LR & LS Question.

markw

markw

Member
I was reading a few posts around the forum and I read that you are supposed to have about 1lb of LS for every gallon of water in your tank. Is this true? Is 1.5lbs better? Also, I was seeing as how some people that have 75 gal tanks are having approximately 300 lbs of live rock where as some people have 150. What is best? Can you use base rock? And I have been reading and people are saying they usr "dry" rock? What is this? If it is dry, how is it still LIVE rock?
Much appreciated
Mark
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Depth of sand is important. For a deep sand bed you want 4 inches plus. For a shallow bed, try for less than 1 inch. Use the live sand calculator to the left under live rock/live sand section to figure out how much that would be.
Rock poundage varies depending on the type of rock. Caribbean live rock, for instance is very dense. A pound of it will nto take up near as much space as a pound of Fiji rock. That's why you see such variation in live rock poundage. Different type rock takes up more or less space.
Base rock is dry rock. Over time it will house bacteria and algae. Fresh live rock is always best however as it contains untold amounts of life that can be introduced into your tank.
 
alienhybridx

alienhybridx

Member
basically you can buy like 20lbs of live rock and all the good bacteria/life on there that eat up ammonia/nitrites will eventually spread and multiply to your dry/base rock and it will become live rock eventually. As far as sand goes in my 55g i have around 35 pounds but i will be adding 30 pounds more in a few days....i only have around 20 pounds of rock and some of my porous corals already have that good bacteria on them and i see an explosion of copepods from introducing the live rock.
Having a 2.5 inch deep sand bed is a good thing from what i've been reading because it helps lower nitrates. If you can't afford lots of live rock...do what i did and buy a little and then put it in your DT if you are cycling now and add that dry/base rock in there too and they will become live as well !
 
scopus tang

scopus tang

Active Member
Originally Posted by AlienHybridX
http:///forum/post/2550865
basically you can buy like 20lbs of live rock and all the good bacteria/life on there that eat up ammonia/nitrites will eventually spread and multiply to your dry/base rock and it will become live rock eventually. As far as sand goes in my 55g i have around 35 pounds but i will be adding 30 pounds more in a few days....i only have around 20 pounds of rock and some of my porous corals already have that good bacteria on them and i see an explosion of copepods from introducing the live rock.
Having a 2.5 inch deep sand bed is a good thing from what i've been reading because it helps lower nitrates. If you can't afford lots of live rock...do what i did and buy a little and then put it in your DT if you are cycling now and add that dry/base rock in there too and they will become live as well !

True, DSB do allow for anaerobic bacteria to break down nitrates into free nitrogen. False, 2.5 inches is not a DSB, and will not provide you with any nitrate breakdown. 2.5 IMO would qualify as midway between shallow and deep and often causes more issues.
 
markw

markw

Member
I thought that a DSB was around 5-7"? Tat is most beneficial to your tank right? Also, Ive hears that you could buy about 3" of that and just use regular argonite sand, then the other 3-4" would be LS. Is this true? Also, about how long would it take for the LR to seed on to the base rock? LS onto the argonite? Also, if you didnt want to cycle with shrimp, could you just add all of your uncured rock at once and let it cycle that way?
 
travis99

travis99

Member
In my 125 gallon I have 150 pounds of ls and 100 pounds of lr. Everything seems to be doing fine. I think there is allot of personal preference that goes along with sand depth. One person will tell you why it is great to have a shallow sand bed, while another tells you that its not great to have a shallow sand bed. Both having valid points. I think the key factor is to figure out what works for you.
Travis
 
scopus tang

scopus tang

Active Member
Originally Posted by Markw
http:///forum/post/2550891
I thought that a DSB was around 5-7"? Tat is most beneficial to your tank right? Also, Ive hears that you could buy about 3" of that and just use regular argonite sand, then the other 3-4" would be LS. Is this true? Also, about how long would it take for the LR to seed on to the base rock? LS onto the argonite? Also, if you didnt want to cycle with shrimp, could you just add all of your uncured rock at once and let it cycle that way?
Correct, as 1Journeyman stated above 4+ is considered a DSB. As to most beneficial ~ point of debate, some prefer shallow SB, others Deep, Personally I opt for the breakdown of Nitrates. You can place dry argonite sand under a layer of LS, and it will indeed become live. I personally also like to add a couple cups of true LS from another established tank as well. If your LR is uncured, you can indeed allow it to cycle your tank without adding shrimp.
 
