Size of LR?

[wwfstyle]

Me personally I like the larger LR like 15-20lbs. My wife on the other hand likes all the little pices rangeing from 2-5 lbs. I have a 75 gal tank and I have about 70lbs of lr. I'm trying to talk to my wife about getting 3 more rocks that are 15+ lbs. So I would like to hear from all of you the pros and cons of these 2 different sizes of rock. My wife and I will be both reading your response to make up our mind of what we will do. Thank You Rick & Brenda

 

[armageddon]

The only thing i have to say is smaller pieces have better surface to volume ratio which gives better bio filtration. I try to pick pieces with the most surface area. Large solid pieces will have a lot less surface area then a number of smaller pieces with plently of caves, tunnels, and holes.

 

[infalable]

I bought my lr from swf and from lfs. I was able to chose a large piece that had tons of hiding places and in a styling that I liked. When I ordered from SWF I didnt know what I would get, it was good stuff, but none of the pieces were as big as the one I bought from lfs. My suggestion is to get both. Use larger pieces at or near the base and and your small and medium pieces can finish off the scaping in a manner of your choosing. I would think the combo would look best and be the best for maintenance. This way you both get what you want. Hope that helps.

 

[crazy8]

Personally, if you are getting the FIJI rock, and you want a good amount of it in your tank, I think you almost have to go with a mixture. I know I have a 55 gal with 90 lbs of LR. I am planning to pull some out to put in my 20 gal, but it is cycling with damsels instead of LR right now.
Anyway, I know if I had all big pieces, I probably couldn't fit the stuff since it wouldn't stack at all. I have a see through tank and need sand area on both sides so my rock is stacked in the middle. Biggest pieces on the bottom with medium stacked and the small pieces I use to brace the other pieces (like sticking a wedge in to hold it) Works well and keeps everything off my glass. I bought my from another site like SWF and got a good mixture of all sizes. Very pleased.

 

[acez28]

i like the long skinny pieces to build caves.....large pieces to keep the bottom sturdy....and the small pieces to fill in gaps.

 

[sinner's girl]

I like all sizes. Big ones are good for a base, mid-size for building up, and small ones add charactor. I personaly always pick out small pieces. In our 55gl, the right side of the tank is full of big pieces the left side with smaller pieces. smaller pieces help fill in space.
so get two large pieces at 15+ and let your wife get 15+ of smaller pieces.
It's the surface space that you want, not size or weight, or so I've been told.

 

[buzz]

Man...this post went downhill fast...
(ok, I still laughed)