How much rock is enough.

[Skynite]

Just finished aquascaping my dry rocks. Will begin cycling the rocks in a brute container to start the process while I wait for my 100 gallon, 48 x 23.5 inch tank, to show up. After finishing my aquascaping, I found out that there is an actual ratio of rocks to gallons in a tank to sustain a healthy level of bacteria. 1.5lbs per gallon, is this accurate? I haven't weighed my rocks but it feels like about 50 lbs which would mean I am way below the ratio. Do I need to concern myself with this ratio. Pictures attached, cardboard cutout illustrates the boundaries of my tank not the black pen mark.

thx.

 

[garethwood]

you can adjust this ratio with mechanical filtration, alot of people are reducing the amount of lr in the dt to aid flow and create more aesthetic scapes, by adding sioprax in the sump.. apparently it works better than lr when space is limited.. never used it personally and run no mechanical filters so cant say?

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

[mcgyvr]

Thats really a "generic recommendation"... I've seen from 1-2lbs on average thrown out there...

Its really about surface area, anaerobic area, etc... which is impossibly to measure/quantify here and varies differently based on rock density/porosity,etc...

So basically don't concern yourself with that number...But in general "more" should be better but that also means less water volume, potential for more stagnant areas,etc..

Go with what you like visually for the most part..

 

[Munster49]

Cool scape! :thumbsup: You could always add rock to the sump.

 

[LX20000]

I put pukani rock in my tank, which is very very porous and has many openings and crevices, and I only need 23 lbs in a 40 cube to feel like I had plenty of rock... rock density really throws this number off.

If you get pukani, you will likely NOT need more than 1 lb per gallon.

It's not so much mass of rock you need, but surface area of rock... what type of rock did you get ?

 

[ryeguyy84]

I wanted a minimalist look so I added a big block of marinepure in the sump to supplement. so far so good.

 

[bbgobie]

I think a lot of those recommendations were based on wet rock as well.

 

[nereefpat]

The 1-2 lb/gallon is an old school recommendation, and I believe that was for wet live rock. Nothing wrong with old school (proven) methods, but in this case it's overkill.

Rock work looks great, btw, although maybe a little too symmetrical. just my opinion.

Edit: bbgobie beat me to one of my points.

 

[ReeferNoob4ever]

I ended up with 1.5lbs of wet live rock per gallon by accident. I can tell you at this point it's working out great. My nitrates reduce themselves without the assist of a water change!

Make it to your liking and good luck!

 

[Kaimana969]

Not meaning to hijack your thread but should you aquascape the rock first before curing it? Does it help maintain the bacteria with the rock not drying out?

 

[ReeferNoob4ever]

Mine are still curing in there now. I threw it in wet and chunky. But that's just me. My cycle had gone well thus far. I have a shrimp, two snails, and a tiny zebra chromis in there after 2 weeks.

 

[monkeysee1]

I wanted a minimalist look

Good for you! Less rocks = less B.S. = more aesthetically pleasing = more room for fish = HAPPIER fish!

 

[Skynite]

you can adjust this ratio with mechanical filtration, alot of people are reducing the amount of lr in the dt to aid flow and create more aesthetic scapes, by adding sioprax in the sump.. apparently it works better than lr when space is limited.. never used it personally and run no mechanical filters so cant say?

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

what do you mean by mechanical filters? Is Siporax considered a mechanical filter?

 

[Skynite]

I put pukani rock in my tank, which is very very porous and has many openings and crevices, and I only need 23 lbs in a 40 cube to feel like I had plenty of rock... rock density really throws this number off.

If you get pukani, you will likely NOT need more than 1 lb per gallon.

It's not so much mass of rock you need, but surface area of rock... what type of rock did you get ?

Fiji rock on the left structure and Pukani on the right.

 

[Skynite]

I too like the minimalist look, more space for the fish to swim.

 

[Skynite]

Not meaning to hijack your thread but should you aquascape the rock first before curing it? Does it help maintain the bacteria with the rock not drying out?

I would think its easier to aquascape first when its dry and easier to clue things together.

 

[ca1ore]

All the pounds per gallon rules of thumb are useless. Use them if it makes you feel better of course, but the wide range of rock types and porosity makes them kind of silly if you think about it. Just use as much rock as you need to achieve the aquascape you desire. The overwhelming probability is it will provide the necessary bio filtration.

 

[jam.jo]

You can deviate from the normal 2 lbs per gallon of water theory. I use less rock in my display and use marine pure blocks in my sump to give more surface area for bacteria to grow. More room for fish to swim