How much live rock?

[dileggi]

I was hoping that someone may be able to answer a fairly basic question. How much live rock should be used in a BC29? I've had people tell me, 1 LB of rock to gallon of water, 2-3 LB of rock per gallon of water and last, whatever you like.

I'm thinking if I followed the 2-3 lb of liver rock per gallon of water my BIo Cube would then turn into a 60-90 LB of DEAD ROCK from the lack of water in the tank! Haha!

Anyway, I currently have about 15 LB of rock in the tank now, and it's a 29g. Any suggestions on the amount that I should shoot for would be greatly appreciated!


Thansk!
Eric

[cd77]

Usually I read to factor in sand to when figuring how much LR for good filtration. Don't think I've read more than 2 though -- If you find the right pieces, I think another 15lbs wouldn't hurt. If you're happy with your tank and it's doing well though, then don't bother. IMO, if you have any fish/coral in the tank, add only fully cured LR.

[dileggi]

Thanks Chris. It seems hard to tell if everything is doing well. Nothing has died, so I would assume it's doing well and my water parameters seem to be fine.

I wasn't aware that the sand bed or the inhabitants of the tank would affect how much was needed, so I didn't even think of including that.

I have 30LB of live sand, which gives me a sand bed of about 1-1.5 inches. 15 LB of live rock, 2 green chromis and 3 turbo snails.

The tank has only had the rock, fish and snails in it for about 2 weeks at most, so it's still very new.

Thanks!

[cd77]

Any pictures?

[dileggi]

No pictures yet. I never even thought of doing so. Would that help? If so, I could get some on here.

Eric

[cd77]

Probably not -- I just like looking at tank pics! :)

[rogergolf66]

a min of 1LBS/gallon is recommended for good filtration, but yes your sand bed will also have good bacteria to filter your water. I would recommend a few more peices if it was me, but as of right now you bio load is very low with the fish you have so you should be fine. do you have a biowheel? If you don't and you don't want more rock I would look into a biowheel.

Roger

[Roger928]

It's not an issue of pounds per gal., but rather an issue of rock density. With more porus rock, you'll need less to achieve the desired filtering capacity than with the higher density rock. Pacific rock, Fiji, Marshall Islands, etc... will serve you better than Tonga branch or shelf. Though those can look great as part of your aquascaping.

[Playa-1]

It's usually recommended to start with around 1lb per gallon and go from there. Give or take a little to you preference.

[dileggi]

Thanks to everyone that has answered. I really appreciate all the help and feedback.

To answer some of the questions that were posed. First, Roger, I do not have a bio-wheel. But, the BioCube did come with the bio-balls, which I'm assuming serve the same purpose.

Secondly to Roger928, I believe that my rock is very porous! The 15lb that I have at this point is completely Fiji.