Live Rock Question

[jeffmuse]

I will soon be starting my first reef tank and I am planning on going with a 60 gallon setup with a 4 inch sand bed (live sand and substrate). After much research, I have seen some conflicting information on the amount of live rock that is necessary for adequate filtration. I have seen numbers that range from one pound per gallon to two pounds per gallon.

I am planning on building my tank around Indo-Pacific corals and fishes, so I was leaning towards Fiji live rock. What is everyone's opinion of this type of live rock... does this tend to be a good choice?

Also, what are your thoughts on the "un-cured" live rock? It seems like it is a lot cheaper to buy, but wanted to know if it is worth the money to buy already cured rock?

I appreciate any feedback that you guys have to offer!



Jeff

 

[grouper therapy]

The amount of rock used depends on the setup of the rest of you filteration,bio load, aquascaping and how porous the rock is. Uncured rock is fine and cheaper ,it just takes longer to establish generally speaking. I have a little Figi and I like it. 1 to 2 pounds per gallon is the range although broad is a good gauge. I have seen tanks with as little as 1 pound per 5 gallons and some with 5 pounds per gallon. I would guess 1.5 pounds is the average .

 

[1percula]

Make sure that you get a cabinet that gives you at least 26 inches of clearance on the inside. I have found that anything less than 26 inches will limit the number of skimmers that will fit inside of the stand.

 

[zesty]

Hi Jeff,

Depending on where you are going to get your live rock from, dont forget to consider that if you buying cured rock, that anytime its not in circulation, contained in water, and temperature is not maintained, yoru going to get some decay, and thus its going to require some level of curing.

Unless your going from tank to tank within a very short period, I would always recommend some level of curing.

Setting up a new tank makes it a lot easier as you can always check for the cycle and Algea cycle to complete before entering any corals and live species.

 

[tokejr]

Hi Jeff,

Welcome to ARC and the world of reefkeeping.

Once you put living creatures (corals, invertebrates and fish) into your tank, they produce harmful chemicals in the water. All inanimate objects in the tank eventually colonize bacteria which help to minimize the natural chemistry in a closed system like our aquariums.

The biological colonies on the rock and other objects in the tank help to convert those harmful chemicals into less harmful ones.

So, "uncured" rock has no established biological colonies. Cured rock has been in a system long enough to establish them. As each phase of the cycle is reached, chemicals in the water reach numbers that can be deadly to animals in the tank.

Some people combine uncured "base" rock with cured rock in the tank to save money. Eventually, the uncured rock will develop those beneficial colonies.

An aquarium without cured live rock should not be populated until the natural cycle has created the beneficial bacteria. That means you'll be looking at an empty tank of sand, water and rock for somewhere around 6 to 13 weeks.

Hope this helps.

 

[oldschool52]

I agree with the above posts, it's pretty much what you want it to look like. 1 to 2 lbs of rock/gal is a good average. The more rock, especially if cured, will cycle your tank quickly. I put about 50-60 lbs of cured rock from an ARC member who had it in his tank for over 3 years to sart with in a 72g bow front. The tank cycled in 1 week. I have since added about 20 more pounds. Years ago, about 25 yrs ago, I cycled a 75g tank with crushed coral bottom and HOB filter w/undergravel and 4 damsels. Tank took 13 weeks to cycle. We've come a long way since then.

 

[zdaytonaroadster]

tokejr;341988 wrote: Hi Jeff,


Some people combine uncured "base" rock with cured rock in the tank to save money. Eventually, the uncured rock will develop those beneficial colonies.

This is what i did, and works great if your on a budget and can wait. I did this to my roomates 20 gallon nano and it only took about 30 days to cure, with 5 lbs of 'semi-cured' live rock and 15 lbs of base rock

Now all his tank rock has coraline algea on it and lots of copedpods and such, he's already added coral and a few fish after just 3 months, no problems

 

[jeffmuse]

I appreciate the feedback on the stand size... being that I am still in the planning phase of my reef tank build and have never done this before, I find it mind boggling how I am going to fit everything under the display tank!

A taller stand is defiantly a good call being that the foot-print of my tank is not very wide (65 gallon 36x18x24).

 

[jeffmuse]

Zesty, you make a good point... being that this will be a brand new build, I do have the luxury of being able to take my time letting the rock cure. There is a pretty substantial difference in cost between the cured rock and uncured, and being that I have the luxury of time... it may be worthwhile to go with at least a portion uncured rock to start off.

I appreciate the feedback!

 

[tokejr]

One more comment about the rock........

I see a lot of newbies buy tons of rock, put it in the tank, then take half of it out.

That's because putting all that rock in your tank ends up looking like a bulldozer just dumped it in there - it looks like a tank full of rocks, not like a reef. Not to mention, there's no swimming room left for the fish.

Put in a little bit of cured rock to get your tank cycling, then take your time shopping for the "right" pieces to fill in the caves and aquascape. Look at pictures of a live reef and other tanks to get an idea of the look and feel you're going for.

Remember that your fish and corals will need lots of overhang and "shelves" in the tank.

 

[oldschool52]

Take your time placing rock and aquascaping your tank. I've seen many tanks with beautiful critters and corals only to have, in my opinion, rock piled up in a mound towards the back of the tank from the bottom to the top. If you like that look good for you. I personnally think a tank that you take the time to actually place the rocks in interesting configurations just adds to the look of your aquarium and enhances your corals and critters. I personnally like caves, hiding places for fish and inverts, swimming room with archways and different levels of rocks. Just my opinion.

 

[jennm]

I wouldn't do a 4" sand bed. 3/4" to 1" is plenty AFTER the rock is set on the bare glass (prevents avalanches down the road).

I wouldn't worry about the numbers either - choose the rock based on your aquascaping desires. Rock varies in its density depending on where it originates, and sometimes "large" rocks are relatively light (ie Marshall rock, when we could get it - there's still some traded in Marshall out and about), versus Caribbean rock that is very dense and heavy. Go for the look, and functionality (ie caves, ledges etc.) not the number of pounds.

You'll save a lot of money and headaches that way.

Jenn

 

[jeffmuse]

Awesome advice! I have always envisioned buying 90 lbs of rock and aqua-scaping right away... you are right about buying the right kind of rock.

When I look at a nice looking reef tank I always admire how people do the aqua-scaping and make the tank look like a "true reef." I appreciate your point about finding the right rock to make the reef look as authentic as possible.

Good points everyone, thank you for the feedback!



Jeff