live rock

[mushroomcoral]

how much live rock do i need for a 55gall reef and what is the purpose of live rock the reef aquarium?

 

[steamboat1569]

I have about 150lbs. of rock in my 55.
Live rock is full of the necessary fauna, bacteria, and algea to make your tank come alive with the things it needs to maintain a stable nitrogen cycle. It is great to look at, and is the natural base of the ocean ecosystem.
Those are the basics. Anyone else?

 

[mrmaroon]

You actually don't "need" Live Rock. It really depends what kind of tank you are looking to set up. If you tell us a little bit more about what kind of fish and inverts/corals you want to keep, peo-le can give you better answers. Many people will tell you, and I agree, that LR is wonderful for removing amonio, nitrate, and nitrite.

 

[steamboat1569]

MushroomCoral, you did say reef tank. I believe it is a MUST to have live rock in this sort of a tank. I must also point out that I do have 150 lbs of live rock, and you do not need this much. I am purposely over stocking it to start another tank. It will also depend on how dense or porous the rock is, so it is hard to say how many pounds you will need.

 

[scuba1]

It is of my opinon that Live sand (dsb about 3-5in) should go in first. Then put in as much live rock as you can handel leaving 2-3in in front of tank. Angle rock to rear and top. Place some kind of water circulation in rear of rock to keep water moving. Type of pump is up to you and lfs. Another suggestion is get rock from several places so you will have a varity. This along with proper lighting and Skimmer and sump should be set up before fish and coral. Take your time (I know it is hard) and get the basics set up first. This will help prevent shock of fish or corals and save you money in the long run from killing the same. Good luck.. <a href="http://www.cableone.net/tbmoore/reef.htm" target="_blank">http://www.cableone.net/tbmoore/reef.htm</a>

 

[hunterdaddy]

Live rock is for biological filtration.
And dont let anyone tell you you need live sand. Just get regular aquarium sand and the LR will eventually make it live. Unless you got tons of cash then buy all LS but its not necessary.

 

[hunterdaddy]

Live rock is for biological filtration.
And dont let anyone tell you you need live sand. Just get regular aquarium sand and the LR will eventually make it live. Unless you got tons of cash then buy all LS but its not necessary.
O and about 1.5 lbs per gallon is good. You can go with less though.

 

[mushroomcoral]

in my 55 i currently have 31 pounds of marshal island live rock along with a yellow tang, black volitan lion and a fiji blue damsel i'm running a maxie reef 200 wet/dry, fluval canister,uv steralizer,skiler. i jus ordered a luxury aluminum power compact 220 watts and a new in-sump protein skimmer i plan on haveing LSP like brains and a lot of mushrooms plus a couple clams

 

[piscesblue]

Those power compacts are not enough light for clams and I'm not sure how good the are for stony corals. My PC's work wondrs for the soft corals I have, including lots of mushrooms. It might be a challenge keeping a cleanup crew alive with a lionfish in the tank. I'd recommend another 25-50lbs of LR to make your tank a functioning reef. LR really stabilizes your tank.

 

[scuba1]

The gentleman is correct you do not have to have live sand. I does cost good bit more. It will however have some good bacteria & less dust. Less apt to cloud tank unless reg sand is cleaned real good. I have heard the finer the better.

 

[bradburycf]

Why wouldn't those PCs be enough? With 2-10000k and 2-18000k, I was led to believe that there should be plenty of light in a 55 w/ the clams placed high in the tank. <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" />

 

[hunterdaddy]

There are several low light clams you can keep under PCs. There are however clams (like maximas i beleive) that need MHs.

 

[mushroomcoral]

the power compact i got has 4-55watt bulbs with 2 white actintic and 2 blue actintic

 

[steamboat1569]

What is the difference between 220 watts of PC and 220 watts of MH?

 

[bradburycf]

Good question Steamboat. I am curious too. I was also told that PCs would be good for maximas as well. My SPS corals do outstanding under them.

 

[steamboat1569]

I myself use metal halides. Just seemed strange that I could do it under a 175w metal halide, but not under 220w of PC. I think that this is a valid question.
I kept 2 maximas alive for 2 yrs. under my metal halide. No, they did not die. I donated them to the new aquarium that is fixing to open in a town called Jenks, Oklahoma. I have a free pass for my family for an entire year for doing this.

 

[northwest rick]

Just thought I'd throw this out there as another option. I have a 90g with 75 lbs of aragocrete rock made at GARF. Paid $2 a lb (broken pieces), then sprinkled 10 lbs of GARF Grunge (live sand) over the rocks to seed them. It takes more time, but its an inexpensive solution and it helps the environment too (no I'm not a tree hugger, but I am cheap).
Rick

 

[flamehawk]

I have found 1 to 1.5 pounds of LR per gallon to be sufficient. It looks great and helps tremendously with biological filtration. IMO very necessary even for a fish only. Good luck.

 

[steamboat1569]

I think that's a great idea Rick. I have heard good things about GARF's rocks. I did not do the exact same thing, I picked up some base rock at the LFS for 2 dollars a pound. Only about half of the rock in my tank was purchased as live rock. The rest was base rock added in over a period of time. Now the base rock is just like the live. Good coraline growth, and the animals have made a home of the rock also.
I figure that I have saved a good amount of money, considering the price for live rock now-a-days.
I have enough seeded rock now to start another tank.

 

[bradburycf]

If I buy some base rock to put in with my lr, does it matter where it is placed in relation to the lr? 'Base' indicates that the lr would go on top, but does it matter? If it does matter, what would the cons be of not putting it underneath the lr? The huge pro, of course, would be not having to do a massive rearrangement of the rock already.
Sounds like you got an outstanding deal, Steamboat! I wish Utah would get an aquarium <img src="graemlins//yeahright.gif" border="0" alt="[yeahright]" /> .