rock.. how much is too much

[heath]

Need suggestions, I have a 90 gal tank and I was wondering how much rock I should have in the tank. I'm new and getting conflicting/confusing  info, I've been told that the rule of thumb is 1lb per gal. I have about 60lbs now and I want to add more.
Any suggestions,
Heath 

 

[reeffreak]

1-1.5 lb per gallon of water or you can have 75 lb in display and the rest packed in sump all depends how you want to aquascape it .HTH

 

[heath]

thanks, thats what I was thinking after doing my homework.

 

[spyd]

Rule of thumb is 1 to 1 1/2 if fish only and 1 1/2 - 2 x for fish and corals. Saying that, 2 lbs per gallon is a lot in a tank!!! You can get a way with 1 1/2 lbs easily for corals IMO. If you run bio-pellets you can cut down the amount of live rock in the entire system down quite drastically as well. 60lbs and bio-pellets would probably be enough to handle everything. Or 90lbs of live rock with 75 or so in the display and the rest in the sump as mentioned. Lots of options. 

 

[Poseidon]

on a bit of a different note.. im starting to think that we shouldn't measure rock per pound.. because i have some pieces that weigh a ton, and i have bigger pieces then them that weigh less... meaning they are more porous obviously, which also means they can carry/house more bacteria, meaning that the lighter, more porous piece of rock would be better than the heavier one....
just my 2 cents

 

[Salty Cracker]

Can a DSB supplement a lot of rock?  Thoughts?

 

[reeffreak]

on a bit of a different note.. im starting to think that we shouldn't measure rock per pound.. because i have some pieces that weigh a ton, and i have bigger pieces then them that weigh less... meaning they are more porous obviously, which also means they can carry/house more bacteria, meaning that the lighter, more porous piece of rock would be better than the heavier one....
just my 2 cents

Problem with this is the light rocks are usually smaller and for someone who doesnt just want to pile a bunch of small rock together this wouldnt work . I would prefer 3 big rocks then 15 little ones. to make the same kinda aquascape .

 

[reeffreak]

salty heres a link to check out , not sure if it answers your question exactly but theres good info in it on the topic.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2009-04/newbie/index.php

 

[Salty Cracker]

salty heres a link to check out , not sure if it answers your question exactly but theres good info in it on the topic.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2009-04/newbie/index.php

Interesting article, oddly enough I agree 100% with the whole thing, but have been guilty of believing almost all the myths over the years.  As BILL would say, "it's unfortunate that it took me so long to figure out basic water parameters".  What wasn't said was that the LFS are usually the source of almost all the myths.  Shelves and shelves of additives, potions and concoctions, it's a wonder that anyone ever figures out 'basic water parameters'.  If I asked 'do I need to add the trace elements you have for sale there for $25 a bottle?'  Who is going to tell me "no just do water changes, you don't need that stuff".  That's why I like that we trade so much info on boards like this... good for the hobbyist, not as good for the snake oil salesmen

 

[spyd]

on a bit of a different note.. im starting to think that we shouldn't measure rock per pound.. because i have some pieces that weigh a ton, and i have bigger pieces then them that weigh less... meaning they are more porous obviously, which also means they can carry/house more bacteria, meaning that the lighter, more porous piece of rock would be better than the heavier one....
just my 2 cents

It is true. More porous rock will allow more space for nitrifying bacteria. So with a basic setup, you can say 1 1/2 lbs / gallon is good if you are using premium indo rock (very porous and light weight), etc. where you may want to look at 2 lbs / gallon if you were using fiji rock (less porous and heavier).

 

[Darryl_V]

To a certain extent....who cares how many pounds.......does it look nice, will it support and display the corals well?  With all the tools we have today you can get away with less rock than in the past IMO......

 

[reeffreak]

To a certain extent....who cares how many pounds.......does it look nice, will it support and display the corals well?  With all the tools we have today you can get away with less rock than in the past IMO......

I agree here .... I have 85 lbs in my display which is 75 gallons not because Im cheap and caant afford to fill it full but because I like the clean look and leave more room for coral grow out .  So i have under 1 lb per gal total system volume is 100 gallons.

 

[dale]

you cant affooord it, you cant affoooord it......... lol

 

[reeffreak]

shhh ... dont tell anyone  8)

 

[spyd]

I agree. I have about 150 lbs of rock in my 180G tank. Running bio-pellets though. I was just saying in a very basic setup where you are relying heavily on the rock acting as the main filtration then the rule of thumb would come into play more so.

 

[TORX]

No such thing as too much ROCK!!! :metal:

 

[Darryl_V]

I agree. I have about 150 lbs of rock in my 180G tank. Running bio-pellets though. I was just saying in a very basic setup where you are relying heavily on the rock acting as the main filtration then the rule of thumb would come into play more so.

i agree...it depends on how much you want to rely on your live rock to process nutrients.  On the flip side i do think too much live rock can become a hindrance to the health of the system as well....particularly in tanks with lower flow and aquarists who dont keep their rock clean.

 

[AdInfinitum]

Can a DSB supplement a lot of rock?  Thoughts?

I have a separate section of my sump with 8" of sand in it and very low flow-through.  The water leaving that section consistently measures much lower in nitrates than anywhere else in the system.  I recently removed about 90# of rock and put a tote full beside the sump with similar low flow (plus additional circulation in the tote to prevent detritus build-up). Effluent from that section consistently reads the same as the system in general.

Based on this I am going to devote more space in the new sump system to DSB than I will to rock...  More thoughts?