Caribsea South Sea Rock

Has anyone had any experience with the Caribsea south sea dry rock? It is what my LFS has in stock. I am in between that and ordering BRS reef saver rock.

 

Nope, but they are a reputable brand for substrate, so I think I'd trust the rocks too.

 

That and the pukanI from brs are one of the best purchases I have made in a while and have had great expirences with them

 

That

That and the pukanI from brs are one of the best purchases I have made in a while and have had great expirences with them

that meaning the reef saver?

 

Yes the reef saver my bad for the bad wording

 

One thing to keep in mind about Pukani... it's quite lovely with all the nooks and crannies as well as the porosity. Because of that, it is full of dead organics, so it takes months to cure. I believe it took Nart about 4 months to completely cure his PukanI dry rock.

 

That's one bad side to it but its worth the wait since it has a really good surface area

 

Oops! I edited my last past because at first I mistakenly said it takes a long time for PukanI to cycle. I intended to say cure instead of cycle.

 

Oops! I edited my last past because at first I mistakenly said it takes a long time for PykanI to cycle. I intended to say cure instead of cycle.

Yeah I caught on what you were trying to say

 

Sorry I haven't been on. I ended up picking up the south sea base rock at my LFS today.
Mostly because I want to try and get my tank running by the first weekend of October.
Which leads me to my next question. My LFS said all it needs is a rinse off no curing. But haven't seen to much online about it. Should I start cycling the rock in tank or in a bin so I don't get any potential phosphate in the tank?

 

In a bin or you will get an enormous algae bloom

 

With a quick look, I couldn't find a good answer on curing Caribsea's South Sea Base Rock either. All we can be sure of is that it is indeed natural rock, so could have dead organics, unlike manmade rock, which is really the only option to be sure that the rocks are free of organics. So, I might just check by soaking a few pieces in a bucket or RODI for several days, then run a phosphate test. If you really want to be 100% sure the rocks will leach zero phosphates in the tank, you're only option would be to cure in another container. That said, I went with natural rock too, but chose a less porous type, (Fiji), and knowing there was less space for organics, took a chance that the rocks would cure in the tank while it cycled, with lights off. We had zero phosphates when the tank was cycled, and never had an algae explosion during or after the cycle. This is not to say that we never saw a diatom bloom, where rocks and sand turn an ugly brown, (but clean up easily.) This is normal in new tanks, even with cured or manmade rocks. It's known as the uglies and it should pass fairly quickly.

 

With a quick look, I couldn't find a good answer on curing Caribsea's South Sea Base Rock either. All we can be sure of is that it is indeed natural rock, so could have dead organics, unlike manmade rock, which is really the only option to be sure that the rocks are free of organics. So, I might just check by soaking a few pieces in a bucket or RODI for several days, then run a phosphate test. If you really want to be 100% sure the rocks will leach zero phosphates in the tank, you're only option would be to cure in another container. That said, I went with natural rock too, but chose a less porous type, (Fiji), and knowing there was less space for organics, took a chance that the rocks would cure in the tank while it cycled, with lights off. We had zero phosphates when the tank was cycled, and never had an algae explosion during or after the cycle. This is not to say that we never saw a diatom bloom, where rocks and sand turn an ugly brown, (but clean up easily.) This is normal in new tanks, even with cured or manmade rocks. It's known as the uglies and it should pass fairly quickly.

Yeah leaning towards cycling it in a bin. Partly because if I do get a bloom it's easier to clean out. How did you clean your diatom bloom off the rock?
Also here's a picture of the south sea base rock. Started playing with scape ideas tonight.

 

Ever since I got my first dino bloom I been terrifed to cycle rocks in tank

 

I already love your scape. Seriously, the one above has it all... high spots & low spots, swim-throughs and nooks and crannies, as well as something I overlooked with my own. That is, space in the sand to create little islands for gardens of zoas, acans or rock flower anemones. I can already see some nice euphyllia waving around on that scape, maybe about halfway down your slope.

Diatoms are child's play compared to other baddies like dinos, cyano, or tough deep-rooted nuisance algae. It's almost like brown dust with how easy it comes off. So, a toothbrush for a light scrub, a turkey baster to blast rocks, and a decent gravel vac would have the tank looking new again in no time. During the diatom peak, they'd reappear a day or two later, but we'd leave it alone until the next water change. It wasn't hurting anything but our eyes, and we're always glad to save on salt. If I'm not mistaken, the diatoms had exhausted themselves and quit reappearing before month 4.

 

I already love your scape. Seriously, the one above has it all... high spots & low spots, swim-throughs and nooks and crannies, as well as something I overlooked with my own. That is, space in the sand to create little islands for gardens of zoas, acans or rock flower anemones. I can already see some nice euphyllia waving around on that scape, maybe about halfway down your slope.

Diatoms are child's play compared to other baddies like dinos, cyano, or tough deep-rooted nuisance algae. It's almost like brown dust with how easy it comes off. So, a toothbrush for a light scrub, a turkey baster to blast rocks, and a decent gravel vac would have the tank looking new again in no time. During the diatom peak, they'd reappear a day or two later, but we'd leave it alone until the next water change. It wasn't hurting anything but our eyes, and we're always glad to save on salt. If I'm not mistaken, the diatoms had exhausted themselves and quit reappearing before month 4.

I think I was just asking because there are so many more crannies in the rock vs a freshwater tank were it's a lot more flat surfaces.
That's what I do is scrub right before I water change.
Yay so excited for other alages. Luckily I've only had to deal with diatom alage so far.
And thanks for the complements on the scape. When I first through the rock in I could make anything work then I researched and played with it. Still didn't work then I turned it and switched a piece then it clicked. I'm nervous because I'm really happy after only one night of playing with it.

 

I'm nervous because I'm really happy after only one night of playing with it.

The nerves didn't go away for me for a long time, lol. Just as soon as you're set on your scape and the cycle is done, it's time to start adding life, and that was nervewracking too at first. But don't worry, it's going to get a lot less angsty and a lot more fun before long.

If I may, I'd recommend a Duncan for your first coral. Lots of sources say to go ahead and start with soft corals, and that zoas are easy. Well, they weren't for me (lost 7 little colonies and took nearly a year off with them before trying again)... and if you get Xenia or GSP, please do yourself a favor and isolate either of them on their own rock. Either one can grow like wildfire and encroachment on other, newer corals will not be fun. GSP is certainly capable of taking out LPS and SPS corals. If you haven't already, go ahead and search up some pics of a GSP or xenia dominated tank. Both are quite lovely, but you gotta keep 'em separated. Anyhow, the Duncan is an LPS, but they're super hardy, really fun to feed, and grow quickly. There's nothing better for a new coral keeper's confidence. I started with a single polyp but after a single growth spurt, it was 7 polyps, and now it's going on more than 20. In other words, each polyp grows multiple pups, so growth is exponential.