How much rock is too much rock?

[Stevel]

Just got done aquascaping my new 90gallon. I have to admit I love aquascaping and I love a lot of rock. What do you all think? Too much?

No it looks very nice !! I also love aquascaping

 

[Christopher Peters]

Maybe stack a few more rocks on the right hand side so your tank has some varied height. Aesthetically it will be more pleasing. It will appear less uniform.

 

[Greg P]

I prefer to keep my structure low enough to allow room for SPS colonies to grow tall and big.
Once my colonies populate the swimming areas, the fish will utilize it.

I used to follow the 1/2-1LB rock/gallon rule. Now I just use whatever LR I like and it still filters my tank just fine.

My current 75g has only 30+/- Lbs of rock

 

[HB AL]

I would add more. My display is packed with rock, top to bottom, side to side and front to back. I also have a lot of coral and a lot of fishall in a 90g. I think it contributes to a healthy aquarium thus the corals and fish are all healthy. My tank is in my bedroom and I have nowhere to put a large sump weather a fish room or basement so this is what I ended up with. If I had a choice I would have a giant sump loaded with live rock to the brim and a little less in the dt. In my opinion lots of live rock adds to the stability of the tank and the long term health of all the inhabitants. Here’s a pic of my tank so you get an idea of the amount of rock in it. With the massive bioload I have, all the live rock definitely plays a huge roll in the success of my system. The more the merrier. Kinda hard to see the all the rock with all the corals covering it but it’s really all there plus another bunch in sump. I am intrigued by the tanks with a minamilst look with just a Little Rock and am open to trying it with another tank but unless one of my daughters move out so I can turn it into a fish room it’s not gonna happen in the near future

 

[Greg P]

I would add more. My display is packed with rock, top to bottom, side to side and front to back. I also have a lot of coral and a lot of fishall in a 90g. I think it contributes to a healthy aquarium thus the corals and fish are all healthy. My tank is in my bedroom and I have nowhere to put a large sump weather a fish room or basement so this is what I ended up with. If I had a choice I would have a giant sump loaded with live rock to the brim and a little less in the dt. In my opinion lots of live rock adds to the stability of the tank and the long term health of all the inhabitants. Here’s a pic of my tank so you get an idea of the amount of rock in it. With the massive bioload I have, all the live rock definitely plays a huge roll in the success of my system. The more the merrier. Kinda hard to see the all the rock with all the corals covering it but it’s really all there plus another bunch in sump. I am intrigued by the tanks with a minamilst look with just a Little Rock and am open to trying it with another tank but unless one of my daughters move out so I can turn it into a fish room it’s not gonna happen in the near future

And that works for you

My fish are able to swim about my whole tank ... behind the rocks, through the rocks, and so on

Even when my tank is 'too full', my critters still have room to swim all around the rocks

 

[Greg P]

I like to keep room behind my rocks for water flow and swimming room, and to keep my back glass clean

 

[jace]

Completely preferential however you do want to consider the livestock and corals you want to keep to plan aquascaping. Instead of how much is too much think of what design is best long term. Tearing down aquascaping can be a pain!

 

[Paul B]

It's the bacteria living in and on the rock that keeps the tank healthy. If there is not enough rock, there are not enough bacteria.
It's simple.

 

[Greg P]

It's the bacteria living in and on the rock that keeps the tank healthy. If there is not enough rock, there are not enough bacteria.
It's simple.

Thanks Paul ...

My point was it's all about the Bacteria, not the amount of LR in your tank
I feel the old adage of needing 1-2 LBS of rock/gallon is old-school

 

[Paul B]

I like the old adage, fill your tank as much as you can with rock, then go out to dinner and try the Merlot.

I have no idea how many pounds of rock is in my tank as I collected it over many years and the ocean didn't have a scale in it so I just threw it in.

 

[Greg P]

I like the old adage, fill your tank as much as you can with rock, then go out to dinner and try the Merlot.

