180 gal bowfront with how much live rock?

AquaWave523 · 09/05/2012, 07:17 AM

Hi everyone - will I be okay with only 100lbs of live rock in an 180 gallon bowfront? I know one of the main reasons for the rule of 1lb per gallon is to allow enough surface for beneficial bacteria to grow and also for filtration.

However, i will have approx 4-5" of sand and I was thinking 100lbs of live rock. Budget is kind of tight right now ,so I do not want to spend the money for 180 pounds worth of live rocks. I was even thinking of slowly adding the rocks at 30-40lbs at a time.

If I could get away with 100lbs for the 180 gal bowfront, I might just do it. It will be a FOWLR setup and future will upgrade to a reef.

Honks69 · 09/05/2012, 07:35 AM

why not just go with say 20 lbs of live rock and 100-150 lbs of base rock

The dry reef dry rock ranges for $2-3/lb depending on where you get it at

I used the Florida reef saver rock which i paid $2/lb shipped from reefcleaners.org

You can get 180 lbs total doing it this way and it will be way cheaper then 100 lbs for straight live rock

i have 150lbs of base rock in my 180 and i only added 2 small live rocks

in 3 months a lot of the base rock is covered in purple and you cant even tell which 2 pcs where the live rock

AquaWave523 · 09/05/2012, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Honks69

why not just go with say 20 lbs of live rock and 100-150 lbs of base rock

The dry reef dry rock ranges for $2-3/lb depending on where you get it at

I used the Florida reef saver rock which i paid $2/lb shipped from reefcleaners.org

You can get 180 lbs total doing it this way and it will be way cheaper then 100 lbs for straight live rock

i have 150lbs of base rock in my 180 and i only added 2 small live rocks

in 3 months a lot of the base rock is covered in purple and you cant even tell which 2 pcs where the live rock

looks like a great deal w free shipping. Let me ask you - how soon will the tank be cycled with base rock? Is it artificial? whereas live cured rocks are real rocks?

Honks69 · 09/05/2012, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AquaWave523

looks like a great deal w free shipping. Let me ask you - how soon will the tank be cycled with base rock? Is it artificial? whereas live cured rocks are real rocks?

Its real rock. My tank cycled in about 5 weeks

I used regular sand (not live) and mostly base rock

I added a cup of sand from my 75 gallon tank and the 2 smaller live rocks from the same tank

The Florida dry rock i believe is a ancient reef that over time was berried underground. I think its somewhere on the FL/GA border but I may be mistaken. They dig up the rock and then sand blast it clean. Its basically just live rock the is dried out

The rock i got was 95% white with a few dark spots

I should say I did have 100lbs of the base rock soaking in a trashcan with saltwater for about 2 months before I setup my tank. The only reason is i wanted to see if it would leach anything but it really didnt.

If i ever upgrade again from my 180 I will def go with more of the same rock

AquaWave523 · 09/05/2012, 08:20 AM

so will the base rock change from white to whatever color later?

I know live rock are like green/grayish then covered with whatever color the coraline is. Will the base rock then be considered live rock once seeded? Not sure what makes live rock a "live rock"

AquaWave523 · 09/05/2012, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Honks69

Its real rock. My tank cycled in about 5 weeks

I used regular sand (not live) and mostly base rock

I added a cup of sand from my 75 gallon tank and the 2 smaller live rocks from the same tank

The Florida dry rock i believe is a ancient reef that over time was berried underground. I think its somewhere on the FL/GA border but I may be mistaken. They dig up the rock and then sand blast it clean. Its basically just live rock the is dried out

The rock i got was 95% white with a few dark spots

I should say I did have 100lbs of the base rock soaking in a trashcan with saltwater for about 2 months before I setup my tank. The only reason is i wanted to see if it would leach anything but it really didnt.

If i ever upgrade again from my 180 I will def go with more of the same rock

any pics w/ before and after shots?

joeogio · 09/05/2012, 08:46 AM

hey i bought 50lb box of dry fiji rock from brs for 129$. the tank as been setup for about 7 months

Honks69 · 09/05/2012, 08:49 AM

This was a pic from the first day. This is approx 75 lbs of the rock

I dont have a good pic of what it looks like now but I can take one when i get home.

