1lb per gallon rule?

[Thatoneomahaguy]

Do most people still follow the pound of live rock per gallon rule? I am going to order some rock soon since its so expensive and mediocre at the LFS. Its for my 40 gallon breeder. Since I have no idea what shapes and sizes I'll get I dont really know how much to order. Is this rule mostly just preference since skimmers have advanced or does the rule still hold true for biological filtration purposes? I will have some room in the refugium so I can more some extra in there for aquascaping purposes.

[cindyp]

i do not. but i have an 8g with 6g display.

i think i have maybe 4# rocks, tops. i started

out with more, but it just cluttered my little tank.

 

good luck!

[jedimasterben]

That 'rule' was made up by fish stores selling 'live' rock for 8-15 bucks a pound. It really has little to no bearing on total filtration capacity.

[Veng]

If you want your tank to look aweful, overcrowded, and like a giant rock pile, then use 1 lb per gallon. Otherwise, use less rock and do it much more aesthetically.

[BulkRate]

Nowhere near that in mine, and I'm using real reef rock (first gen). If I were doing it again I'd use half that if not less, depending on surface area & aesthetics.

 

The bulk of your denitrification will probably be coming from water changes or macro export rather than anaerobic action within the rock given the volumes in question. Plus cost... dry rock & a few good quality seed rocks are a much better used of startup cash.

[Thatoneomahaguy]

Nowhere near that in mine, and I'm using real reef rock (first gen). If I were doing it again I'd use half that if not less, depending on surface area & aesthetics.

 

The bulk of your denitrification will probably be coming from water changes or macro export rather than anaerobic action within the rock given the volumes in question. Plus cost... dry rock & a few good quality seed rocks are a much better used of startup cash.

 

Thats the plan! I was thinking some dry rock from BRS and some seed rock from the local place. Thanks for all the advice! Exactly what I was hoping to hear

[ajmckay]

I used 25 lbs of BRS pukani for my 40br and it's plenty. If I were using fiji or reef saver I would order more like 30-35.

 

The trend now is to have less rock because overall it tends to create a more aesthetically pleasing rock scape. It also gives you a ton more room for coral grow out.

 

That being said order more rock than you think you will need because it allows you more of a variety in shapes and sizes. It could happen that you get 3 huge rocks but they don't fit together at all. If that's the case then use a hack say, chisel, hammer, or your driveway to break it up. In my latest scape I ended up sacrificing a rock for rubble pieces as well.

 

I'm not saying buy 2x what you think you will need, but since you can't be there to pick the pieces it helps to have the ability to modify the rocks a bit. If you have left over you can give it to someone, sell it, or even keep it around for when you get bored of the scape and you want to swap out some of the rocks.

[streamline.by.design]

I think it really depends on the type of rock and quality. If it is a high porosity rock, go with less. If it is dense, go with more. At our store, we still suggest the 1lb per gallon, unless you use some sort of media in the sump. We talk to so many people that started with less rock and the system just doesn't seem to do as well/mature as quickly as one with more rock.

 

Of course this doesn't take into account different husbandry styles.

[jedimasterben]

At our store, we still suggest the 1lb per gallon, unless you use some sort of media in the sump. We talk to so many people that started with less rock and the system just doesn't seem to do as well/mature as quickly as one with more rock.

Unless your store is selling only Tonga rock, then you're making a connection that isn't there.

 

[jolee0722]

Totally agree with all the above comments. Buy more than you need because if you buy online you can't choose the pieces and then you have more to pick from. Also it is a good idea to use dry rock and a seed rock to prevent any pests and what not plus totally cheaper as well. I bought a 25 lb box of pukani and thought I had everything planned for my 30 gallon and then I said what the heck and bought 10 more pounds. Those 10 lbs is the only thing in my tank.

[Beer]

Any of the xxxx per gallon rules don't really apply any more. Tanks no longer follow the same format as the old standard framed tanks.

With all the variations from cubes to really long shallow tanks, the 'rules' don't apply.

As far as the rocks go, throw in variations in rock densities from Tonga like Jedi mentioned to Pukini, and there are more variations. That and with all the newer nutrient export methods and people not building solid rock walls for their scape, it's pretty irrelevant.

 

If you are going online, figure out what rock type you want and how you want your rock work to look (wall, more open, islands, Eco) and contact the vendor. Most of them will help you figure out what you need (they know the densities and sizes of their rock) and will pick out some pieces for for the look you are going for and for the tank dimensions you have. Throw in a couple of extra pieces so you can customize what they packaged up for you if you don't like a couple of the pieces they picked and so you have some stuff to break up to stabilize the rock work and to toss in the sump, if that's the route you like to go.

[BulkRate]

Never underestimate the filtration capacity of a mesh bag full of Matrix media put in a mode4ate/low flow path. Sump baffle, AiO chamber, inTank/Aquaclear partition etc.

 

I suspect that nowadays you could probably jump-start a tank's biofilter completely just by innoculating a heated/circulating bucket of it & feeding 1-2 ppm of ammonia every day or two for a couple weeks.

 

Word of advice - be picky NOW. Every scaping change you might decide to make later will be harder once there's corals to avoid damaging or shading out & critters to spook or squash.

[SunWyrm]

If you want your tank to look aweful, overcrowded, and like a giant rock pile, then use 1 lb per gallon. Otherwise, use less rock and do it much more aesthetically.

I have seen some nice "rock piles"....

 

I've always been told to keep extra rock in the sump, but I've always found it to just be a detritus trap mess down there when I do.

[Cycleguy0623]

I have tonga in mine and have roughly 70lbs of rock with a 116 gallon system. I also used two of the marine pure blocks in my sump for added surface area.

[Robertsb0b]

my ten gallon has 22 pounds of rock but thats because i really liked the shape of it all when i was done.only 4pounds was live starting out but i used twenty pounds of live sand also. my fish are happy they dodge in and out of the crevises and holes all day long. but i dont think i nessecerelly needed that much. it was just my choice. I was lucky that my lfs helped me put a configuration together that I really liked. they didnt so much put it together as they helped guide me in a way that the rocks looked really good together after i dug out some pieces i really liked. i didnt start out to get so much but when i finished it just ended up that way lol

[fredfish01]

That 'rule' was made up by fish stores selling 'live' rock for 8-15 bucks a pound. It really has little to no bearing on total filtration capacity.

The rule was made up by hobbyists before we had a clue as to the processes by which nutrients were broken down and processed in our aquariums, though I'm sure retailers had no interest in discouraging the use of that rule. I also remember when the absolute minimum sandbed depth was 3" or it would not process nitrates. Oh the good old days...

[Sancho]

Its complete bull shit!

[Tamberav]

I find more issues with more live rock as it impedes flow and traps debris. Less rock (to a point, I don't mean NO rock) = more stable of a tank imo!

 

Aquascape it how you like and don't think about how many lbs. Instead go for aesthetics, coral placement, and flow.

 

 

Also don't put a ton in your sump, same idea, it will trap stuff over time even if you have a filter sock.

 

 

Do most people still follow the pound of live rock per gallon rule? I am going to order some rock soon since its so expensive and mediocre at the LFS. Its for my 40 gallon breeder. Since I have no idea what shapes and sizes I'll get I dont really know how much to order. Is this rule mostly just preference since skimmers have advanced or does the rule still hold true for biological filtration purposes? I will have some room in the refugium so I can more some extra in there for aquascaping purposes.

[streamline.by.design]

Unless your store is selling only Tonga rock, then you're making a connection that isn't there.

 

 

Actually, I think the part of my statement you left off covers that just fine. "I think it really depends on the type of rock and quality. If it is a high porosity rock, go with less."