that provide the biological filatration. The more porous, the better the rock.

There's nothing wrong with using dry base rock if you're patient and let it become live. In fact, it's much cheaper. But this takes many months, and it needs to be seeded as you say. You can't just put base rock in water and expect it to come live on its own.

If you're starting this tank new and want to use just the base rock, keep the live rock in there with it for a while so that it can seed the dry rock. You can then take it out later (I'd keep it in for 5 or 6 months). Or, you can add live sand from someone else's system or from a LFS, you can use that in your substrate and it will also seed the rock. You only need a cup or so and that will be enough to seed the rest of your rock and sand. The problem with this is that you have to trust the system the sand is coming from because you might bring parasites (like ich) and other nasty things with it.

In my case, I used a 50/50 mix of base rock and live rock, and then waited 3 months before I started stocking the tank. The key is patience. If you're not a patient person, you're in the wrong hobby.... or you can just use 100% cured live rock and only wait a couple of weeks for the tank to cycle.

 

[JavyJaverson]

If you don't like how the old rock looked then sell it, the tank is for your viewing pleasure, so keep that in mind. I had the same dilemma as you when i set up my tank, i ended up banishing all the old live rock into the sump and buying marco rock for the display. If you have the room in your sump, just add some small pieces of your old rock near a high flow area, i.e. near the return pump, this should speed up the biological process within the new dry rock. Don't worry too much about the life on the old rock, if you ever decide that you miss it you can always buy some and add it in at any given time.

 

[jscarlata]

You can do a tank with dry rock, but you will miss out on a lot of critters and organisms that are present on live rock. That being said, by using dry rock you avoid getting pests. I did a 46 with all marco rock, a few pieces of live rock etc etc. The tank cycle takes a little longer, i used the shrimp method, but it works fine.
As said above, take your live rock, put it with your dry rock in a large bin or garbage pail with good water flow and it will seed the dry stuff, I don't know how long it takes...

 

[9kin]

Thanks a lot guys. All of you were right on point. I will buy dry rock, keep the best looking old/live rock in main display, put some more in the sump, and the rest i will sell, or give away.

Thanks again for the info.