Too much LR?

[lmsmith]

I filled my tank today and added my 1 tiny peice of LR, that's covered in diatoms.

The tank is about 200L. According to the 1 - 1.5lb per gallon rule, I should have around 25 - 35kg of LR.

My tank is only going to have fish right now (2 puffer fish) and they like lots of hidey holes. So, the question is, can I have too much LR? Will it cause major biological issues, or is too much LR mainly an issue for space for growing corals?

 

[kzickovich]

as long as it don't restrict flow your ok. you don't want food getting traped behind rocks flow is the key

 

[GW81]

the biggest problem with too much LR is it can start to create dead spots in your tank. These are areas where the flow rarely gets and everything starts to settle. A very experienced reefer once told me the rule that i follow today. You want as few rocks touching the bottom as you can. Get a few large ones to be the foundation, and then pile up from there.

 

[thegrun]

For a fish only tank, the other limitation to how much LR is keeping open areas for the fish to swim.

 

[drummereef]

lmsmith,


[welcome]

 

[firsthesitation]

Best rule of thumb is put as much in as you think looks right. If you feel like you HAVE To put too much in you'll probly end up trying to figure out a way to use it all and won't like your aquascape.

 

[1602reefer]

IMHO, I never think you can have too much live rock as long as you have enough flow to take out the dead/ anoxic zones. You could potentially have live rock all the way up to the surface, but then if you want coral you are limited on space for their growth. More live rock will also help immensely with your water quality but also with a lot you are going to need a good skimmer to take out all the broke down waste from it. It's really up to you, i would just stick to the rule you mentioned, 1-1.5 lbs per gallon but you can always add a little more if you don't like what that gives you.

 

[lmsmith]

Thanks guys. Expect some aquascaping pics to follow, I get my rock this week. I'm so excited!