Is my live rock aqua-cultured/quality?

[Bryanev]

Hi! So I’m rather new to this and just setup our new nano reef - we are on week four (one week post cycle). Majority of the rock was added upon setup - and a few recently from the same LFS. IVE My question is, does it seem painted? I’m not as concerned about the calcareous algae as I am about it leeching into the water? The live rock tank it came from had some fish, and the rock is still covered in small sponges/live feather worms, as well as a 2 inch brittle star we found, but if I break it open it appears smooth and white. Is this still functional for beneficial bacteria? I’ve included some pics, any advice is appreciated! 

[mitten_reef]

Those look like “real reef” rock, an alternative man made product to live rock. You can look up manufacturer and info on them here.  They are one of few painted products on the market; caribsea Life Rocks and Walt Smith’s are the other two that came to mind.  many man made, and/or land-based products out there these days that are good substitutes to live rocks harvested from the ocean. As long as the life forms (feathers and real coralline) on them are happy, I’d leave them be. 
 

[seabass]

It won't be "painted" with anything like latex paint.  It could be a dye; and I'm almost positive that it's reef-safe.

 

You can scrape coralline algae off with a knife.  There's a possibility that being in their tanks, long enough for filter feeders to take residence, that the rock does contain some coralline as well.

 

It seems like decent enough rock, and you've built a nice aquascape.  Good job.  Nice clowns too.

 

 to Nano-Reef.com.

[SaltyGallon]

Definitely reef safe - no need to worry, I'd say that's Caribsea's Life Rock.

[Tamberav]

Painted rock...but people use it just fine...

 

Some claim that the process of painting the rock makes it less porous since the paint fills in tiny holes/pores.

 

[AquaVaj]

I have 15lbs of Real Reef rock and that looks very similar to it. I'm not exactly sure on their process and it's probably a company secret but to me they do look "painted". I didn't use a few pieces cause it was caked it with. Just looked too fake to me.

[seabass]

6 hours ago, AquaVaj said:

I have 15lbs of Real Reef rock and that looks very similar to it. I'm not exactly sure on their process and it's probably a company secret but to me they do look "painted". I didn't use a few pieces cause it was caked it with. Just looked too fake to me.

"Real Reef’s beautiful shades of Purple, Pink and Red come from a water based non-toxic natural pigment. These proprietary pigments are injected and applied through several techniques and processes."

I guess it's a trade secret.

 

CaribSea, on the other hand, states that, "LifeRock™ is infused with bacteria using AragAlive™ technology which results in a reduction of traditional cycling times. Each piece of LifeRock™ has multiple engineered aragonite coatings that not only maintain the extensive macro-and micro- porosity but yield the soft muted colors of a living reef."

Seems like the color might be a dyed aragonite paste.

 

Our LFS is currently offering just this type of rock product.  They sell it wet, but I haven't asked them if they dose ammonia to continue to build up the biofilter.  I have plenty of rock, so I doubt I'll need to purchase any in the near future.

 

The fake look should diminish over time as coral and algae (including coralline) cover the rock.