I have no idea how many pounds of rock is in my tank as I collected it over many years and the ocean didn't have a scale in it so I just threw it in.

Hahaha, you're a big help for those wanting a scale of how much rock to add ...

Kinda like when someone asks how much alcohol does it take to get drunk ...

I prefer to equate it to how far can you throw a cow

 

[Paul B]

I am not sure how far I can throw a cow as I never tried but I would guess not to far.
As for rock, some of my rock comes above the water and some of my crabs and snails like to climb up there, sort of like a scenic view.

 

[Greg P]

All fun aside, my first 75g tank had 40ish lbs of rock, my second had less than 30, and my latest has only 23 or so lbs. It's all about the bacteria.
Reefers close to me told me I would need BIO blocks and all that other crap to keep my tank alive.
This is not so.
All you need is to keep the bacteria load in line with whatever you want in your tank.

Load up your bacteria slowly enough to keep up with your fish and you'll be fine

 

[PhreeByrd]

In terms of tank health, I don't believe there is such a thing as too much rock. In terms of practicality though, there can be.
You could essentially fill the tank with rock and have awesome bio-filtration... but would your fish still have room to swim, and would you have places to plant corals?

I often see tank photos with dozens or more of small coral colonies or frags, placed right next to each other, taking up practically every free square inch of rockwork. I suppose that looks impressive now, but most corals get big, some grow very quickly, and in no time it's a maintenance nightmare of epic proportions.

Figure out what fish and other livestock you want to keep and how much area they need to stay healthy as they grow. Do they need sand area to thrive?
Decide what corals you want to keep and estimate how much room they'll need as they grow so you can place them without crowding. Then arrange your rock accordingly. Consider the growth habit of the corals you want to keep. Some stay low and spread out, others are compact but grow tall. If they grow out of the water, you'll constantly be pruning them back.

The adage when I started reefkeeping was 1 to 2 lbs of live rock per gallon of water. I think most would agree that with modern methods and equipment, you can easily maintain a healthy system with about 1/2lb of rock per gallon. All of that rock does not need to be in your display, either. It works just as well in an attached sump or refugium.

 

[Greg P]

I am not sure how far I can throw a cow as I never tried but I would guess not to far.
As for rock, some of my rock comes above the water and some of my crabs and snails like to climb up there, sort of like a scenic view.

I'm sure you would grow very tired explaining everything you have learned just in this thread alone ...

 

[Greg P]

I think most would agree that with modern methods and equipment, you can easily maintain a healthy system with about 1/2lb of rock per gallon.

I'm getting by with 1LB/3Gallons, but that's my tank with my 7 years experience.

 

[WVNed]

I feel like we are re inventing the wheel. Old adages like 1 pound per gallon where used because they were found to work in the absence of any other info.
If the rock is the filter it is somewhat obvious how big a filter you need is dependent on how many animals you have in your tank.
There where a set of interlocking adages, rock per gallon, fish per gallon, flow per gallon, , watts per gallon, Tank size for types of fish, etc. that allowed you to keep a marine tank without having a degree in marine biology. If you ignore one most of the rest go out the window too.
Then you are in uncharted territory.

 

[Paul B]

I'm sure you would grow very tired explaining everything you have learned just in this thread alone ...

Yes, I know, I am long winded, sorry. (My wife tells me this all the time) I will try to keep my posts to 17 words or less even if I am in the middle of a sentence or a ..........

 

[Reeferdude1888]

Hi I think it looks good plenty hiding spots and nice placement and more importantly as long as your happy with it then go with it

 

[Greg P]

I feel like we are re inventing the wheel.

My Brother-In-Law tried to run a SW tank about 30 years ago and nobody could keep fish alive.
I worked in a pet store about that time, and the biggest thing was a Trickle filter.
Yet we as suppliers couldn't show the consumer how to keep the fish alive.

Look how far we've come

Regardless, for the OP, start with how much LR you want and make your 'scape what you want it to be.
Read about the Nitrogen Cycle and carry on