Live Rock or Not Please Help

[Memo]

I am in a process of setting a 120 gal. Fish only saltwater tank with wet/dry filter, bio balls and protein skimmer. No corals just fish and maybe anemone for clowns, My LFS recommends not to use LR. This recommendation is based on if there is a bacterial of fungal problem with the fish chemical medication treatment would be uncomplicated. Also they are suggesting the survival rate of the fish would be greater. Is this true? The information I read suggests using LR. Can you please help…….I don’t know which way to go LR or not.
I would be most grateful for all suggestions and thank you in advance……….

Lori

[drake66]

cant go wrong with some LR its like a filter anyway.. so go crazy with lr

[jgoodrich71]

And I hate to tell you this, but if you want an anemone for the clowns, you better set up a reef tank. Anemones are more difficult than most corals you can get.

The survival rate of the fish would be better with the live rock. It sets up a more natural ecosystem. I don't know why they would tell you otherwise.

You will want to set up a quarentine tank regardless of whether it is fish only or with live rock. That is what you will want to medicate if there is a disease.

[Ky_Yaker]

You might want to re-think using a wet-dry with bio balls. There is a lot of information on this website about that subject. The general feeling is to stay away from the bio balls. Do some research before giving all your money to your lfs. Good luck!!

[Moreta]

Originally posted by spalmer114
Do some research before giving all your money to your lfs. Good luck!!

Excellent advice!

[cheesner]

In addition to being a great biological filter, the LR will introduce small creatures (copepods, isopods, otherthing-pods) that will provide excellent natural food source, for some fish anyway. When your fish are swimming around hunting and foreaging - it makes for a more interesting tank. It has a more natural feel to it IMO.

[yankeebobo]

Consider a refuge with some macro algae. That will help with more natural life as well.

[racer69]

That LFS should not be giving advise like that. LR is very benificial to all marine life even if it is fish only. You will need the bacteria population to help with the waste (detritus) that the fish will make just by eating. A protien skimmer will not be enough by itself to keep up. The wet/dry with bio balls is also not a great idea, as it will give off to many nitrates (even fish only).

If you plan on keeping an anemone, you will need the LR. You will also need enough light to keep one alive (metal halide, vho maybe). They are difficult to keep alive if you are not very experienced.

The LFS should know the importance of a quarantine tank for any fish that are newly added or being treated later on. You should never treat any display tank because you can kill your benificial bacteria. If you kill your bacteria your tank will have to cycle all over again.

Hope this helps. :-)

[n8duncan]

Dump your LFS and find another. Sounds like they give very poor advise..IMHO Gett he live rock you cant go wrong.

N8

[drillsar]

my lfs said same thing.. and they where rated as top there called absolutely fish in clifton. always put new fish in another tank first what I do is put them in my refuge in my sump and turn off feed from my tank..

[bertoni]

If you want to keep an anemone, the LFS advice is not correct. Otherwise, for a FO, a wide range of filtration styles will work, and they're correct that having no live rock means you can dump medication into the tank more freely. Unfortunately, that won't be feasible if you add any invertebrates like snails, shrimp, etc.

I would use live rock in a FO for many of the reasons stated, but it is a personal choice.

[bboyin4lyf]

Live rock is pivotal to a healthy marine aquarium even if it is just a fish system. LFS owners "not all of them" do not use the internet and subsequently advocate outdated and incorrect information. use the information from the net as your primary source and your LFS as a secondary. remember that the people on these forums cannot profit from the information they give while the LFS can.
use liverock and lots of it. research the bio balls as they are not neccessary with liverock.
good luck