liverock/baserock ratio ?

[Cesspool]

hello im intrested in setting up a reef tank, and was curious to know wat is a good ratio for live rock and base rock. i am familar wit keeping sw fish but kno very little when it comes to becoming a reefer. as i wont have a perminate place of residence till may i figure id try be better prepared and try not too kill n e of my new pets for wen i do set it up. (its also nice to have a decent idea of how much loot all this would leech out of my wallet b4 i take the big dive).

tnx

 

[steve-s]

I would say there is no real concensus on what the best ratio is. Keep in mind that the more LR and if possible from different regions, the more biodiversity you will get. That said though, I would not go beyond 80% base - 20% LR.


Cheers
Steve

 

[Cesspool]

sweet, tnx for da reply. i was actually considerin 75%/25% live/base wit at least 2 diff types of lr. just curious but how long would it take for da base rock to become lr? im assuming its ganna vary but figure it will b a few months?

peace

 

[steve-s]

It will vary yes but will progress at different rates for different items. Small fauna and bacteria should colonize the base rock to some degree in a few short weeks. The coralline and other external items might take 4-8 months before you see anything significant. Just remember that depending on your systems health, the tank could progress slower or faster to some degree.

Cheers
Steve