Live Rock n00b question

[Ferret_Friend]

So, how much live rock should one have per every inch of fish. I know live rock is beneficial to a tank, but I don't really know a whole heck of a lot about it, nor how much is necessary or good for fish. So far, no major problems. My fish appear to be pretty healthy. Just curious.

 

[melosu58]

1.5-2 lbs per gallon are usually recommended. Read these.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-06/dw/index.php

http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/general.cfm?general_pagesid=293

 

[seaham358]

If your adding LR to an established tank with fish you need to make sure there is no die off on the LR during shipping. Die off can cause a cycle.

 

[Ferret_Friend]

My local Petco has plenty of cultured Live Rock that sits in the tanks for a while, so I'm not too worried about die-off. Up to 2 pounds per gallon huh? Is that per gallon in terms of tank capacity, or per gallon of water that's in there? Just checking, because the more live-rock I add, the more water that will get displaced.

 

[Scoot]

I've always gone by the measure 1 pound per gallon for fish only tanks, 1.75 to 2 pounds per gallon for mini-reefs. That's based on tank capacity I believe, it wouldn't be easy to calculate water displacement of LR because some of it is pretty pourous (sp?) unless you add it all at once.

I was running about 1 pound per gallon with only fish, with no mechanical filtration besides skimming, and had great luck.

YMMV.

 

[seaham358]

I use 1-2 per tank size/gallons not water in the tank. And there is not golden rule to follow, more is better but if you like the look of the tank with less then 2lb per gallon then go with less.

 

[chase33]

What type of setup and filtration do you have?

 

[melosu58]

Also it depends how heavy the LR is. The heavier the LR the less surface area and more LR you`ll need. If you have lightweight LR then you`ll have more surface area per pound thus needing less pounds of LR. HTH

 

[chase33]

Also it depends how heavy the LR is. The heavier the LR the less surface area and more LR you`ll need. If you have lightweight LR then you`ll have more surface area per pound thus needing less pounds of LR. HTH

Great point. Everyone always says 1 1/2 - 2 pounds per gallon but if the rock is light then your tank could have too much rock not leaving enough room for fish. Most of my rock is lightweight and if I put anymore in my tank I think it would be too much.

 

[ellisz]

Your bioload will play a part as well. 2lbs per gallon can be hard to do IMO. I felt like I was stuffed with rock in my 75. I try to keep as much as I can in the sump now ...

 

[Ziggy953]

Ellisz makes a good point...a smaller tank like a 55 or 75 will look crammed full of rock. I too went to moving more of my LR into my fuge so I can have more swim room for my fish. 1.5 to 2lbs per gallons is a good measure for bio-filtration.

 

[Ferret_Friend]

I can understand the overcrowding thing. Right now I have a 29 gallon with two fish in it, so it feels pretty empty, but I'm sure I could overcrowd it easily.