50g with fish & corals

[Tang23]

I will be setting this up. If I purchase manufactured rock, will bacteria & algae eventually inhabit?
If not, I was considering dry live rock, same question...
Not considering live at this time due to hitchhikers.
Thanks
Ed

 

[Andy Sager]

As long as the surfaces have places for the microbes to adhere to and there is good water flow at the rocks for good oxygenation, the microbes should go to them but the algae will all depend on the type. When you say " manufactured" rock, are you talking about a plastic type rock or one that was " dry rock" that was cultured to have plants and corals already growing on them?

 

[Tang23]

If manufactured rock is plastic, I rather not use it. Will probably go wth cultured dry.
Thanks
Ed

 

[Aiken Drum]

You can get manufactured rock similar to what filter media is made from.

If you look for "Real Reef Rock" these are man made rocks that resemble natural marine rock.

Real Reef Rock (man made) at Kraken Corals

Real reef rock is a man made ocean cured alternative to live rock. Its purple in colour so there's no starkness to your tank upon initially setting it up

krakencorals.co.uk

Biohome is currently testing these products.

 

[Andy Sager]

If manufactured rock is plastic, I rather not use it. Will probably go wth cultured dry.
Thanks
Ed

What Aiken posted is not what I was envisioning and looks to be a good choice/ alternative. I've seen plastic based "rocks" which were a smooth surface so not very porous so not really what you want.
There is a plus side to using natural oceanic materials tho which is that they are usually calcium based which means that they will naturally help keep the KH and PH higher. Typically the benefit of using " cultured" rock is that it doesn't come with hitch hikers like bristle worms or unwanted starfish but that will all depend on how the place you get it from is storing it. So you need to weigh what is most important to you before deciding which way to go.