Reef Central Online Community

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community > General Interest Forums > Reef Discussion
Blogs FAQ Calendar Mark Forums Read

Notices

User Tag List

Reply
Thread Tools
Unread 10/17/2014, 11:25 AM   #1
Remmers
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 332
Too much live rock

Can you ever have to much rock in your reef, or is it a personal preference as to the lay out/appearance?


Remmers is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 10/17/2014, 11:28 AM   #2
DivingTheWorld
Registered Member
 
DivingTheWorld's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: San Ramon, CA
Posts: 1,963
I would say possibly if it impedes flow. But really I think it's just personal preference on the look of your tank. More liverock is generally better than less.


DivingTheWorld is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 10/17/2014, 11:54 AM   #3
Colorfulreefaqu
Moved On
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 51
Yes, it can kill ur flow. People think they need tons of LR in their DT. Personally I think it looks horrible.

Check out Marine Pure Bio Media. I can run two boxes of balls in my sump with good skimming, and put to shame every tank stacked full of LR without one single rock in my DT. The surface area is just insane. The rock currently in my DT is for viewing pleasure and coral placement only basically. Sure, everything helps...but it's just not needed in my system. I have the big block and 2 lbs of balls. :-)


Colorfulreefaqu is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 10/17/2014, 12:03 PM   #4
phillrodrigo
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: quaker hill ct
Posts: 2,433
It also traps more derititus. I think the 1 lb per gallon is the way to go I have a little bit more maybe 80 to 90 in a 75.


phillrodrigo is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 10/17/2014, 12:08 PM   #5
wildman926
Registered Member
 
wildman926's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: CTX
Posts: 2,904
Quote:
Originally Posted by phillrodrigo View Post
It also traps more derititus. I think the 1 lb per gallon is the way to go I have a little bit more maybe 80 to 90 in a 75.
To overcome this issue, use a turkey baster to blast the rocks one in a while. Watch everything go nuts wanting to absorb what was released in the water column.


__________________
Beware of recommendations by those who don't actually use their recommendation!!

The search function actually works quite well!!

Tanks:Planet Aquarium 150g LPS, Planet Aquarium 90g Softie
wildman926 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 10/17/2014, 12:09 PM   #6
inetmug
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 693
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colorfulreefaqu View Post
Yes, it can kill ur flow. People think they need tons of LR in their DT. Personally I think it looks horrible.

Check out Marine Pure Bio Media. I can run two boxes of balls in my sump with good skimming, and put to shame every tank stacked full of LR without one single rock in my DT. The surface area is just insane. The rock currently in my DT is for viewing pleasure and coral placement only basically. Sure, everything helps...but it's just not needed in my system. I have the big block and 2 lbs of balls. :-)
My balls weight 10# I think

Seriously, you gotta scrub your balls over time to keep them clean

With the right CUC, things should be just peachy for the heavy rockers out there...


__________________
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
250G Acrylic, 40G sump, Dolphin Amp Master 4750, Predator Skimmer,
BuildMyLed 20k XB, , ATO,
inetmug is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 10/17/2014, 02:05 PM   #7
reefgeezer
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Wichita KS
Posts: 2,621
I might have 60-65 lbs total in my 110 gallon system. I also dose a small amount of vinegar and have a decent skimmer. Ammonia, nitrite, & nitrate are always 0 (Salifert). I think even 1 lb. per gallon is overkill if you are using reasonably porous rock.


__________________
John,

Current Tank Info: In-process, 90 Gallon SPS Reef
reefgeezer is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 10/17/2014, 02:46 PM   #8
codyreed29
Registered Member
 
codyreed29's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 892
I have too much in my ten gallon only could clean half the front glass but am now reducing it into a new tank. I plan for about 40 or more lbs plus 1000 grams of marineland biomedia and a gallon of coralife bioballs. I can remove the top and rinse the biomedia or remove and clean them out replace. In a 29 gallon aquarium.


__________________
27 Rimless cube DIY lights and sump
mag 5 cad lights pls 100 jeabo rw4 jeabo dp4
codyreed29 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 10/17/2014, 05:19 PM   #9
Rob6311
Registered Member
 
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 704
Of course you can if there's so much rock that you can't put water into the tank lol. But to be serious you should do around a pound per gallon


Rob6311 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 10/17/2014, 05:55 PM   #10
Remmers
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 332
I guess my question was more about appearance then what live rock does.

My tank is fine and all is good, I just have been looking at pictures of other tanks and some have hardly any and some are packed.

With a reef tank and adding corals is it better to have a bigger base of live rock to allow the corals to attach to?


Remmers is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 10/17/2014, 08:46 PM   #11
Rob6311
Registered Member
 
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 704
As long as the rocks are not taking over the tank then you should be fine, you should just make the tank look how you want it to look.


Rob6311 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 10/18/2014, 01:49 AM   #12
AntiSatan
Registered Member
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Awatukee, Arizona
Posts: 428
Its really a personal preference on how much rock is in your tank. Some like the minimal look some like a more full looking tank. the lb per gallon thing is kind of hard to judge as rock can vary quite bit in density.
Go with what makes you happy in aquascaping and work with it.


__________________
TNPer Sheepdog
Fear No Evil

Current Tank Info: DSA Neo 105, 2 AI Hydra 52's,Bubble Magnus Curve 7 skimmer,Eshopps Gen 3 R100 Refugium supmp ,VorTech MP40wQD and Maxspect Gyre XF130
AntiSatan is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 10/18/2014, 10:36 PM   #13
Retromagnolia
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Venice, fl
Posts: 20
I agree with everyone. It's definately a matter of personal preference. I've tried both ways and ended up with less rock stacked into small islands. This is because I'm more interested in sps/lps corals. In my eyes I can't afford any "dead spots" in the tank that could cause nitrate spikes. Now on the other hand, if I was more interested in fish then I would want to make sure there is enough rock in in there for them to find hiding spots. But maybe just keep in mind that in the ocean, a natural reef almost always gets water flow from all angles. It's not really natural for any rock structure to only receive flow from one side. (Nitrate trap) Just food for thought


Retromagnolia is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:04 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2025 Axivo Inc.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef CentralTM Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2022
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2025 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.