Too Much LR?
- Thread starter luvnluk
- Start date
carrie1429
Active Member
50-60 pounds is fine, thats about how much you should have. 30 pounds isn't enough. You should have 2 pounds of rock per gallon.
S
simm
Guest
Another thing I have heard on the ammount of LR is double the amount of your tank. So for a 55 you'd need 110 lbs.
krishj39
Active Member
Where are these LFS coming up with this information? I keep hearing that LFS are telling people they don't need much LR. Since they make more money if they say you DO need a lot of LR, I have to wonder what their source of information is that tells them otherwise.
The number of lbs you will need also depends on the density of your rock. If you are getting LR from the Carribean, then you will need close to 2lbs/gallon. However, if you are getting rock from Fuji you will need less, because the rock is less dense and has greater biological filtration capacity. Additionally, many places have LR that is less dense than Fuji as well. However, 30lbs is too little unless you are adding it for decoration and biodiversity, not filtration.
The number of lbs you will need also depends on the density of your rock. If you are getting LR from the Carribean, then you will need close to 2lbs/gallon. However, if you are getting rock from Fuji you will need less, because the rock is less dense and has greater biological filtration capacity. Additionally, many places have LR that is less dense than Fuji as well. However, 30lbs is too little unless you are adding it for decoration and biodiversity, not filtration.
iechy
Member
Most people recommend 1 to 1.5 lbs per gallon. It couldn't hurt to have even more depending on what you keep in the tank (room left for swimming) and the ability of the tank to hold the weight. Although I pretty sure you could fill a tank completely with rock and not have to be concerned about the weight.
ryebread
Active Member
Too much live rock is definitely possible...........as Broomer said, if your tank is too small.
I do not believe in the 2lbs of LR per gallon method because it won't work for me.
I have a 29gallon tank with about 50lbs of LR in it filled to the waters edge. If I tried to fit another 8lbs in there it would stick out of the water or take up the rest of my sand bed area.
It all depends on the type of LR as well. If you fill the tank with heavy TONGA rock.........2lbs would not "fill" the tank due to the density of the rocks. Maybe your LFS had some really porous base LR that you only need 30lbs or so. Who knows?
I do not believe in the 2lbs of LR per gallon method because it won't work for me. I have a 29gallon tank with about 50lbs of LR in it filled to the waters edge. If I tried to fit another 8lbs in there it would stick out of the water or take up the rest of my sand bed area.
It all depends on the type of LR as well. If you fill the tank with heavy TONGA rock.........2lbs would not "fill" the tank due to the density of the rocks. Maybe your LFS had some really porous base LR that you only need 30lbs or so. Who knows?
jackdp
Member
Don't get me wrong, I've got 20lbs or LR in my 20gal tank. But, I don't think you need any LR, especially if you are running skimmers and filters. If all you want it rock for cosmetic reasons than get as much as you want. If you are going to use the LR as your sole means of filtration, then you will need between 1-2lbs per gallon.
jjboods
Member
1 pound per gallon and a 4" DSB will provide enough filtration for a reasonable amount of fish/bioload. Obviously more would be better...but will not give you a noticable amount of added filtration...IMO anything over 1 pound per gallon becomes more for asthetics. I have about 50 pounds in my 55 and everything is fine.
ctm474
Member
I suppose too much could be a problem in a small tank where you dont have much water volume to begin with. I have 50 lbs in my 29g which I'm sure has displaced a few galons of water. Not to mention I plan on switching from CC to a DSB this weekend, I'm sure that will also decrease my water volume. I think I may start a sump just to increase the volume.