The end result of the manufacturing and growing process is a beautiful natural three dimensional coralline colored living rock made from 100% natural materials. This wild rock alternative is eco-reef friendly, with the basic building blocks to cycle and promote a healthy modern reef aquarium. Basic necessary components such as: Nitrifying bacteria, Micro Algae’s and some Coralline Algae varieties. Real Reef Mfg. does note grow or promote any unwanted hitchhikers and undesirables that wild live rock inherently is plagued with. As a result, Real Reef requires no curing or waiting for the dying, rotting and decaying biological material normally found on wild live rock.
A huge part of the success of Real Reef has been the progressive aquarist. Cutting edge aquarist know, that being environmentally conscious is the mindset that facilitates a responsible hobby for the future. It is those modern aquarists that have been leading the charge on coral propagation, marine ornamental fish breeding and creating and using eco-reef friendly products. Being a responsible aquarist starts with the products we choose to buy and overwhelming the hard core marine aquarist choose Real Reef!
Currently most Live Rock in the aquarium trade is not alive anymore. Most live rock is shipped via boat and sea container from places like the Fijian Islands. This low cost live rock is known in the industry as Container Rock. Container rock is shipped in large metal sea containers and packed dry in boxes for months at a time. The rock is alive upon collection, but dead on arrival. Simply, most wild live rock isn’t alive, but dead!
Even though most wild Live Rock is dead on arrival, it still requires additional cleaning and curing for weeks at a time by the retailer and/or aquarist. This period of time is called “Curing”. Unfortunately, this curing process only allows the external decaying bio-material to slough or rot off. Often it doesn’t allow for the decaying bio-material within the pores throughout and center of the wild coral skeleton rock. As a result, the wild rock’s decaying bio-material impregnated porous coral skeleton serves as an ideal environment for growing nuisance and/or plague algae’s. With so much emphasis placed on nitrates and phosphates, we must first remove the very dead organic material that ultimately converts into these algae loving nutrients. All of this can be avoided by not buying wild live rock. Another benefit of Real Reef Rock, is it’s extremely porous. Real Reef is covered with thousands of pores, nooks and crevices, which are clean, open and available for beneficial colonizing organisms. Real Reef Rock promotes good strong encrusting coralline algae growth, but does not promote nuisance or plague algae’s.
Real Reef is a quality natural reef eco-friendly product that promotes easy success in marine aquarium keeping! You never have to second guess this product. From inception, quality ingredients and quality control are our number one focus. Real Reef aquarists never have to tear down their aquariums some months later due to an infestation of unwanted pest or nuisance inverts or algae brought in by the rock! It works great as a natural porous filter and provides beneficial Calcium, Buffer and essential trace elements. Simply, Real Reef helps create and grow beautiful aquariums, without destroying the natural beauty of the World’s Coral Reefs.
Real Reef relieves mining pressure on the World’s coral reefs.
The wild Live Rock mining, harvest or collection is not a sustainable practice! Never has been and never will be, simply due to the fact that it is the very habitat that is taken and never replaced. There has never been a Fishery or Conservation program that has ever advocated the destruction and removing of habitat. The very habitat that feeds, grows and shelters the very fishery that is harvested and sold (Marine Fish, Inverts and Coral) What is the point of buying sustainable or aquacultured products, if we are placing them in or upon a reef made from destroyed coral reef habitat? This makes no sense and is not a productive practice for our hobby and industry. The idea is for native islanders to farm their coral reef resource, as they have done for thousands of years. Not to encourage them to remove and take pieces of the actual habitat that produces the very livelihood for them and future generations.
Real Reef Made in the U.S.A.
Real Reef is 100% made and grown in the U.S.A. Here at Real Reef we feel it’s critical that we support and buy American made products when ever we can! It’s good for the U.S. economy, security and the American people. Innovation, farming and manufacturing should always start at home first. Real Reef is an American made product, which is sold here and exported to countries around the world. Real Reef is an example for the World, how America can be an environmental leader with innovative eco friendly products. Help conserve the Coral Reefs, while securing and creating jobs here and abroad.
It is products like Real Reef that continue to set the tone and raise the bar for a sustainable aquarium trade. It proves that aquacultured eco friendly products can be profitable and viable, even for our overseas partners. Every sold piece of wild coral rock encourages and promotes our overseas suppliers to continually damage one of the few resources they have. A habitat resource that needs to be nurtured and farmed, not strip mined, crow barred, boxed and shipped.
What example are we leading the world by? America is only interested in exploiting your resource? Ship pieces of your Island habitat and we will give you money? Let’s lead by example and send a message that farming the reefs and protecting your resource is in your best interest and the Worlds! Without healthy reefs, how will our overseas suppliers ever be able to catch next year’s crop of baby coral, fish and inverts for future aquarists? I know of no sustainable Fishery practice or conservation method that advocates the taking and removing of the very habitat that grows the very resource which brings in revenue for the country of origin. Simply….. buy responsible and support aquaculture and sustainable collected marine life here and abroad when ever possible. The future of the Marine Aquarium hobby starts with you!