travis99

travis99

Member
Originally Posted by Markw
http:///forum/post/2550903
Also, is there a difference in efficiency between the More and less dense LR?
More dense lr gives you more weight but not as much surface area. The whole deal with lr is having room for algae to grow. So the more surface area the better. Weight really plays no role in the situation. Except that heavy rocks are usally larger therefore supporting more life.
Travis
 
scopus tang

scopus tang

Active Member
Originally Posted by travis99
http:///forum/post/2550914
More dense lr gives you more weight but not as much surface area. The whole deal with lr is having room for algae to grow. So the more surface area the better. Weight really plays no role in the situation. Except that heavy rocks are usally larger therefore supporting more life.
Travis
Bacteria, not algae, really don't want the algae to grow
algae blooms = bad!
 
markw

markw

Member
So there really is no difference between a 6x6" piece of Figi LR that wieghs 5 lbs, and a 6x6" piece of denser LR that weighs 10 lbs? They both have the same surface area, one is just heavier, serving no purpose. Correct? If ou were going to have your tank cycle with LR, would you have to add all of the LR and LS at the same time so your tank wont o through 2, 3 etc cycles? I dont imagine that you can QT LS...
 
scopus tang

scopus tang

Active Member
Originally Posted by Markw
http:///forum/post/2550934
So there really is no difference between a 6x6" piece of Figi LR that wieghs 5 lbs, and a 6x6" piece of denser LR that weighs 10 lbs? They both have the same surface area, one is just heavier, serving no purpose. Correct? If ou were going to have your tank cycle with LR, would you have to add all of the LR and LS at the same time so your tank wont o through 2, 3 etc cycles? I dont imagine that you can QT LS...
Yes, best to set up all LR and LS to start with, only one cycle that way. Sorry can't speak to the issue of weight on the LR.
 
markw

markw

Member
No, its ok, im sure someone else will chime in. But thanks alot, If I buy all of my LS, would it still be beneficial to get a cup or two full form my LFS to seed with just to get a diversity of beneficial bacteria? Also, If I do get some argonite, would it be better to mix the LS and argonite, or just put one layer of both with the argonite on bottom?
 
scopus tang

scopus tang

Active Member
Originally Posted by Markw
http:///forum/post/2550956
No, its ok, im sure someone else will chime in. But thanks alot, If I buy all of my LS, would it still be beneficial to get a cup or two full form my LFS to seed with just to get a diversity of beneficial bacteria? Also, If I do get some argonite, would it be better to mix the LS and argonite, or just put one layer of both with the argonite on bottom?
I personally layer, and yes I would get the LS from your LFS. Hopefully contains other things beside bacteria.
 
markw

markw

Member
True, I am getting really excited about getting this thing underway. I have learned so much info on this forum its unbelieveable. I will be getting The Conscientious Marine Aquarist sometime beterrn the 7th and the 21st. After I read that cover to cover and continue to post on the forum, I will post a build thread on the new 75 gal.
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Avoid sand bed depths from 2-4 inches. Go deep or shallow, not in between.
Less dense rock actually has more fissures and is more porous; Therefore it has more surface area than an equal size piece of more dense rock. Also, porous live rock has deep crevices and fissures where anaerobic bacteria can grow (much like a deep sand bed).
Base, or dry rock will eventually become covered with coralline algae and bacteria, but it will never become "live" as compared to true live rock.
 
travis99

travis99

Member
Yea thats right! It would be pretty hard to get them in on a shipment of base rock. But here is the thing. Base rock will become live rock. It just takes a little time. If you have a few pounds of live rock with some coraline on it. It will eventually spread throughout the base rock and it will all look the same. It is much more cost efficient to get mostly base rock and add maybe 30 pounds of live rock to kick it in to motion.
Travis
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top