"Reef Saver" and Bio Balls... what?

I'm getting back into the hobby after a few years out, and I'm taking my sweet time getting everything "just right."

So I'm hanging out at this new shop, talking with the owner. Who I recently made a 600 dollar purchase on a sump and pumps and pipe fittings. And we start talking about my next purchases LR and a protein skimmer. He gives me some suggestions about a protein skimmer and he tries to up sell me to this skimmer "better then the needle wheel", but i need it quiet and easy to maintain since it will be in the living room and the wife will be doing some maintenance.

OK that was the setup... question time...

Now I tell him I am going to buy BRS Reef Saver rock and he gets passionate about how it is crap, no good, and on and on. And the clincher is he tells me anyone using and having success with this type of dry dead rock is using "Bio Balls" in the background.

Tell me... if I buy 120lbs of some BRS Reef Saver and seed it with 30lbs of some live rock / buy a bag of live sand / and grab a gallon of water from a fellow reef keeper and wait 2 months. It will be fine... no bio balls, right?

Thanks for any info.

 

Yes, but it will probably take around 7 months before that dry base rock is thoroughly populated with anaerobic bacteria and your "cycle" completely done.

Many reefers have success using dry base rock, plus you eliminate the potential for unwanted hitchhikers. Bubble algae and bryopsis are two we can all do without.

Sounds like your LFS is playing salesman.

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that sounds like a very good plan to me... save some $ and you'll end up with some nicely seeded rock in the long term.

buying all live rock is not necessary, and you will experience a great deal of die off this way, and have a fairly long curing time...

also, you won't need bioballs with that amount of rock.

 

You are on the right page. I wouldn't get the live sand though not enough bacteria in the sand to do much good. So don't waste your money, just get dry sand. If you get anything from a fellow reefer make it live rock and a couple of cups of live sand to seed your sand. Water doesn't have enough bacteria in it.

 

+1 on the above advice

base rock - will be live rock ultimately in your tank (even if you did not add any live rock at all bacteria develops all the same , adding some live rock will speed it up )

the thing on the live rock most people want is the purple coralline that will over time, make your base rock look more natural/ attractive

Steve

 

x2
good response

 

After joining this forum - I don't even bother asking for advice from LFS.

 

Ain't that the truth!!