Do you use DIY Live Rock?

[Birchell]

Oh I know, you feel so bad after you spend like 100+ bucks, and you get like one or two boxes of "ROCK". DIY or a calcium based rock like limestone work great, and they are super cheap!!

[Tangster]

You could not pay me to use L/R I have a friend that farms the stuff and sells it to a large Fl based Rock retailer and he does not even use it himself Just simple old base rock it all becomes alive in a few months once its been colonized by bacteria. But then you get the ones who I guess think they need to justify the expense some then say I have so much more bio diversity with it LOL Yes the good and the bad and the ugly. All the good diversity will come in anyways the ones that will live that is the bad and ugly will also maybe come in at some point as well But thats up to the tanks owner and then at least they got the pest for free and not cash.
I have never used it and I would never use L/R its totally unneeded to keep a great reef tank in my opinion. I've never needed it. I tried it twice in small play tanks like the experts use to form their opinions from to write their books , but never in a large display tank.

[Covey]

Originally Posted by Birchell

Cool, I would love to save all that money on live rock. But ive heard that DIY rock takes longer to cure because the cement has a high ph that you have to stablize before you can use it. What do you guys think??

1.5-2 months to get the pH down but at 100+ pounds of rock for $12 versus $6 a pound locally I think I can wait it out.



One thing most people overlook also when setting up a tank is that once your tank is mature you likely won't see the rock at all.

Pay top dollar for something you will cover in coral doesn't make alot of sense.

[Tangster]

LOL Hey Covey Thats my way of thinking also if you can see rock after a couple of yrs. then you are doing somthing wrong or you just need more corals (: People would be way better off using the rock money for a good R/O or better pump or sump even a skimmer (: the day I pay $$$ a pound for wet rock is the day I need to be buried..in a Rock LOL I have never used it and I have all the bio diversity as anyone who did and with none of the problems..

[coral reefer]

Personally, I like to purchase all of my rock live from the various parts of the world. The reason being you get different algal and organisms that are indiginous to that part of the world.

[philip_r5]

I currently used 1/3 LR, 1/3 CR, and 1/3 DIY rock. Worked out nice. I got the CR on the bottom, then the DIY and LR mixed on top. However, on my next one I think I will use mostly DIY. WHy? TO save major cash, and the natural excosystem we are depleting.

[Urban_s]

Better for the reefs and better on the wallet.

[inwall75]

Has anyone tried the recipe with the rock salt in it? (During the curing process all of the rock salt melts making the rock lighter and more porous).

[Matt Rogers]

I didn't try that.

I did try:

Pasta - messy
pvc T's - worked very well
balloons filled part way - worked well - came right out attached to drillbit
holes from masonry drillbit - excellent - made rock very realistic looking and more porous

[Urban_s]

I have done the 3-1 with rock salt. It makes for some VERY light rock.