How many pounds. & what combo of LifeReef Dry rock?

[J Crew]

So I've purchased the Red Sea Reefer XL 525 and will be putting the stand together today/tomorrow. I'm slowing buying the equipment and other items for the reef build.

I want to use the LifeReef dry rock, but there are so many different varieties and I'm not sure what combo of varieties I should be looking to buy. I want an open concept and I'm looking at the following:

40lbs of base
20lbs of shapes
25lb of XL arch
20lbs of arches

That puts me at about 105lbs right now. Is this enough? Should I buy more? If so, what variety should I be looking at?

Thanks for any input.

 

[griss]

How many gallons is that tank / what are the dimensions? Also, I think a lot depends on your budget. If I were starting a new tank and money was no issue, I’d go with all live rock. That’s JMHO.

 

[J Crew]

She's 112gal display tank, but 143gals total with the sump. It's basically 5 ft x 2 ft x 22 inches tall.

All my tanks 20 years ago were LR, but I like the idea of being able to create some visually cool scaping with the dry rock. Are people breaking up LR and then epoxying them together?

 

[griss]

She's 112gal display tank, but 143gals total with the sump. It's basically 5 ft x 2 ft x 22 inches tall.

All my tanks 20 years ago were LR, but I like the idea of being able to create some visually cool scaping with the dry rock. Are people breaking up LR and then epoxying them together?

Breaking up LR, not to my knowledge. So, based on what you want to do I think you’re going down the right path. If it were me, I’d order 100 lbs dry, set up my basic scape and then order 50ish pounds of live.

Is there any scientific/logic behind that. Nope, just my gut instinct

 

[Reefing102]

It seems nowadays, the amount of rock in the tank largely depends on the look you want. If you don’t want a lot of extra, you could order a smaller quantity and see where it goes. If you don’t mind some extra, order what you think is right and then save the rest.

As to the live rock, I don’t see anyone breaking up live rock but “dry” scaping is doable with live rock if the rock is kept moist. You may temporarily lose some sponges, surface bacteria, etc but most bacteria will stay alive if done right.

 

[griss]

@J Crew what did you decide?

 

[griss]

@J Crew you okay? You haven’t even logged on since June 27. Hope all is well.

 

[J Crew]

@J Crew you okay? You haven’t even logged on since June 27. Hope all is well.

Yes, everything is good. I'm slowing receiving boxes of equipment and dry goods. There is just a TON of planning that is going into this setup/system. Because it's going to be at my office, I'm trying to think through every bit of automation and every bit of layout for plumbing/equipment/rodi/saltwater mixing, etc!

But also, since it's at my office, I have to pick downtime to work on layout and design for the system. I've also had to completely rearrange my office layout, lol. Just moving everything around was a huge ordeal. But we finished most of that yesterday. I have some drywall repair work that starts on Monday and hopefully by the end of the week I'll have the tank sitting on the stand, in the actual spot that it will be in forever.

Also, I went with a bunch of the dry LifeReef rock. It's all boxed up still. I don't plan on breaking it out until I have my tank in place. Hopefully that's soon, probably the week after next.

I'll try to post some photos... maybe start an actual build thread here very soon to post my progress!

Thanks for checking in @griss

 

[griss]

Yes, everything is good. I'm slowing receiving boxes of equipment and dry goods. There is just a TON of planning that is going into this setup/system. Because it's going to be at my office, I'm trying to think through every bit of automation and every bit of layout for plumbing/equipment/rodi/saltwater mixing, etc!

But also, since it's at my office, I have to pick downtime to work on layout and design for the system. I've also had to completely rearrange my office layout, lol. Just moving everything around was a huge ordeal. But we finished most of that yesterday. I have some drywall repair work that starts on Monday and hopefully by the end of the week I'll have the tank sitting on the stand, in the actual spot that it will be in forever.

Also, I went with a bunch of the dry LifeReef rock. It's all boxed up still. I don't plan on breaking it out until I have my tank in place. Hopefully that's soon, probably the week after next.

I'll try to post some photos... maybe start an actual build thread here very soon to post my progress!

Thanks for checking in @griss

Good to hear everything is alright. Yes, please start a build thread once you get started. I love following new builds.

 

[griss]

Any fun stuff you’ve gotten recently brother?

 

[J Crew]

I finished moving electrical in my office and we built an equipment table for the backside wall where the display tank is going to be. I'm going to start unpacking equipment this next week and start the plumbing design and control board layouts!

 

[griss]

Nice. Can’t wait to see pics of the progress.

 

[J Crew]

Finally got the tank moved ontop of the stand today. Just need to finish up the doors and brace for the stand. Then unpacking equipment and start plumbing layout next week.

I've also finished the build on the table that will hold a (future) frag tank and some other equipment. It's located on the back side of my office where the tank is located. I plan on running a manifold that can feed equipment with room for expansion. Also the closet space to the right of the table to house my RODI tank and saltwater mixing station.

More to come as I slowly creep along with this build!

 

[griss]

Looks great so far. Nice to see some pics of the progress

 

[Reefing102]

Looking awesome!