How much LR is needed for a 'ROWLR'?

2

20 20

Premium Member
That would be a "REEF ONLY with LR". Let me 'splain...

My kid likes my 29 gallon reef. He's getting bored with the elong in his 55 gallon (that's a type of pirahna), and wants to switch it to a reef. I keep telling him he doesn't have enough money, but, of course, he won't listen to me. ;) I've told him the basic rule of thumb for LR is 1 to 2 pounds for each gallon of water. So, since his mind is ALWAYS working, trying to figure out an 'angle' to everything, he says "Well, what if I don't have any fish? Just corals? You TOLD me that corals don't add nearly the bio-load to a tank that fish do, so I must not need that much live rock if it's only a reef, corals, and NO fish!". I, of course, being the wise old dad, told him "It don't work that way". But, him being him, won't give up, and want's me to ask on this forum. So...

How much LR would be needed for a "ROWLR" tank?

Sorry for the rambling, but that's what happens to me after having a discussion with him...;)
 
Being that it sounds like a "I want it now deal"

I would say you could add base rock and seed with live rock. Cycle tank. Have good lighting, keep calcium levels where they should be and coraline would spread fast.

What would the filtration setup be on this tank?
 
Doesn't sound as tho he would wanna wait out that amount of time.. If you stocked it slowly and allowed time for everything to seed and balance out it should be fine.

A good filtration system is always important. What are your/ his stocking plans?
 
If he really wants to go cheap and have adequate live rock, he could always make his own. Most man-made rock averages out to about $0.25/lb. 80 lbs would cost about $20 and it would teach him patience as he waits for the rock to cure. That also gives him more time to save up for the lights and to help dear old dad pay the increased electric bill.
 
Heh, of COURSE it's a case of 'I want it now', he's 15 years old! ;)

Anyway, he is actually very good at fishkeeping, he's had a 75 gallon and a 55 gallon fresh water tanks for over a year now. He's got discus in the 75 gallon, he keeps up with the frequent water changes, the correct feeding, etc, so I think he'd be patient, for the most part. It's the cost part he doesn't get. I'm assuming the 1 to 2 pounds rule is still 'in effect' for a 'coral only' tank, even if that's made up of a lot of base rock, seeded with LR, with of course the 'patient' factor. Basically, I'm guessing the 'pounds per gallon' rule is the same for a coral only tank as it is for a fish only, or a 'full reef' tank. I'm also under no illusion that he wouldn't eventually (most likely sooner than later) want to add fish to the setup.
 
20/20... ROWLR... lol, now that's an interesting idea (maybe call it a COWLR; C=coral?). Honestly, I don't know if he is that far off the track by asking if he can use less LR. The reason we use LR, is, after all... because of it's ability to support denitrifying bacteria. Without fish in the tank, corals will contribute negligably to the nitrogen cycle (and some can consume nitrate through their zooxanthellae). So why not? I think he could be fine getting less rock than the usual, it's there more for aesthetics in a coral only tank. Most invertebrates put out hardly any ammonia waste products.

The problem as you pointed out, comes out more if he changes his mind later and can't stick with coral-only. I personally think a coral only tank would be pretty boring, little movement. Most nonreefing people, when they come over to look at the tank could care less about a lot of the corals I try so painstakingly to upkeep, and want to see the fish come out.
 
COWLR it is! :) Maybe a smaller amount of LR, with enough base rock for aesthetics. Not sure I want to tell him that, then he'll want to do it. And then after a while he'll want to add fish. And then he won't have enough money for more LR, skimmer, etc. And then he'll come to me begging for money. And then I'll say no. And then he'll whine and bug me and whine some more. And then I'll get mad...

Oh, the tangled webs we weave.... ;)
 
I would recommend that he try to do a bio-tope tank focusing on shallow sand dwelling species. I would use a DEEP DSB - like 8" maybe in orer to get the corral higher up in the tank and add some live sand and a small 10 lb chunk of live-rock to kick off the biological growth. Keeping several species of macro-algae in the tank would be interesting and also help to reduce nitrates, phosphates, etc. I think that it's feasible and would be a great learning experience if he is really interested in it.
 
Oops - forgot to explain that another reason for this is that species that dwell in shallow-water sand zones are generally much more tolerant of less than ideal water conditions.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6748273#post6748273 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 20 20
COWLR it is! :) Maybe a smaller amount of LR, with enough base rock for aesthetics. Not sure I want to tell him that, then he'll want to do it. And then after a while he'll want to add fish. And then he won't have enough money for more LR, skimmer, etc. And then he'll come to me begging for money. And then I'll say no. And then he'll whine and bug me and whine some more. And then I'll get mad...

Oh, the tangled webs we weave.... ;)
Click to expand...

When I was 16 years old I got my first job to pay for my reefing habit as a teenager. The LFS hired me on as a manager... actually it waS a pet store and I was put in charge of the fish dept... it was really cool because I got discounts on anything I wanted for my home tank. Also I could order stuff and if I couldn't afford it personally the store certainly could. That's how at 15 years old I had reefers 3 times my age jelous of me.... encourage your boy into getting a job at a LFS he'll appreciate his tank even more after working hard to earn the money himself.

KC
 
Hehe, thought this was 'over'. But, my boy made me show him this thread, so I dug it up. I figure, if he really does stick to 'COWLR', then maybe starting out with 20 lbs of live rock, with maybe 40-50 lbs of base rock. He doesn't really trust my judgement on this one (go figure), so, he wants me to ask the specific question...

How much LR is needed for a 55 gallon 'COWLR' tank, assuming he'd be using a 10 gallon sump w/mag 9 pump for return, a skimmer like the coralife 65 SuperSkimmer, and a couple of powerheads in the main tank.

There. I did it. I asked the specific 'how much' question. Maybe NOW he'll be happy... :p
 
His petience factor is going to dictate how much LR is needed. He could start off with 10-15 lbs of Live and 40 lbs of base, but he'll have to be VERY patient. With less patience, more live rock and less base.

Min. + 10 lbs of live

However he does it, make sure you end up with 55 lbs or so.
 
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