Amount of live rock?
- Thread starter Menez
- Start date
Sisterlimonpot
Premium Member
1-2 lbs per gallon is the safe bet
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
There's really nothing we can do but take shots in the dark. IMHO you have to get some rock and play with it until it looks right. For one person and one tank, it might be 80 lbs. in a 125. For another person's 125, it might be 200 lbs.
Rock can vary significantly in terms of density, and different shapes might stack tighter or more loose than others.
Many "rules of thumb" will recommend 1 - 1.5 lbs/gallon, but IME that's a very rough guide at best. One of my favorite personal tanks (a 125 by coincidence) barely had half a pound per gallon.
Rock can vary significantly in terms of density, and different shapes might stack tighter or more loose than others.
Many "rules of thumb" will recommend 1 - 1.5 lbs/gallon, but IME that's a very rough guide at best. One of my favorite personal tanks (a 125 by coincidence) barely had half a pound per gallon.
monotreme_man
New member
the normal figure used is about 1.5lbs per gallon.
it depends a fair bit on the density of teh live rock
(some rock is quite light, and others much heavier),
and your taste in aquascaping (some prefer huge
mounds of live rock, while others prefer more sparse
settings).
for what its worth, i will likely end up with about 150lbs
for my 200gal tank because the rock is light and i like sparse
aquascapes.
it depends a fair bit on the density of teh live rock
(some rock is quite light, and others much heavier),
and your taste in aquascaping (some prefer huge
mounds of live rock, while others prefer more sparse
settings).
for what its worth, i will likely end up with about 150lbs
for my 200gal tank because the rock is light and i like sparse
aquascapes.
Sisterlimonpot
Premium Member
That is a better explanation. Because I personally don't follow the rule of thumb with my current tank. I think I have less than or right at 1 lbs per gallon. But the aquascaping looks great and it fulfills the bioload as well. So that is the ultimate answer if it can handle the load of the inhabitants in your tank
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
You bring up an interesting point. Often, people make the argument that you NEED a certain amount of rock to facilitate bacteria breaking down nutrients. I have issues with people making this argument. Can we quantify the contribution of X pounds of live rock to keeping the tank clean? How do we know how much a certain amount of live rock helps with biological filtration? We don't, and there isn't even any strong anecdotal evidence to suggest that you need a certain amount of it to achieve certain water parameters in your tank. People have successful tanks with lots of rock, and others with little rock. Heck, when I started this hobby, very few people used the stuff at all.
Which, again, brings it back to being an issue of personal preference for the reef keeper, within reason.
monotreme_man
New member
der_wille,
that is something i've been wondering about, especially as i am partial
to sparse aquascaping. it would be great if there were a heuristic
like "medium fish load in a 200 gallon tank" needs 200lbs of
live-rock-equivalent. that way i can figure out how much liverock
to stash in teh refugium.
that is something i've been wondering about, especially as i am partial
to sparse aquascaping. it would be great if there were a heuristic
like "medium fish load in a 200 gallon tank" needs 200lbs of
live-rock-equivalent. that way i can figure out how much liverock
to stash in teh refugium.
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
That's the problem though, no one who understands well enough the role that live rock plays in filtration has bothered to quantitatively answer that question. All of the current "rules of thumb" have evolved based on how much rock you can comfortably fit in a tank for a typical aquascape, which isn't sparse. These estimations have no solid tie to the role that rock is or isn't playing in maintaining a stable tank environment.
If you're exporting nutrients through other methods (powerful skimming, a refugium stocked with algae) then IME using a fairly sparse amount of rock has no negative impact on the tank.
If you're exporting nutrients through other methods (powerful skimming, a refugium stocked with algae) then IME using a fairly sparse amount of rock has no negative impact on the tank.
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
Yes.
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
And here's my (long-gone) peninsula-style 125 shortly after it was set up, with about 70 lbs in it:
I have tried both extremes. I have a 125 and I have had 230 lbs of LR Piled to the top and against the back glass. This configuration IMO only leads to detritus and crud building up in places that are impossible to access. It also makes it very hard to provide adequate flow to all areas of the system. I now have about 100lbs in my 125. This (the other extrme) I believe to be working out much better. More room to provide proper flow easier access to all areas of the tank, Looks better(to me anyways) also. I have not noticed any real differrance at this point in my tanks chemistry.
