All Live Rock or 50/50 with Base Rock

VisionsSS · 05/08/2008, 12:42 AM

I'm starting a 45g.

I plan on starting slow with a FOWLR and maybe after a year step up to reef. My question is:

Can I start with like 30lbs of live rock and 30lbs of Base Rock or is there any real benefit to starting with all 50-60lbs of Live Rock?

Also can anyone give me any idea what 50lbs of live rock looks like? I just don't know how much this is for aquascaping.

D to the P · 05/08/2008, 01:23 AM

Do what ever you want as far as live rock or dead rock goes. The more live rock does not necessarily mean the faster the cycle. There will still be stuff that dies off on the live rock and it will take time for it all to decay. That being said, the live rock will also have many things that your dead rock doesn't have and probably won't get for a couple of months like some micro crustaceans or worms that will inhabit the pores of the rock. I think you could go with less live rock if you wanted to, and not even worry about 50/50. If you wanted 50 pounds of rock, IMO you could go with 15 pounds of live rock and 35 pounds of dead rock. You have the right idea to go slow. Even if you used all live rock the process isn't going to be a quick one. As far as what 50 pounds of rock will look like, it depends on what kind of rock it is. Different rock has different densities and shapes. You can easily find a few rocks the size of watermelons that weigh up to 20 pounds a rock. In that case you'd have about 3 rocks. Big rocks, but only three. Most rock however isn't that big and dense but will probably encompass the same amount of area as those three water melons. Just remember that those water melons will be spread out, and not tightly packed like a big juicy watermelon

I hope that ridiculous metaphor helped you visualize your tank, and maybe made you hungry for water melon.

HumanIMDB · 05/08/2008, 05:14 AM

We used 80 pounds of base rock (Caribsea South Seas Lace) and 60 pounds of live rock (Tonga Deep Water). The cycle is in it's first stages now, diatom bloom, and already we can see stuff growing on the base rock.

We have not spotted any hitchhikers yet, good or bad, but we're sure they will show up eventually.

In a month or so, whenever the green algae shows up and is enough to sustain a CUC, we'll add about a quarter of one of the CUC packages for a 90 gallon tank and a couple of bottles of live copepods. Then we'll add additional CUC depending on need.

Hopefully in the fall we can start adding fish.

05/08/2008, 12:42 AM	#1
VisionsSS Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Tacoma, WA Posts: 146	All Live Rock or 50/50 with Base Rock I'm starting a 45g. I plan on starting slow with a FOWLR and maybe after a year step up to reef. My question is: Can I start with like 30lbs of live rock and 30lbs of Base Rock or is there any real benefit to starting with all 50-60lbs of Live Rock? Also can anyone give me any idea what 50lbs of live rock looks like? I just don't know how much this is for aquascaping.

05/08/2008, 01:23 AM	#2
D to the P Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Amishville, USA Posts: 2,047	Do what ever you want as far as live rock or dead rock goes. The more live rock does not necessarily mean the faster the cycle. There will still be stuff that dies off on the live rock and it will take time for it all to decay. That being said, the live rock will also have many things that your dead rock doesn't have and probably won't get for a couple of months like some micro crustaceans or worms that will inhabit the pores of the rock. I think you could go with less live rock if you wanted to, and not even worry about 50/50. If you wanted 50 pounds of rock, IMO you could go with 15 pounds of live rock and 35 pounds of dead rock. You have the right idea to go slow. Even if you used all live rock the process isn't going to be a quick one. As far as what 50 pounds of rock will look like, it depends on what kind of rock it is. Different rock has different densities and shapes. You can easily find a few rocks the size of watermelons that weigh up to 20 pounds a rock. In that case you'd have about 3 rocks. Big rocks, but only three. Most rock however isn't that big and dense but will probably encompass the same amount of area as those three water melons. Just remember that those water melons will be spread out, and not tightly packed like a big juicy watermelon I hope that ridiculous metaphor helped you visualize your tank, and maybe made you hungry for water melon. __________________ Nature V.S. Nurture: Nature Always Wins. Current Tank Info: 12 gallon Aquapod reef with LED's, multiple nano's at work.

05/08/2008, 05:14 AM	#3
HumanIMDB Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Winnipeg, MB Posts: 1,556	We used 80 pounds of base rock (Caribsea South Seas Lace) and 60 pounds of live rock (Tonga Deep Water). The cycle is in it's first stages now, diatom bloom, and already we can see stuff growing on the base rock. We have not spotted any hitchhikers yet, good or bad, but we're sure they will show up eventually. In a month or so, whenever the green algae shows up and is enough to sustain a CUC, we'll add about a quarter of one of the CUC packages for a 90 gallon tank and a couple of bottles of live copepods. Then we'll add additional CUC depending on need. Hopefully in the fall we can start adding fish. __________________ Chris Rivers Will do computer support for frags. :) Click on the Red House to see our AGA92 Corner Reef Tank Build thread. Current Tank Info: 10 Gal (Aqualight 96W Quad 50/50, AquaClear Power Filter 70 with Chaeto lit by 6500K Bulb, AquaClear Power Head 20, 50w Tronic Heater), 92 Gal All-Glass Corner (Cycling)