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Emmanuel.dam
03/24/2013, 08:09 PM
I'm gonna buy some rock very soon and I have about a 400L system inc sump? What is the usual ratio?


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gone fishin
03/24/2013, 08:26 PM
I'm gonna buy some rock very soon and I have about a 400L system inc sump? What is the usual ratio?


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the rule of thumb is 1 to 1.5 pounds per gallon. However take into consideration how porous the rock is you are looking at. More porous the rock the lighter it is. just my 2 cents. Oh sorry I was to lazy to convert kilos to liters.

Emmanuel.dam
03/24/2013, 09:04 PM
Can you have too much live rock?


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Emmanuel.dam
03/24/2013, 09:05 PM
Can I setup a new tank with sea water and cured live rock?


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eacosta
03/24/2013, 10:10 PM
Typically you want 1-1.5lbs of rock per gallon. You can have more rock, but just remember that the more rock you have, the more water is displaced. Although ~100g is a pretty good setup. How big is the main tank and sump?

Have you considered starting with dry rock and then adding about 10% live rock? It will save you a lot of money, but will take longer to cycle the tank. A worthwhile trade off if you ask me. For example,dry rock goes for about $2/lb whereas live rock goes from $7lb-$9/lb at my lfs. Cured live rock will allow you to cycle much faster, but at a much higher cost.

Not sure what you mean by sea water. Are you getting water from the ocean or do you mean using a salt mix?

Emmanuel.dam
03/24/2013, 10:18 PM
I can get cured for 10$ per kg at my lfs, my tank all is around 400L


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alexander_ktn
03/25/2013, 04:42 AM
I personally would not give too much about numbers with live rock. Try to make an aquascape you like, no matter if it takes significantly more or less live rock than "usual".

I helped set up a now well stocked 400 gallon tank that only has about 100 pounds of live rock in it (nice, open aquascape) and it consistently has zero measurable phosphates or nitrates so that the owner has to feed a ton only to prevent the corals from getting too pale.
My tank also has much less live rock than the 1lb/g ratio, since I like open scapes.

I do not say that the rule of thumb is a bad one, I just wanted to throw out there that it is more important that you are happy with the way your tank looks like.

Emmanuel.dam
03/25/2013, 04:56 AM
Thank you for that :-D I'm kinda the same :-) but I just want a nice looking scape


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Dozer1one
03/25/2013, 05:11 AM
The future of your biological system is based around the amount of live rock that you have that can hold the biological so although people have gotten away with less than needed I would not recommend it the 2 most important things in this hobby is 1 are you happy with the system you have built 2 can your system handle the amount of fish and other livestock that you would like to put in it without having a sufficient amount of live rock told the necessary biologics for the breakdown process known as cycling will greatly limit the amount of livestock you can put in your system

Emmanuel.dam
03/25/2013, 05:13 AM
Mmm true soo much to think about :-)


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Dozer1one
03/25/2013, 05:20 AM
Also there is no limit to the amount of live rock you can put in there In my 120 gallon tank I have 200 + pounds in a direct tank and another 40 + in my sump I decided to put that much in there because I want to be able to have choices of fish and inverts that I can introduce into my system at a later point you never know when you're going to change your mind about the type of system or the type of fish you have in your system you can of course start your system with a minimal amount of live rock and little by little build up to the amount that your system will require I mean let's be real nobody is made of money and I know this is an expensive hobby but if not done correctly it can be much more expensive than it needs to be

alexander_ktn
03/25/2013, 05:22 AM
This is overly simplified. Your whole tank is a biological filter. Your sand, your live rock, any surface really.

Look at the threads with people having nitrate and phosphate problems - and you will notice that it is not dependent on the amount of live rock. If it was a shortage in living space for bacteria that causes nutrient issues people could not get away with carbon dosing (vinegar, glucose, vodka) - it would do nothing or lead to an immediate bacterial bloom.

Also there is no limit to the amount of live rock you can put in there
Well, there's the volume of the tank ;)