Live rock stocking question.

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valdok

Large Fish
#1
Jul 1, 2003
229
0
0
40
Chicago, Illinois
val.textdrive.com
#1
I'm ordering 45lbs of live rock for my FWLRO tank. I'm going to cycle the tank with my life rock. The tank is 20 gallons. Is this too much live rock? I love live rock, and that's really the main reason for my tank. I'm going to a blue damsel in there. I am hoping when the uncured live rock dies off it will help cycle the tank with the ammonia and nitrate. Since i am ordering it all at once, from an online source, i have to put it in my tank all at once. I know it's not the best situation for the live rock, but it won't all die, will it? :rolleyes:

For my substrate I used sand already had billions of bacteria laced into it, that "Agra-live" stuff, so i'm hoping the ammonia spikes from the die-off won't be too steep. The tank has been running for a good 2 weeks now with a few damsels in there i am going to take out once I get the live rock. To me, live rock is just fascinating. I had some in a tank before, and I loved it. It was even more interesting then the fish I had in there! I know that you're supposed to have anywhere from 1.25lb of live rock to 1.75lb in a tank per gallon of water, is it okay to go slightly above that?

Thanks for the help.
 

1979camaro

1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
#4
Oct 22, 2002
5,862
2
0
42
San Ramon, CA
#4
actually, jaws2, the fish will be more comforatble with a varied environment and more visible/attractive b/c they will not have to fear (as much) being prey for the hand of god, or some big fish, when they recognize that their environment provides ample shelter
 

L

lowzone

New Fish
#7
Jul 1, 2003
6
0
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51
Northern NJ
Visit site
#7
IS THE TANK A 20 LONG OR 20 HIGH? I have a 5.5 gallon with 10lbs of live rock and misc corals in it and its not to crowded, 45 lbs of LR doenst go as far as some people think, my 125 at home has over 100lbs and it looks sparse. I need another 100 lbs to make it look resonably stocked. I have to aggeee, even though they are starter fish, Damsels are very colorful fish and its cool how they swim in and out of the "reef".
I recently went snorkling off the coast of Anguilla (British Virgin Islands) and swam along a rock cliff/reef and it was awesome, gave me ideas for the 125 and more respect for the fish and how our hobby has grown. Also seeing a 10lb Purple Tangs (no yellow tails, just all purple) and 5 lbs SquirrelEye Fish (forget the proper name) in schools of 10 or more was wild as well as the misc wrasses and sea urchants.
 

Backdraft Bagel

Backdraft Bagel

Large Fish
#8
Oct 22, 2002
627
0
0
#8
If the LR won't fit you can always get a big mallet and shatter a crappy piece into a bunch of cooler / smaller frags and scatter them about the bottom. Be sure to leave some sandy floor though.

Also, if you have a 'fuge rollin' on that tank, you'll need to throw a few frags in there for your macroalgaes to attach to.
 

V

valdok

Large Fish
#9
Jul 1, 2003
229
0
0
40
Chicago, Illinois
val.textdrive.com
#9
Man, i would love to go snorkling. i guess really it depends on the density of the rock itself. I'm going to buy 45lb of live rock and hope it all fits... heh. Does anyone live in the chicagoland area? If it doesn't fit I would hate to see it go to waste. It's not a long, for sure, but I'm not sure about it being a high. It's about a foot tall, and two feet wide [the front], about a foot deep [the side].
 

W

wayne

Elite Fish
#13
Oct 22, 2002
4,077
3
0
#13
It's a shame mail order seems to come in big volumes - I've seen people using 1 lb per gallon to 2.5 per gallon and both seem to work, though obviously there's more swimming space in the lower range. If you go lower, you need to be cleverer about building structures to maximise water flow and surface area revealed - if you put 45 in a 20, you will have to be pretty sharp getting in there.
Can't you sell somesome to someone else.
Get ready for some sharp water changes, and get those fish out, and it looks like a fair plan.
 

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