A question as old as time: How much rock?

[Anemone_Fanatic]

Hey y'all, I'm getting to the point in my build where I'm considering aquascaping. I know that I'll be going with aquacultured Florida rock, as opposed to dead or painted rock. My question is, should I go with 60 or 75 lbs? I'm going to try to do two large islands, one slightly bigger than the other. I'm also hoping to have a good amount of open sandbed for zoas and LPS. The dimensions of the tank are 36"x20"x22". Thanks!

 

[StatelineReefer]

The question was never how much rock, the question was How Much Surface Area, and the answer will always be more than you think you need.

Asthetically, most of us want enough rock to substrate our corals in a visually pleasing manner, be that two piles, three piles and an arch, or whatever NSA is trying to be.

Consider placing almost as much as you have in the display in an area of the sump for additional cryptic areas, nitrate to nitrogen conversion, and bacterial colonization for starting new tanks.

 

[design.maddie]

I would think around 70 would be a good starting point. With it being aquaculture, you can always add a bit more by the lb if you need. That is how I filled my 70 gallon back in the day. Between my sump and display I think I was close to 90 total lbs.

 

[Pistondog]

Hey y'all, I'm getting to the point in my build where I'm considering aquascaping. I know that I'll be going with aquacultured Florida rock, as opposed to dead or painted rock. My question is, should I go with 60 or 75 lbs? I'm going to try to do two large islands, one slightly bigger than the other. I'm also hoping to have a good amount of open sandbed for zoas and LPS. The dimensions of the tank are 36"x20"x22". Thanks!

60 lbs and get live rock from lfs if you need more.
As @StatelineReefer said, have some in the refugium for su4face area and the critters there.
If you are stacking in piles some of the aquacultured will be hidden, and 60lbs is a good start for biodiversity.

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

Thanks! The sump is only 15 gallons and doesn't have a refugium, so I doubt I'll be able to put very much rock in there. I think I'll start with 60 pounds, and then add more if needed. Sounds good?

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

Just realized what the pricing is on the KP Rock. Yikes. Would the biological filtration of the tank work well if I did, say, 20 lbs of aquacultured rock and the rest dry? I know that it wouldn't be quite the same, but it would save me a few hundred dollars. Thanks!

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Just realized what the pricing is on the KP Rock. Yikes. Would the biological filtration of the tank work well if I did, say, 20 lbs of aquacultured rock and the rest dry? I know that it wouldn't be quite the same, but it would save me a few hundred dollars. Thanks!

The dry rock will be seeded from the KP rock. It's how I did it back in the day with Tongan & Fiji rock. I'd only order 10-30 pounds from over seas and let it seed the dead rock.

 

[Pistondog]

All Products

gulfliverock.com

Happy with my purchase from gulf live rock

 

[fish farmer]

Just realized what the pricing is on the KP Rock. Yikes. Would the biological filtration of the tank work well if I did, say, 20 lbs of aquacultured rock and the rest dry? I know that it wouldn't be quite the same, but it would save me a few hundred dollars. Thanks!

I've always done a mix of live rock on top and dry/base rock on the bottom. It would be foolish to spend good money on great rock with tons of life only to stack it on the bottom. It will eventually become colonized by the live rock.

 

[blaxsun]

The short answer is more - always more.

 

[damsels are not mean]

Whatever survives long term on the wet rock will colonize the dry rock, with the exception of maybe some star coral or something. I really don't think there is much reason to get a large order of live rock when you can use dry rock to create a basic structure first and add live rock to introduce some biodiversity.

 

[jabberwock]

I started with a mix of live rock from 2 different LFS, and a few pounds of supplemental ceramic media. Cycled and then added 20 pounds of real ocean live rock. Worked out great, 3 months in. Very happy with the results. I am running a 25 gallon lagoon and a 15 gallon "junk" tank.