so much live rock?
 

to start thing off im just going to say this...this is not a troll.
now that we have THAT out of the way i have a question...
can it be harmful to your fish if you have to much live rock in your tank? and if it can be...what are the risks? what kind of fish are more easily harmed by to much live rock? etc

If there is not enough swimming room or if there is so much that flow is decreased.

I don't see any reason why something would be harmed by live rock at all, except for something like a shark or stingray which have sensitive undersides. Live rock is like a natural filter and it helps keep your water quality good and in turn helps the fish.

Also, one drawback about too much live rock is not enough swimming space for the fish...but you'd have to have a whole lot of rock in your tank for that to happen.

What size/shape is your tank?

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11579472#post11579472 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Finding Emo [/i]
[B]I don't see any reason why something would be harmed by live rock at all, except for something like a shark or stingray which have sensitive undersides. Live rock is like a natural filter and it helps keep your water quality good and in turn helps the fish.

Also, one drawback about too much live rock is not enough swimming space for the fish...but you'd have to have a whole lot of rock in your tank for that to happen. [/B][/QUOTE]

i agree...i have approx 180 lbs in my 90 and about 30 in my sump and fuge...1.5-2lbs per gallon is what you should have for good biological filtration.

If you stack the rock so tightly that it inhibits your flow, you can have issues. If you have adequate flow, and enough swimming room, go nuts!

Most people have too much live rock IMO. Where are you going to put the corals ?

As pointed out you need good flow and swimming/hiding places for the fish.

the aesthetics issue is going to depend on the individual, but grow out room for corals is something to consider as these animals will just keep expanding - think in terms of how you want it to look a few years from now. And the flow issue is not a minor one - dead flow areas are more prone to diatom and cyanobacteria outbreaks.

also, the filtration benefit is not so much a function of how much rock in terms of size and weight, but surface area. porous, open rock will do more in terms of filtration than its equivalent in area and weight

your whole water column consists of the tank, sump and any refugiums. therefore you can spread out the live rock--it doesn't have to be just in the main tank to be working as a biological filter. That leaves swimming room and room for corals as suggested above.

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11580157#post11580157 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Agu [/i]
[B]Most people have too much live rock IMO. Where are you going to put the corals ?

As pointed out you need good flow and swimming/hiding places for the fish. [/B][/QUOTE]

Agu, what would you personally consider too much live rock?

I don't think it's the live rock that harms them. Rock displaces water, to the more rock you have, the less water you have. If you have a 200g tank and you fill it with 400 lbs of rock, you may only have 50 gallons of water left over. Start adding a whole bunch of fish and you get some serious pollution.