Newbe question on live rock

[mgnum21]

What's going on? I am new to this great hobby and am impressed with this great forum. I had a question about adding live rock to my FO tank. I just finish cycling the tank. It is a 30 gallon, with bio-wheel filtration, and protein skimmer. Right now there is some ornamental dead coral and barnacle. I wanted to keep some of these ornamental decorations and add about 10-15 lbs of live rock. All the posts I have read have suggested between a 1.5 - 4 pounds of LR per gallon ratio. Is this just for biological filration benefits or is there some other underlying principle? I plan on having a non-aggressive community tank. Any help appreciated.

Thanks,
Tony

 

[jackdp]

Hi and welcome. 1.5-2.5 lbs is what most people have in their tanks. These numbers are a guideline for the amount of LR that will provide ample surface area for biological filtration to take place on. LR is very porous and provides lots of surface area for nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria to grow. These bacteria are what process the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates in your tank. You can use the rock just for ornamental purposes as you're suggesting but in the long run if you put 30-40lbs in your tank you could shut down that biowheel, add some powerheads for flow and enjoy maintanence free biofiltration. You don't need to add it all at once, just add as you wish until you feel you have enough. Not having 1.5-2.5 lbs won't hurt the tank but having it would definitely be beneficial. HTH

 

[mgnum21]

Thanks, that is the info I was looking for, appreciate it!

 

[reefrunner69]

to AquariumAdvice.com!!

The minimum for biological filtration is 1-2 lbs per gallon, you can have as much as it will hold, or as little as you want, just know that you may still need that emperor.

FWIW, your better off to use LR as your biological filter, it will maintain better water quality than the filter