Dry base rock

[shrimpchips]

So I'm looking to get between 50 - 75lbs of dry base rock for my upcoming upgrade (whenever that happens), and wanted people's opinions on dry rock purchases.

I know BRS and Marco rocks ship to Canada, but after the shipping costs and such, it comes out the same (almost) as LR from my LFS. Might as well buy handpicked LR and let it dry out then.

So I've been looking for Canadian places to get dry LR from.

I've found two places, both in Ontario:
http://www.eco-reefer.com/
http://www.reefrocks.ca/Fiji%20Base%20Rock.html

So far reefrocks.ca sounds and looks pretty good, and has really cheap shipping (free after $200, $6.95 flat below that). Anybody with experiences?
Other places?

[aoc230]

??? Eco was cheaper??? by 5 bucks but shipping was included in their price? Heres a few good reasons why id buy
1. its dry, you get more for your buck... why cause its dry, no water weight being added in, so they say to add less, i would say makes sense. plus no die off during shipping or your not paying to ship water..
2. no hitchhikers. your starting off fresh and potentially could actually cycle faster with dry... depending on LR

i personally would buy dry instead of paying for wet then drying it(that will cost you way more after calculating the water loss). if you wanna buy the wet then dry it post back id like to know how much water you paid for lol....

[shrimpchips]

Thanks, I get why dry is better. I'm more looking for particular experiences with the rock - ie were you happy with the shapes, textures, etc.

[SmallFry]

So I'm looking to get between 50 - 75lbs of dry base rock for my upcoming upgrade (whenever that happens), and wanted people's opinions on dry rock purchases.

I know BRS and Marco rocks ship to Canada, but after the shipping costs and such, it comes out the same (almost) as LR from my LFS. Might as well buy handpicked LR and let it dry out then.

So I've been looking for Canadian places to get dry LR from.

I've found two places, both in Ontario:
http://www.eco-reefer.com/
http://www.reefrocks.ca/Fiji%20Base%20Rock.html

So far reefrocks.ca sounds and looks pretty good, and has really cheap shipping (free after $200, $6.95 flat below that). Anybody with experiences?
Other places?

I'm in a similar boat, I'm going to need rock eventually for my 75G build (going very slowly). I've done the dry rock thing before using Carib-Sea south seas lace rock. Worked pretty well, takes a bit (lot) of time to get the coralline though. Having said that I was seeding about 40lbs from 2lbs of live rock..!

The reefrocks.ca stuff looks the best from the pictures - is very tempting.. If you look at the pictures and text it's all the same as the MarcoRocks website. It certainly looks 100% better than the Carib-Sea stuff I have right now.
From the quick look I had, the price on reefrocks is much higher per lb than the MarcoRocks website, so I guess you're paying for the shipping one way or another..

I'd be really interested to know from anyone who's had it if it's as good as the pictures look.

[i have crabs]

i got a bunch from brs and im very happy with what i got, i think it ended up being close to $4/lb though

[ssdan]

Looks like reefrocks is actually located at www.reefwater.net now. Bought from them a few times, they have lots of Bulk Reef Products however I do not think they carry rock anymore.

[gqlmao]

Elias a local sponsor sells Marco rock you can check shipping prices with him his prices are very good.

[RedCoralOnlineStore]

We carry the Marco rock and it is truly incredible rock! Very porous and many nooks and crannies for all of those critters to populate!
We have seen 1000's of pounds of Marco rock and it has all been beautiful rock! The rocks fit together like a puzzle so you xan create very unique and interesting aquascapes.
And we ship!
Marco rock on sale right now for the rest of the week 10% off!

[Nano]

Thanks, I get why dry is better. I'm more looking for particular experiences with the rock - ie were you happy with the shapes, textures, etc.


I'm still pretty wet behind the ears in SW, but I did half base and have live rock, I love the base rock, its super pourous and really nice to aquascape with, and 3 months in I have coraline algae growing on it, so it can become "live" pretty quick IME

[lastlight]

I don't want to hijack but wanted to point out that the coraline is no indication that the rock is 'live'. I'd suspect dry rocks takes at least a year before being as good as true live rock but I'm only guessing.

My pvc return elbows have coraline on them 1 month in but they're certainly not live...

It's too bad you can't get the BRS dry fiji anymore. I thought mine looked a lot nicer than the other stuff available to us now.

[Nano]

lol my mistake I guess I shouldnt say Live per say, but does have a feather duster or 2 on it, and a few little critters living inside (bristle worms, stometellas) so I should have said, It has life in it haha :redface:

[toytech]

Ive ordered from eco reefer before and got a 50lbs box of some very nice rock. Fits together like a dream , was very light and full of holes.Its also nice if you want to do some advanced aquascaping with epoxy because you dont have to worry about it drying out.

[Lonster]

I recently started a new tank with all dry rock. I let it cycle for a good couple months before anything went into it and I have no problems with it at all. I would suggest looking at a few LFS's and just pick out a few prices that catch your eye from each. I bought all of mine from one place to get a bit of a discount but looking back I would pay a little more for some variety. Its also cheaper then paying the shipping got all mine for $2.50 a lb.

[Ryan_Lap]

http://caco3reef.com/caco3reef-base-rocks/100-lb-caco3reef-xx-3-20lb-xx-free-shipping-in-canada

[mseepman]

Just ordered 50lbs of Eco-rock today from Eco-reefer. I've bought from them in the past, and I was very happy. I imagine when this box arrives, I will be just as thrilled.

[Dyspnea]

Marco rock is amazing stuff. I bought 72 pounds of it, arranged, drilled it, and zip tied it all while dry. I cycled it for 5.5weeks in a Rubbermaid. Two weeks by its self using shrimp to cycle te rock and 3.5 weeks with a piece of liverock to seed my new rock.

It's been in my aquarium for 4 weeks and looks great, my new tank syndrome algeas have come and gone, I'm even beginning too see corline algae appearing.

Any future tanks will be entirely Marco/dry rocks.

A picture of my tank with all Marco rock about two days after I added it.

http://members.shaw.ca/jessehamel/N003.JPG

[Nano]

Marco rock is amazing stuff. I bought 72 pounds of it, arranged, drilled it, and zip tied it all while dry. I cycled it for 5.5weeks in a Rubbermaid. Two weeks by its self using shrimp to cycle te rock and 3.5 weeks with a piece of liverock to seed my new rock.

It's been in my aquarium for 4 weeks and looks great, my new tank syndrome algeas have come and gone, I'm even beginning too see corline algae appearing.

Any future tanks will be entirely Marco/dry rocks.

A picture of my tank with all Marco rock about two days after I added it.

http://members.shaw.ca/jessehamel/N003.JPG

Thats looking good! I remember when you switched up the scape!