How do you get 1.5 lbs per gallon of live rock in?

[da_mob]

Ok, guys and gals. I've seen a lot of people that run 1 to 1.5 lbs of live rock per gallon. How do you get it all in your tank? I have a 75 in process of setting up. Have 30 lbs of dry rock, and was going to add 45 pounds of live rock. Live rock came in today, and had to pull out almost all of dry rock to get it all in tank. Do I just have really porus rock? I could get it all in, but it would cover almost every inch of my sand bed front to back and no, I don't have any room in the sump, although I do plan on putting some rubble in between baffles to help with micro bubbles.

Am I worrying over the 1 lb/gallon rule too much? I guess I just have really porus rock...

[AquariumKingdom]

What type of rock did you buy? You can never have to much rock, it provides excellent filtration and will only benefit your tank in the long run.

True in the end it will look like your entire tank is filled with it, so if you are after a more minimalistic look, I suggest re-doing your sump to hold the rock you do not want visible.

Otherwise I see you fast becoming an expert in rock scaping ...lol

[greech]

+1 to moving some to the sump if you can. You can have too much rock. If your flow is insufficient where the rock is (display tank, sump, refugium) to suspend most of the detritus that collects on rocks you can have nutrient issues.

The other thing to remember is that "rule of thumb" is most likely based on the weight of wet rock which is significantly more than dry porous rock.

[scarface70706]

What type of rock did you buy? You can never have to much rock

that is debatable. if you have too much rock you will create the same thing as what bio balls do to your system. excessive filtration is not key to a healthy reef tank.

i run 60lbs of live rock to my system (115gal) and i have a healthy tank and the water is spot on with my readings. best way to do it if your dt seams crowded put the rocks you dont like into your sump. if you dont have a sump you might want to return the excess rock. the only problem i have with my tank right now is a small amount of po4 but thats from me putting in too much fish food. other then that tanks filtration is fine.

[da_mob]

DT is definitely full, but still have good circulation everywhere, and I enjoy seeing my sand bed too much to cover it all. I could redo rockscape, but like the way I have plenty of caves for fish to swim through and hide in. I plan on moving some things around in my sump, and will try to fit as much of it as I can down there. Plus, I'll be putting some in my HOB refug when I get it put in. Never realized 45 pounds of rock would fill a 75G from bottom to top and cover 1/5 my sand bed. Had more pounds of rock in last time it was set up, and it didn't fill tank up like this. Porous rock is good from my understanding.

I ordered Fiji rock, but looks like a mixture of Fiji and some Tonga branch I think. When it arrived, it was two large styrofoam coolers loaded to the brim. I knew it was gonna be a lot of rock when I saw it was two boxes. I'll find some place in the sump to throw it all. Might be a good reason to set up a remote refugium.

[uncleof6]

How much rock you actually have in the tank, is a matter of personal taste, and the aquascape. The rule of thumb was "made up" by those trying to sell rock. There is no basis, from research, for it. Bacteria colonize every surface exposed to the water, so there is rarely a lack of "space" for them. Once the rock is covered with coralline, with numerous corals and what have you stuck to them, and the pores are plugged up by these things, and bacterial excretions, there is little room for bacteria anyway. Rock rubble in the sump, is just the same as putting bio balls in the sump. Just an experienced opinion on the matter. One thing that is sort of important, is not having rock within 3 - 4" of the tank walls, this insures water circulation all around the rock.

[da_mob]

That makes me feel a bit better. I've been looking at tank all night, and to me, it has too much rock in it. Basically just a wall with no....artistry, I guess is the word. Not really what I was thinking of, but my limited vocabulary doesn't quite know the right word. Might pull some of the dry rock back out. I'm sure I'll prob be re-scaping a few times before fish and coral start going in. I don't want just a wall of rock, but rather something with a little personality. It wouldn't hurt for rock to come out for 10 minutes or so while moving stuff around would it?

I have a bit of rubble, and what doesn't go in refuge, I was planning on putting between baffles in sump. Figure that would ensure excellent flow and help with microbubbles some.

[aleonn]

I had 1.5 lbs/gallon for a 180 gal tank, and it was way too much rock. I sold off a lot of it, and moved a lot to the refugium. I'm probably at the 1 lb/gallon mark with good bio-filtration and better aqua-scaping aesthetics.

[ken1977]

pict. please!

[SoLiD]

:confused: ^^^ What Ken said... This thread needs pictures to identify what rock is actually going in there... :rolleye1: Could be limestone for all we know.

[rAzOr714]

+1 I had over a lb per gal in my 90
Sold a lot as it was WAY to much rock





*rAzOr*

[Jerry W]

LR is great for biofiltration, however with supplemental filtration you can certainly get by with less. I also started out with around 150 lbs of it in my 120 and eventually pared it down to under 100 lbs. Wall formations can restrict flow and contribute to dead zones. If you're keeping larger fish that need a lot of open space, having too much rock can be a hindrance. Go with what looks nice and add the rest to your sump. You can always rearrange it down the road (add/subtract). IMO, the 1.5 rule is over-emphasized.

[gmate]

Depends on the tank. In my 55g corner bowfront I am able to keep almost 80lbs of live rock with no problem and four inches of sandbed infront of the whole tank.

[da_mob]

OK, Never posted pics before, and had to use cell phone, which turns out horrible pics, but here ya go...

[da_mob]

Rock came from Premium Aquatics, and as you can tell, having a small lighting issue right now, but that will be addressed on Monday. I'm gonna have to get a better camera, as this cellphone just isn't gonna cut it.

[Sport507]

OK, Never posted pics before, and had to use cell phone, which turns out horrible pics, but here ya go...

1-2 lbs of live rock is a rule of thumb not a Federal Law. What you have in that tank right now is more and sufficient to take care of the biological filtration with proper circulation. Your rock is very porous and will serve you well.

I used rock from Premium Aquatics as well, they are only about 45 minutes from me so I went and picked mine out by hand. They do a great job of picking quality LR for there customers and package it very well.

[errattiq]

Size is everything when it comes to rock. If you can, break some large pieces into smaller ones. I usually find that is the key when trying to make them all fit together in a smaller footprint in the display

[Saltydrip]

Hmmm. I was Just going to ipload and share my tank but I think ill wait!! Lol. I have another 20 lbs of big tall stuff coming next weekend.
Most of my current rock is on the small stuff even though it's about 35lbs in my 55g it really doesn't look it. The rock my LFS is selling me from one of his home tanks and is big stackable stuff. These threads get me all excited!! Lol