Live rock vs. dead rock

[Frogger19]

Hello'

I'm new to the hobby but I am building a bar in my basement and thought it'd be cool to integrate an aquarium into it. I just purchased a 210 gallon reef aquarium and 55 gallon sump aquarium off Craigslist. I also have a 30 gallon aquarium which I'm thinking about using for a refug. My torn over what rock to get. I found a website where I get get dead rock for just over 1$ a pound shipped. I have also read that dead rock is better to use because you can Avoid bad parasites. What do you guys prefer...live rock or dead rock?.

 

[Earlgrey23]

Hello'

I'm new to the hobby but I am building a bar in my basement and thought it'd be cool to integrate an aquarium into it. I just purchased a 210 gallon reef aquarium and 55 gallon sump aquarium off Craigslist. I also have a 30 gallon aquarium which I'm thinking about using for a refug. My torn over what rock to get. I found a website where I get get dead rock for just over 1$ a pound shipped. I have also read that dead rock is better to use because you can Avoid bad parasites. What do you guys prefer...live rock or dead rock?.

I started my tank with all dead rock. For a couple reasons. First is after seeing all the critter ID'd as hitchhikers on the live rock I figured as a newb I would be better off having to fight Aiptasia and others to start. Second it was a ton cheaper. From what I have read I should not have much problem seeding coraline from the backs of certain snails. I also am in no rush to get through my cycle and get to stock. Really taking my time to make sure my bacteria levels are up and the rock has cured properly.

 

[Psychocircus91]

Hello'

I'm new to the hobby but I am building a bar in my basement and thought it'd be cool to integrate an aquarium into it. I just purchased a 210 gallon reef aquarium and 55 gallon sump aquarium off Craigslist. I also have a 30 gallon aquarium which I'm thinking about using for a refug. My torn over what rock to get. I found a website where I get get dead rock for just over 1$ a pound shipped. I have also read that dead rock is better to use because you can Avoid bad parasites. What do you guys prefer...live rock or dead rock?.

Base rock is good if you don't want to spend a lot of money. Personally, I would get a lot of base rock and a little bit of live rock to "seed" the base rock. If you want to avoid hitchhikers you can get man made live rock. They have that at liveaquaria. Mind sharing the website where you found such cheap base rock?

 

[Beengirl]

Whether to use base or LR is up to you. One is not "better" than the other. It's a matter of how much you want to spend and if you want hitchhikers or not. For my 55, I used all LR, for my 30, I used mostly base and seeded it with a little LR from my 55. For that size tank, you'll need a lot of rock, so I would definitely use some, if not all base rock to save money. Then you can use that money you save on great lighting or skimmer.