Live Rock

[Marty123]

Hi,

I have a 55Gal bow front tank. I have recently purchased approx 70lbs (30KG) of Live Rock. My LFS advised me to use a 4" base of Ocean Rock (Hard, dead stuff) and then build up with the LR. I have ended up using approx 60lbs of this stuff to form a decent base, so as not to kill the LR.

As you can guess my tank now looks very full!

Am I doing this correctly, or are there any better ways to form a decent base for the LR? I want to use al the LR I have, as it costs approx £10 ($20) a KG in the UK!

Cheers

Marty

 

[steve-s]

You wouldn't have "killed" the LR but the parts in contact with the sandbed would have ceased to grow coralline. The addition of the base rock isn't a bad idea and it definately saves on cost. You have quite a bit of rock overall. You might find it a bit too much and limit the space for fish but that's your choice. It really dpends on the density of the rock moreso than just total weight. A general loose rule of thumb is 1½-2 lbs/gal rock.

Cheers
Steve