Oolitic sand forms like hail, with successive layers of Calcium Carbonate forming around a seed particle.

I can share the value, because I run it as a "dirt farm" using baling wire and duct tape to hold things together. 

Watch out though, I'm an old grandpa with an attitude.

Aloha,

MarksReef Coral Farm

808-345-1049

I just started my first reef tank thanks to mark and Utah rock/sand. The idea of paying hundreds of dollars for rocks/sand is still really weird to me.... and was something that stopped me from starting up a tank. 

My experience with mark hasn't lead me to believe he is even in this to make money at all. Considering i left with more things than i remember and I think he charged me for 1/10 of it.

It seems like the pros/people who know how to treat rock succeed with it and the others who buy it to save money and are not as diligent about taking care of it are probably not as likely to succeed. 

Thats what I took away. Based on how some people are doing well I think Utah rock can work, its just a matter of doing it correctly. 

Marcos

 

I was one who advised against using it.

 

 

Maybe your house is in the zone; the elevation where Utah Rock naturally occurs or maybe a previous resident used it for landscaping.   I've actually seen a lot of yards with Utah Rock used for the landscaping. It's just a curious kind of rock, but it's not for everyone. 

Personally, I would rather use nice pieces of ocean LR, taken either from a mature reef tank or just a few days ago from the ocean, uncured. For existing tanks, I like to add the occasional piece of uncured LR for the diversity of good stuff it brings into the system like algae, bacteria, bugs, coral, sponge, tunicates, worms and more. We know very well how to deal with and remove the unwanted hitchhikers like pest anemones and rock crabs.

We see wet LR available almost continually from hobbyist tanks being closed down and sold. Some of it is still prime stuff or can be re-grown into prime stuff.  Some pieces of dry rock are too awesome to pass up. Thanks to ReefdUp introducing to us a cleaning technique, we don't have to wait long to see this rock become alive and beautiful again. 

Aloha,

Mark  

P.S.

An old nurse (my mother) pointed out to me the other day that Muriatic Acid is Hydrochloric Acid, the same acid as in my stomach! That  fact hadn't hit me before. When used on dry LR it digests all the organic matter, leaving relatively clean Calcium Carbonate similar to clean Utah Rock, Marco Rock, Reef Savers Rock, etc. Awesome!