I added another 75 lbs from what you see here

AquaWave523 · 09/05/2012, 08:52 AM

any difference between florida base rocks vs. fiji?

Honks69 · 09/05/2012, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AquaWave523

any difference between florida base rocks vs. fiji?

I have fuji live rock in my 75 and i think the florida base rock looks better but thats just my opinion

both have lots of pores and both will work good

AquaWave523 · 09/05/2012, 09:08 AM

i guess ppl just like to say "i have exotic live rock from fiji in my tank" lol

Honks69 · 09/05/2012, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AquaWave523

i guess ppl just like to say "i have exotic live rock from fiji in my tank" lol

hahahaha i kinda think thats why i got the fuji rock on my first tank

if you go on bulkreefsupply.com he has a few different dry rocks

I ralso liked the pukani rock but i read a few stories about phosphates leeching like crazy from it so i went another direction

a fellow reefer in pittsburgh has the pukani in his 180 and it looked awesome

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/bulk-dry-live-rock.html

AquaWave523 · 09/05/2012, 09:24 AM

ok almost bit the bullet - after reading some more, florida rocks appear to be more denser than fiji rocks and that would mean you would have to buy more rocks .....how's marco rocks?

JPerkins2 · 09/05/2012, 09:37 AM

I really like the pukani rock but if price is important check out the reef saver rock. I like them both.

What I did was get 50lb box of Fuji for base, 50 lbs of pukani for middle and 75 pounds of reef saver for top.

Looks really good, almost 1 to 1 ratio and doesn't take up all of my tank. I have it set up where no rock touchs the back and there is about 6 inches from the water to the top of the rocks.

kenc87 · 09/05/2012, 09:49 AM

Another good option is reefrocks.net , they also have deals where you can get some sand for free with a certain amount of rock. They have some really nice looking rock in my opinion.

Honks69 · 09/05/2012, 10:00 AM

if you google there is someone that showed the marco rock, brs saver rock, reefrock and reefcleaners rock was all the same thing

i heard the pukani rock is the lightest but i dont have any to check

AquaWave523 · 09/05/2012, 10:02 AM

with that being said, what bout fiji base rocks? I wonder where I can get them since they are less denser?

AquaWave523 · 09/05/2012, 10:54 AM

ok - I will end up buying from Bulk Reef Supply.

I was thinking mixing Fiji with Pukani, but I dont know much baout pukani.

AquaWave523 · 09/05/2012, 11:06 AM

for 180 gallons - what should the ratio be for live vs. dry rock?

coralsnaked · 09/05/2012, 11:49 AM

Whatever you decide to do, do it all at once up front. Adding live rock to new tank in stages will cause it recycle over and over. Personally I beleive that one lb per net gallon is short. You really need at least 1.5 lb per net gallon and i prefer 2 lbs per NG. And a deep sand bed is OK if that's the way you want to go, but there is really no going back if you don't like it. Never distrurb a deep sand bed unless you want lots of big problems. On the other hand you can slowly add live sand to a shallow bed if you never add more than one inch at a time.

Happy Reefing

Curtis.H · 09/06/2012, 08:30 AM

You should be careful with the pukani because some of it tends to leech phospate. Do a search on here for pukani.

09/05/2012, 07:17 AM	#1
AquaWave523 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 911	180 gal bowfront with how much live rock? Hi everyone - will I be okay with only 100lbs of live rock in an 180 gallon bowfront? I know one of the main reasons for the rule of 1lb per gallon is to allow enough surface for beneficial bacteria to grow and also for filtration. However, i will have approx 4-5" of sand and I was thinking 100lbs of live rock. Budget is kind of tight right now ,so I do not want to spend the money for 180 pounds worth of live rocks. I was even thinking of slowly adding the rocks at 30-40lbs at a time. If I could get away with 100lbs for the 180 gal bowfront, I might just do it. It will be a FOWLR setup and future will upgrade to a reef.

