Wanting To Start A 29 Gallon FOWLR

[CleverBs]

I cant decide what live rock to get however, Should i get 50lbs of LIVE rock for 175$ or 40lbs of dry rock with 10lbs of live rock for 135$ not sure if its worth the 40$

 

[SwimsWithFish]

Yeah go with the mix.

 

[CleverBs]

may I ask why go with the mix? take price OUT as a factor, price is not as important as other details.

 

[SwimsWithFish]

Well dry rock Is easier to work with. With live rock you have to keep it in water. Me PERSONALLY, I would do 100% dry rock.
I'll give you some pros and cons

Dry rock:
Pros- easier to work with
No pests and hitch hikers
Cheaper
Get more when you order

Cons- not as pretty

Live rock:
Pros- prettier
Insta cycle!!!

Cons- expensive
Hard to work with
Bad hitchhickers

 

[CleverBs]

well i wont be getting it from liverockranch.com im readying some REALLY bad things about them.

i will not be doing 100% dry rock, I dont want a 2 month cycle and I want it to look nice.

 

[SwimsWithFish]

Alright go for it! Have you looked at live aquaria for lr?

 

[CleverBs]

yeah they are my choice now...I read much better things about their live rock and am extremely happy with fosterandsmiths.com services.

 

[CleverBs]

they seem to be the best deal I can find. I would like to do 10lbs of live 40lbs of dry but cant find a site that has a good enough deal or better then liveaquaria.com of 45lbs live for 173$ with shipping

 

[SwimsWithFish]

Yeah you should do that!! Sounds like a deal to me. And if you wanted to have a bigger structure you could get that 45 lbs from la and get 15 more pounds of dry rock and put it behind where you can't see it.

 

[CleverBs]

yeah I may do that, I have a LFS that sells base rock for 3$ a lb so I may see what the 45lbs look like in the 25 gallon tank and get some dry if it needs more, Dont really know how much to expect with 45lbs

 

[SwimsWithFish]

I think 50 lbs of rock dead or live will be PLENTY to work with.

 

[CleverBs]

thats what im thinking

 

[CleverBs]

Picked up 50 gallons worth of salt last night. Was on sale.

 

[SwimsWithFish]

Awsome! What brand did you go with? Once you start using a brand you can't switch btw.

 

[TLTGF]

Any facts backing up the salt switch? I've heard of several people switching salts with no special requirements or issues...

If I am incorrect, why?

 

[SwimsWithFish]

That's just what I've been told by people. I heard switching brands can mess with ph and stuff. Am I wrong? Lol I have no idea this is just what I've heard.

 

[TLTGF]

I think that if you're around long enough, you will probably hear everything!

Well, I'm not sure either - I was wanting to switch from IO to Reef Crystals - as I went to a reef tank- and all of my research pointed to having no issues. Some people had certain preferences, and some stated that the parameters on Ca, Alk, and Mg were all a bit different, but as long as you changed it out through normal weekly pwc's, there would be no I'll effects.

Back to the research phase!

 

[SwimsWithFish]

Cool! I just learned something the more you know.... Lol thanks

 

[CleverBs]

Ill be using the kind i got till its gone then Im going to use reef crystals, If needed ill just drain my tank and put all new water in idk what would be wrong with that.

 

[SwimsWithFish]

You would lose bacteria and the tank would go through a mini cycle and possibly kill fish and corals... Big no no.