I don't want to start a war, but.....

gatotsu77

gatotsu77

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May 17, 2006
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I wanted to start a discussion on what everyone feels is an "appropriate" volume of live rock per tank size. (I frequently hear 1.5-2 lbs per gallon of water) I've been getting some mixed reviews of late, and have had a few people try to convince me 5lbs is sufficient for a 10g with 1 fish, a cleaner shrimp, and perhaps a couple snails. What do you all think? Is it kinda variable based on bio load? Is there any bare minimum that is necessary even for a coral only tank?

I'm getting closer and closer to actually starting a 10g nano reef, likely with a yellow watchman goby, and the potentiality of either an emerald crab, a couple porcelain crabs, or a fire shrimp. (as far as the inverts go, it would be one of the 3 selections, not all 3) I want a lot of the focus to be on the corals in the tank, which will probably be lps, leathers, and other softies, but not have the corals detract from the natural beauty of the inhabitants of the tank. What do you guys think? If 5 lbs is good, I'm perfectly fine with weekly 2-4g water changes... I mean... look at how much work I put into my discus tank. :p: I guess I just don't want the tank to look like its just a pile of rock with a couple fish hiding in it, but nor do I want it to look bare.
 
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but if the LR is to be used as the filter than you would need 1-1.5lbs per gallon of water. If you were to run a HOB filter then you could put less LR. There are plenty of FO tanks out there running with no LR in them at all. The thing to remember is that the corals will be attached to LR and depending if you buy a frag or a big pc. (i.e. a zoa frag might have 15 polyps or one with 100 polyps. The one with 15 polyps will have a smaller pc of LR.) So if you fill the tank now then you might be limited to the size of the coral cause of the LR it's attached to. Just some food for thought.
 
I aim for 1-1.5 #'s per gallon. I have about 90 #'s of live rock in my 75 currently. I think that the more Live Rock the better your natural process will work. I had 50-60 #'s of live rock when my bioload was less with an end goal of around 90 which I am at now. I think the more rock the better within limits. I think with less live rock you will just need more water changes to bring down the load. I would aim for about 10 #'s if I were in your shoes.

Just my opinion and I am sure you will get plenty of replies.
 
Looking forward to a very thorough discussion, hopefully people from both sides of the argument will chime in. :D I've gathered that a large number of marine tank owners on here have a minimum of 1lb per gallon, most have more. I'm mostly curious to see what everyone says. I'll probably be shooting for something like 8-10 lbs of rock, and add coral from there, especially if I can find some nice pieces.. I just don't want my tank to look like its full of boulders. I want it to be well thought out and be peaceful to look at. :)
 
I think most people feel at least 1lbs to 1.5lbs per gallon is a good rule for live rock (when LR is used as the main filtration). I haven't really seen anyone argue against it.

Also, its really the surface area that matters for live rock. More surface area means more beneficial bacteria. You might get away with 6lbs of live rock if its very light and covers a large surface area in a 10G. Or you might have not enough filtration with two small heavy clumps of 15lbs of live rock in a 10G. The lbs rule is just a guideline. Each case is unique.

I'll probably be shooting for something like 8-10 lbs of rock, and add coral from there, especially if I can find some nice pieces.. I just don't want my tank to look like its full of boulders. I want it to be well thought out and be peaceful to look at.
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lol boulders? If you go to a petstore or fellow reefer that is selling nice quality rock you will be surprised at how diverse the rock shapes can be. I usually like the caves and overhangs. A nice plate setup can be great too.
 
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Depends on how many water changes you plan on doing. The better filtration (more rock) the less WC.
 
Water changes are no big deal to me... I do daily or bi-daily water changes on my 55g discus tank... a couple gallons in a 10g nano reef would be nothing to me. :-P I do know I'll be dealing with a lot of top-up water, which will be just a resealable pitcher of ro/di water. (I'm gonna purchase water for the first while... once I start getting more serious about it and getting into more delicate specimens, I'll start mixing my own water) I'll probably be dosing kalkwasser via a drip system once I've figured out how fast the tank is consuming calcium, and how bad the evaporation is. I've devised a rather simple yet effective method for nanos, which I will discuss either later in this thread or in the build log once I get my 10g going. :-)

As far as the surface area being more important than weight, I had a feeling that was the biggest factor, and wanted to key into that. I'm hoping to find some relatively nice pieces (both cured and uncured to get a few hitchhikers and help start my cycle) once I really get serious and get set up. I guess I'm doing this both for my reference, and for anyone else just getting into the hobby, so they can both read and participate in the debate as to what would be best, given any particular situation. Thanks for your input guys. Keep the replies coming. :D
 
I have 1# per gallon, it is my major filtration. It is a mix of Marshall Island and Select Tonga. I'd not skimp on rock in a nano where stability is a huge issue even for corals perhaps especially for corals. You'll be surprised how much rock weighs and how a # per gallon or even 2#s (if it is dense) looks in reality.
 
^ agree - the smaller the tank, the more you should stuff it.

That said, if you get a watchman goby, I figure it;s just a matter of time before you'll want a pistol shrimp too. If you think that's a possibility, you're going to need a DSB/LR combo that's structurally STABLE. People hate it when LR collapses & kills their livestock.
 
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