Live Rock

[Peculiar Clown]

Hi Guys,

I've been keeping fresh water tropicals for over a year now and I'm planning to start a reef in the near future. I've just bought a 60" x 18" x 30" (Approx 140 UK Gallons I think) tank and I have 2 questions about live rock.

1. How much do I need ?
2. Can I mix live rock with the ordinary marine rock ?

Thanks.

 

[SneakBetta]

You can get as much live rock as you want. If you only want a couple rocks go ahead. If you want a lot go ahead. I don't know the answer for question #2. sorry, I know more about freshwater tanks

 

[Great Lakes]

For a reef system, the rule of thumb is 1lb per gallon. However, there are many ways to accomplish this. You can use the dry "base" rock sold in stores as a skeletal start for your reef. Then you can add the live rock and it will "seed" your base rock thus turning into live rock. This way, your don't have to invest the money it would take to use all live rock.

As far as how much. As much as you can!! You will be shooting for having the tank full from top to bottom, and side to side. Leave about 6-8 inches of exposed sandbed in the front of the tank. Don't forget the 4" deep sand bed for a reef system. This will be your end result. The live rock is what you will depend on for natural filtration. So if you can't get it all at once, just remember to consider that your bio-load will be reduced, meaning fewer fish.

Also, don't forget crabs and snails. A mixed lot of at least a 100 to start.

Start searching for lighting also. A 30" deep tank will require some extreme lighting.

 

[Peculiar Clown]

Thanks GL, just the advice I was looking for.

 

[ostrow]

You can do the same with sand. Get crushed aragonite, or better yet southdown sand, and fill it to at least 4" deep, then find an established tank from a friend and get a cup of their sand and add it to yours. OR buy a pound of live sand from a store (I find this less preferable).

Try to do the same with the rock if you can. The coraline algae will cover it quickly enough.

GL, I don't have 75 snails/crabs in my tank. Is that why I'm having cyano problems? I get snails and the crabs that are in there gobble them up!

Oh well...

I think I have 1 emerald, about 7-8 turbos, maybe half a dozen nassarius, and a few bumblebee snails, a few cerith. Then about a dozen crabs of mixed variety ... black and white, red and blue hermits (the blues seem to have died off). So I have maybe 35 total. Think I need more

 

[Great Lakes]

Ostrow. Crabs and snails seem to be one of the perishable resources in the tank. But the experts all agree on the one per gallon rule.

The cyano bacteria seems to be part of the new tank syndrome. I had trouble with it for months! I just kept vacuuming it out, and it eventually disappeared. Just have to keep at it.

 

[ostrow]

If I keep vaccuuming pretty soon there won't be any sand left!!!

Guess I gotta buy more snails. I don't want to buy too many crabs ... do they reproduce in the tank? They just seem so destructive of the snails ... destroyed a Turbo yesterday. 3-on-1.

 

[Great Lakes]

Maybe you don't have enough crud for them to eat yet?

 

[Xenity7]

Depends how big the crabs are, my bluelegs never bother my turbos... Course my chaetodon auriga ate all the snails AND all the crabs but still.

Beware of buying normal rock to serve as a skeletal base for liverock. live rock is a coral skeleton, thus it has an ENOURMOUS amount of surface are for it's volume, imagine, the rock is made of of tiny chambers left by coral... that's alot of room for bacteria to grow. Regular rock has only it's outside surface area, don't use it for filtration, only decoration. It won't give near the denitrifying value that real liverock will

 

[ostrow]

That would be pretty hard to believe. This was an established tank, with all the rock and sand established. Just added some crabs. Oh well.

 

[Landlocked]

Not all live rock is made of coral skeletons. Some rock is limestone. The definition of live rock is any rock that has been underwater long enough so that it has picked up the necessary bacteria, as well as some plants and animals. Base live rock is rather uninteresting, but it has the necessary bacteria. Prime live rock is much better, but it runs between 7 and 9 dollars a pound.

The amount of live rock you put in is totally up to you. If you want to have a lot of swimming room for your fishes, don't get that much. If you want to build an entire reef, feel free to purchase quite a bit.