09/05/2012, 07:35 AM	#2
Honks69 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Washington, PA Posts: 247	why not just go with say 20 lbs of live rock and 100-150 lbs of base rock The dry reef dry rock ranges for $2-3/lb depending on where you get it at I used the Florida reef saver rock which i paid $2/lb shipped from reefcleaners.org You can get 180 lbs total doing it this way and it will be way cheaper then 100 lbs for straight live rock i have 150lbs of base rock in my 180 and i only added 2 small live rocks in 3 months a lot of the base rock is covered in purple and you cant even tell which 2 pcs where the live rock __________________ 340 Gallon Reef with 125 Gallon Basement Sump, (6) Radion XR-30 Pros, (4) MP-60qds, 2016 Apex, Regal 300 Int Skimmer, Reeflo Hammerhead Gold, SPS Dominated In Wall Tank Current Tank Info: 340 Gallon Reef 24" x 24" x 138"

09/05/2012, 10:00 AM	#16
Honks69 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Washington, PA Posts: 247	if you google there is someone that showed the marco rock, brs saver rock, reefrock and reefcleaners rock was all the same thing i heard the pukani rock is the lightest but i dont have any to check __________________ 340 Gallon Reef with 125 Gallon Basement Sump, (6) Radion XR-30 Pros, (4) MP-60qds, 2016 Apex, Regal 300 Int Skimmer, Reeflo Hammerhead Gold, SPS Dominated In Wall Tank Current Tank Info: 340 Gallon Reef 24" x 24" x 138"

09/05/2012, 08:20 AM	#5
AquaWave523 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 911	so will the base rock change from white to whatever color later? I know live rock are like green/grayish then covered with whatever color the coraline is. Will the base rock then be considered live rock once seeded? Not sure what makes live rock a "live rock"

09/05/2012, 08:52 AM	#9
AquaWave523 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 911	any difference between florida base rocks vs. fiji?

09/05/2012, 09:08 AM	#11
AquaWave523 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 911	i guess ppl just like to say "i have exotic live rock from fiji in my tank" lol

09/05/2012, 09:24 AM	#13
AquaWave523 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 911	ok almost bit the bullet - after reading some more, florida rocks appear to be more denser than fiji rocks and that would mean you would have to buy more rocks .....how's marco rocks?

09/05/2012, 09:37 AM	#14
JPerkins2 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Lower Alabama Posts: 84	I really like the pukani rock but if price is important check out the reef saver rock. I like them both. What I did was get 50lb box of Fuji for base, 50 lbs of pukani for middle and 75 pounds of reef saver for top. Looks really good, almost 1 to 1 ratio and doesn't take up all of my tank. I have it set up where no rock touchs the back and there is about 6 inches from the water to the top of the rocks.

09/05/2012, 09:49 AM	#15
kenc87 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Ypsilanti, MI Posts: 610	Another good option is reefrocks.net , they also have deals where you can get some sand for free with a certain amount of rock. They have some really nice looking rock in my opinion.

09/05/2012, 10:02 AM	#17
AquaWave523 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 911	with that being said, what bout fiji base rocks? I wonder where I can get them since they are less denser?

09/05/2012, 10:54 AM	#18
AquaWave523 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 911	ok - I will end up buying from Bulk Reef Supply. I was thinking mixing Fiji with Pukani, but I dont know much baout pukani.

09/05/2012, 11:06 AM	#19
AquaWave523 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 911	for 180 gallons - what should the ratio be for live vs. dry rock?

09/05/2012, 11:49 AM	#20
coralsnaked Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Austin / Port Aransas, TX Posts: 1,479	Whatever you decide to do, do it all at once up front. Adding live rock to new tank in stages will cause it recycle over and over. Personally I beleive that one lb per net gallon is short. You really need at least 1.5 lb per net gallon and i prefer 2 lbs per NG. And a deep sand bed is OK if that's the way you want to go, but there is really no going back if you don't like it. Never distrurb a deep sand bed unless you want lots of big problems. On the other hand you can slowly add live sand to a shallow bed if you never add more than one inch at a time. Happy Reefing

09/06/2012, 08:30 AM	#21
Curtis.H Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 139	You should be careful with the pukani because some of it tends to leech phospate. Do a search on here for pukani.