My tank looks empty, some advice needed

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

scubasteve

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Jul 29, 2003
Messages
186
Location
New Jersey
Hey everyone,
I have a 72g fish only tank with 2 clowns, 2 blue devils, a yellow tailed blu damsel, and a flame angelfish and it just looks real empty to me. Do most people add live rock in to make it look like a 'real ' aquarium, i have 3 fake rocks but in comparison to the almost 2ft tall tank there only half the height and maybe a foot long. Does anyone have any ideas on how i can make it look better? im not sure if adding live rock would be good now that i have fish in it already.
 
im not sure if adding live rock would be good now that i have fish in it already.

FWIW, you can cure LR in a rubbermaid garbage can or rubbermaid tubs (I prefer the tubs because of the surface are compared to volume ratio) and once it is cured add it to the tank. That is what I would do, if it just a FO tank you can use dry base rock like rock from www.hirocks.com to add to the tank and it won't need to be cured.
 
I agree, rock would make the difference. You may also want to think about adding bubbles (air stone). It might create some interest.
 
I wouldn't use the bubbles, will make a lot of salt creep. If it is to be FO, base rock makes sense. Maybe even drop a couple of peices of LR on top to seed and it will all eventually become live. But just for looks, put some well rinsed base rock in and that should give you a nice bit of cover.

PS

The angel will LOVE all the new hiding spots to swim around!

:hat:
 
you think the base rock would look pretty good then, thats kind of what i was looking for, i dont really need the live rock or afford alot of it.
How many lbs do you think i would need for a 72 gallon tank, would 30 be enough?
 
The rule of thumb for live rock is 1-1.5 times the volume of the tank. Example, a 72g tank should have between 72-108lbs of live rock. Since you want to add base rock, I would suggest adding no more than 72 lbs (or as much as you can afford). You can always add more dry rock later. By only adding up to 72 lbs, you leave room to add Live rock later.

I would also suggest that you add a bit of live rock. If you can afford it, it will greatly increase the amount of filtration that your tank receives. (Very good for water quality) When mixing base and live rock, the ratio I've heard is 60% base and 40% live rock is the limit. Obviously, you can go 50-50 or 20-80 just not less than 40% live rock. I'm not sure I agree with this rule though. I figure, anything is better than nothing; so (in my opinion) if all you can afford to do 90% dry and 10% Live, then do it.

I kinda got off topic, but I hope that helps. I agree base rock will really make it look good. The Live rock will make it look even better because it will start to make your base rock turn red, pink, purple and green.
 
I agree with pm64971, adding any LR at all will be beneficial. Creatures that come on the LR will eventually multiply and spread to the base rock. If you only have a small amount of LR it will just take longer but will still work. I'd buy the base rock and then whatever else you can afford, even if only a few pounds buy some LR.
 
thanks,
this hobby is great, i needed sumthin to spend money on and keep me busy, this winter when im off for a month from college i think im gonna work on it alot, maybe ill order the base rock soon, im thinking 60 lbs should be good.
One more question w/ regard to the live rock, does it require special lighting like corals do or will the regular lights i have be ok
 
Add more fish, there's plenty of room. Maybe a Yellow or Kole Tang, Blennies, Gobies, Dottybacks. Maybe a red Serpent Star, Cleaner Shrimps. The choices are endless. Just check compatibility and most importantly don't overcrowd. Also, if you stick to smaller species, the more you can have.
 
1 inch per gallon rule??

how accurate is the 1 inch of fish per gallon rule, like im making up a list of possible fish to get and it adds up to around 35 inches of fish( i was generous in the estimating, picking the upper size limit of the fish when calculating), in a 72 gallon tank is this too much? how about if i add rock to the tank, does the number of fish decrease?
 
Back
Top Bottom