Which is more beneficial?

[AlabamaClownfish]

Hey everyone, I have a quick question. Which is more beneficial in a reef tank? Live rock or chaetomorpha?

 

[AlabamaClownfish]

My mistake, they are Frag tanks and not reef tanks.

 

[sde1500]

Frag tank? Well you need something for bacteria to live in for cycling, so I'd say some rock, or other substrate I guess.

 

[AlabamaClownfish]

I have two 60 gallon deep blue Reef ready frag tanks plumbed together and I have about 40 to 50 pounds of rock in the sump already. I was contemplating moving half of the rock and replacing it with chaeto.

 

[sde1500]

I mean, they do completely different jobs. Do you think 30 lbs of rock can support 120 gallons of water?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

A frag tank without fish won't generally need much nutrient export (e.g., macroalgae) unless you intend to feed the corals a lot.

 

[rockhead51]

This is an apples to penguins comparison. Both have a job in tank maintenance, but they do different things. If you say "I only have X amount of space for chaeto or live rock, which should I do?" Then it's a different question. But there are other things that do each job, as well....

 

[AlabamaClownfish]

So apparently no one knows the answer since I have not gotten one yet.

 

[sde1500]

Well, glad to see the smartalec response means there is no more need to help. peace

 

[AlabamaClownfish]

My question was not what should I put in my sump, my question was which one is more beneficial...

 

[skim]

Something I think many seem to forget or do not realise is everything that is a part of your system and water touches or flows through is a surface for Bacteria, including the beneficial Bacteria that supports are live stock. I believe you could run a Reef tank with no LR and build a Aquascape out of Egg Crate and have no problems. Over the years it has become a come practice to use less and less rock. Back when Berlin method was starting it was believed that one need tons of LR to be successful as it was replacing the Trickle filter and Canister and Undergravel filters and slowly it was discovered there was no need for the tank to be crammed full of LR and to the point now that many like myself believe there is no need for live except for locations to mount your Corals. The other belief for LR was for Nitrate control well now we have many different ways for that so it seems the need for LR has become quite questionable. So my answer to your question would be Chaeto. I would use the Chaeto and add some Snails and two fish one being a Yellow Tang for any Algae and say a Six line Wrasse for some type of pest control.
Anyhow, just my thoughts, hope it's some help or at least gives you something to think about.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

So apparently no one knows the answer since I have not gotten one yet.

live rock.

 

[AlabamaClownfish]

Thank you for actually answering my question, I have both types of fish in there now. Based on your answer I will remove probably 10 pounds or so of live rock and add the chaeto.

 

[Blacktank]

Live Rock

 

[Blacktank]

They both do different things, so it can depend on what you have in your system as to what is better for your system, but live Rock will do more to keep your system stabilized.

 

[TheLadyCrash]

They both do different things.

This is the point. Before getting snippy about no one answering a question you need to tell us what you are trying to do.

Are you looking for a way to build up bacteria? - Live rock.
Are you needing to export excess bioload? - Chaeto.

 

[Cory]

Chaeto- removes pollution and adds oxygen

Live rock- removes pollution somewhat and removes oxygen

Id say chaeto is better for tank health, but live rock is needed too

 

[AlabamaClownfish]

That was basically a perfect answer, thank you Cory.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

You don't need chato in a reef tank.
Buy not needing it, it is not as beneficial.