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View Full Version : How much live rock versus base rock?


Pete Harcoff
03/02/2006, 08:01 AM
Just wondering what a good ratio of base rock versus live rock would be in setting up a reef?

stingers81
03/02/2006, 08:34 AM
It more depends on how much money you have

I know people that started with 90% base and 10% LR
As long as you introduce some life to your tank then it will seed your rocks...it will take some time but your base rock will look just like your live rock after a while

wvdiscus
03/02/2006, 10:44 AM
I did the 90% base to 10%LR, and it does take a long time. I started back in Nov '05 and I just now have about 1/3 coverage of coralline algae over the base rock. I guess if you don't have patience or just like the look, go with more LR than BR. Just my opinion.

YoungReefer
03/02/2006, 10:52 AM
Personally I went 75%LR and 25%BR just because I just needed enough base to hold my life rocks up. You don't want to use lr as base because it's a waste of money so you need enough lr to cover your base if you have the money.

Serioussnaps
03/02/2006, 03:38 PM
How big is the tank if the tank isnt extraordinarily large why not just go with all premium live rock?

YoungReefer
03/02/2006, 03:58 PM
Ya if you plan on turning your fw tank over you could go with a box of premium lr from a web site for about 50-80 bucks.....

sequential
03/02/2006, 05:26 PM
I did about 50% LR and 50% base rock to start. Unfortunately, my LR was low quality, as in zero coraline algae. After two years, my LR had simply become a dark, ugly brown or grey.

Then I purchased 20 lbs, in three different pieces, of LR. In a week, I had the beginnings of coralline growth and color started to come back after a little die off. About a month later I added a second 20 lbs of LR to another tank and the same thing happened. I also use B-Ionic to keep my calcium between 400 and 450. All of my rock has early coralline algae growth, but it's still early in the cycle.

It is my advice that you consider how patient you are versus how much or little money you have. If you have no patience, demand immediate results, and a large budget, consider buying 100% LR. On the other end, if you you lots of patience, would like to watch the formation of LR and coralline algae, and it is a rewarding process to observe, consider going with 10% LR or more. However, be certain to get high quality LR with 50% or more coralline algae coverage.

Any mix in between will work as long as your Alk and Ca are in range. You ought to pick up an Alk and Ca testing kit if you don't have one or bring water to your LFS for them to test. Sure, B-Ionic and tests take time, but to maintain or grow your coralline algae, it's pretty much a must.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the quality of your base rock does matter. Some here will advise you to purchase a base rock with some calcium naturally in it. I'd simply recommend either buying dead, not bleached, coral or look around for base rock that is significantly porous. Generally speaking, the more porous it is, the better it will perform filtration and the more nooks and crannies for critters to grow.

Lastly, the more quality LR you buy, especially if the transportation time is limited, the more chances you have of getting surprise livestock included in the rock. On my last LR alone, I got a baby brittle star, tons of tube worms, some mushroom coral, some macro algae and an as of yet unidentified coral, though it's probably the same type as the others. I've also had copepods, amphipods, and various other small critters come in on LR. On the flip side, you run the risk of getting some not so good things, but in my opinion, it's a risk well worth taking. Just be vigilant with testing, water changes, treating any problems that arise, and acclimation and you should be in good shape.

old salty
03/02/2006, 05:38 PM
I have 100 lbs of base rock in the tank, and about 40 lbs of it in the fuge. I purchased 100 lbs of Marshall Island live rock and after 4 months, the base rock is really beginning to show good coralline coverage. Keep the calcium and alkalinity up (limewater topoff is excellent for this) and you will have coverage soon enough. If I was to do a small tank, I'd go with 100% LR, but when 200 lbs is required, you can save a substantial amount of money by adding base rock. Capt Jer sells awesome base rock and wouldn't hesitate to recommend him at www.reeferrocks.com

Adam Rasmussen
03/02/2006, 05:48 PM
i did 50 / 50 on my set up and in 4 months my base rock already has nice growth of coraline on it . i got my base rock from a site called hi-rocks and it got here quick and was really nice stuff .

Pete Harcoff
03/02/2006, 08:10 PM
I was thinking a decent mixture LR versus base rock (50/50 or 60/40), with tufa and/or coral rock as the base.

I'm going to go to my LFS on Sat and they'll let me play around with rock setups so I can get a better idea of what I'll need and how much.

sequential
03/02/2006, 08:16 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6867987#post6867987 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pete Harcoff
I was thinking a decent mixture LR versus base rock (50/50 or 60/40), with tufa and/or coral rock as the base.


In regard to tufa, you may be interested in reading this (http://saltaquarium.about.com/bltbsrock.htm) :

We obtained test rocks by going to trade shows and getting samples from people who supplied the trade with ornamental rock. We tried rocks from all over the world, keeping in mind the costs involved in shipping it, as to a suitable rock for aquaculture. In fact, I still have a piece of "tuffa" rock in our systems that has been there since 1989. I am sad to report it is still brown, no life has attached and grown, even sitting next to hundreds of pounds of live rock for all these years. This is just an example of a real poor candidate for aquaculture, as were most of the rocks we tested.

My experience is virtually identical to this, but others here at RC have mentioned it is good rock for breeding cichlids.

Pete Harcoff
03/02/2006, 08:59 PM
Well, I don't plan to use much tufa. I have a couple pieces already, and might get a couple more to use as the very bottom. I plan to obscure the base rock with live rock as much as possible.

sequential
03/02/2006, 09:09 PM
It has been my experience that base rock will only become live in exposed areas. Any covered area will remain the original color of the base rock. If you're just using it for a solid base, tufa will work just fine. On the other hand, you might consider building a small shelf out of egg crate and PVC to lift the rock up, This is much cheaper than buying rock. It cost me $10 and I could probably do five or more tanks of the size of my display. It also has the added benefit of lifting your live rock above the substrate, which allows more flow under and around the live rock. Then again, my first shelf design failed miserably. :)

I'm not against tufa. In fact, I have a lot of it in my display despite the fact that I've had less than adequate results. My long spine urchin is making quick work of the tufa in the 20g as we speak. He seems to really enjoy sinking his teeth into it.