Live Rock

B

Bill1171

AC Members
Jan 5, 2005
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55
New Jersey
I have a newly set up 46 gallon tank. So far I have picked up about 10 pounds of Fuji rock and 10 pounds of 3.99 live rock. The tank has a Coral Beauty, Domino Damsel, Blue Damsel, three striped black and white Damsel and a Niger Trigger

What is the difference (other than price :) ) between the types of live rock?

How much live rock is best for this size tank?

And what exactly is the purpose of the live rock?

Sorry if these seem like silly questions. I have kept and bred Cichlids for about 20 years, but am not very familiar with sw. I haven't kept saltwater tanks in a few years and was not very successful then :mad: So I'd like to do it right this time.

Thanks for any advice.

Bill
 
The differences in live rock are based on quality and location. Rock from some locations is more expensive, based on gathering cost, availability and shipping. Quality varies-some rock has lots of encrusting organisms that are valuable or desirable, som just comes with coralline algae and bacteria.

Usual recomendation is about 1.5-2 pounds per gallon of water if you are using the rock as your primary filtration. If you're not using it for filtration, it's attractive and provides cover and natural food sources for your fish.

Just as an aside, your tankis way overstocked. Damsels may be small, but they are very territorial and that many in one tank will result in lots of pestering and abuse. Niger triggers get very big--over 12 inches, so will need a bigger tank in the long run.
 
Not wanting to hijack this thread but is it possible to use live rock in my fish only tank? At this point I don't want to do coral so would I still need the special lighting just to have live rock or can I use the standard lighting?
 
Thanks for the information.

I think the way I typed the fish that are in the tank was a bit confusing. I have 5 fish total, (1) Coral Beauty, (1) Niger, (1) blue damsel, (1) domino damsel, and (1) three striped damsel. Is the tank still overstocked?

I know the Niger will most likely need a larger tank (I plan to convert either a 150 or a 90 to saltwater down the road). I have read that Nigers can grow to 20 inches , but rarely grow more than 6-8 in captivity. Is this accurate? How quickly do triggers grow?

Thanks Bill
 
if your just doing fish only then I wouldnt' bother buying "live rock" just buy dead rock and your results will be just as good...bacteria will form on it soon enough or you can just seed it to jumpstart the process.
No point in spending 10x more then you need to.
 
Yes, still overstocked. Nigers that don't get big are being stunted, not good for their long term health. It's more than just the physical size of the fish--territory needs must be considered. With triggers, keeping them in small setups tends to increase the odds of them flipping out and killing everything else in the tank. They should grow fairly quickly up to about 10 inches, then slow down after that, but still expect significant growth within the first year.

And while geoff is right, you can save a lot of money by using base rock, I'd still add some good LR to seed it and increase the diversity of other life in the tank.
 
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