New reef tank! 41 Gallon Fluval Osaka. Suggestions?

[Aquattro]

Pests shouldn't be the concern, nutrient build up should be the primary issue. Yes, I know a lot of stores resell the rock from shut downs, that's why I mentioned to make sure it's fresh. I wait for orders or order it in.
While I agree it is possible to get perfectly good rock from someone shutting down, assuming the rock is reasonably young and the owner managed nutrients really well, there is no real way to tell unless you know the person and their tank. But usually, the rock is already in a tub and who knows what's in it.
Again, it still might be fine. But the risk is getting higher.

How many people get out of the hobby before they really even get started, due to unmanageable algae issues? We see it here all the time. So yes, my way costs more up front, but it lessens the risk and increases the chances of enjoying the hobby for many years, instead of trying to figure out how to get the lawnmower in the tank!!

[Aysha]

you could always do a dry start. place your dry rock add a small amount of live rock presto! it's all live in a few weeks. Aqua Giant has great base rock for 1.99 a lb. I don't know if rock from shut downs is an issue? people have the same LR in their tank sometimes for 10 years at a time. Just a thought.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Aysha

you could always do a dry start. place your dry rock add a small amount of live rock presto! it's all live in a few weeks.

Yup, you could do that, couple of weeks in and it's like live rock, only without the live part. And if the dry rock got dried with a ton of dead stuff, you might end up with some algae. Or a lot of algae.
Like someone mentioned in another thread, take advice here with a grain of salt.