Base Rock

[bayreefer]

Will using base rock along with live rock slow down my cycling time? Some of the other threads I have been reading have said that it can take up to 6 months, but that seemed kind of extreme to me.

Also, what is a good ratio of base to live while still saving as much money as possible?

 

[pezenfuego]

Originally Posted by bayreefer
http:///forum/post/3231144
Will using base rock along with live rock slow down my cycling time? Some of the other threads I have been reading have said that it can take up to 6 months, but that seemed kind of extreme to me. %%
Also, what is a good ratio of base to live while still saving as much money as possible?
Even if you have 0% live rock and 100% base rock, your tank is only going to take about a month and a half max to cycle.
With that said, using base rock may slow down cycling time IF your live rock doesn't have enough bacteria to process the ammonia alone. In any case, it isn't going to slow things down too much.
I would probably recommend no more than half base rock. The only reason I say that is because the less live rock you have the less cool hitchhikers and microorganisms you start with. You also have less of a chance for coralline to show up.
Everyone is going to have a different recommendation on the matter though.

 

[mattfrancis]

I guess using base rock will make the cycle shorter, but not really considerably. I have about 1/4 base rock in my 120 gallon reef. Just search "Matt's 120g Build" and look at the pictures. It saved a lot of money and I bought cured live rock so I didn't really have a cycle.
Hope that helped,
Matt

 

[bayreefer]

Thanks Guys, So do you think that this amount of base rock is ok, its about 80lbs that came with the tank. Also, about how much more live rock do you think I need? Oh, and its a 75 gallon tank.

 

[pezenfuego]

For a reef tank the rule of thumb (and I hate rules of thumb) is about 1.5 pounds per gallon. By that standard, you would want about 112 pounds. Aside from that rule of thumb, the amount you want relies heavily on what you are going to put in the tank. Fish that require a lot of swimming room aren't going to appreciate such a large amount of rocks.

 

[oceana]

over all you should be just fine with what you have. like said above the only real effect that could be considered negative is less hitchhikers
but then again some may say thats a good thing since many of them would be considered unwanted. its all in how you look at it.
coralline is not a concern becasue that easy to keep going. you can even take two small rocks that are covered in coralline and rub them together in the tank allowing the (shavings/dust) to settle over the "base" rock thats there. before long you will soon mbe fighting to keep it off your glass lol.
the term "live rock" is widly over sensationalized. it takes very little time for dead rock to become live with just alittle bit of seeding. every time you buy a coral it will be on live rock so very soon your tank will be teaming with life. no worries buddy