How much live rock and sand

[NeuroLarry]

I'm just setting up a 120 reef tank and have read several books none of which agree on how much live rock and/or sand to use. The general recommendation seems to be 1.5lbs LR/gal. Do I need to use live sand and if so does that change the amount of LR needed? I would also appreciate recommendations on where to purchase the LR. All of the internet sites describe their rock as either"awesome" or "absolutely the best"

[Nanook]

[welcome]

The 120g is a great overall tank...congrats!

I don't think livesand is really necessary. I would recommend getting a 4" sandbed of Southdown Sand, best bang for the buck.

You can innoculate this sand from other reefer's in your area tanks. You can also buy detrivore kits from online stores like:

www.ipsf.com

or

www.inlandaquatics.com

or

www.reeftopia.com


As for the liverock. I think anywhere from 3/4lb-1.5lbs is perfect.

Nanook

[Nanook]

My favorite LR stores have been:


www.premiumaquatics.com


and Flying Fish Express...which recently went out of business.


Nanook

[DgenR8]

I like the rock from www.Gulf-View.com worth a look, and they also sell live sand to seed your sand bed with.
Another good place for live sand to seed with is www.BillsReef.com
Of course, the best place for live sand to seed with is your local reef club members!

[mirski57]

I'm kind of wondering if adding a DSB would reduce the amount of LR you would need in a system.

I'm trying to figure out how much LR to add to a 180.

If just using LR..I would need ~275lbs of LR.....but what If I had a 5" DSB...could I only use ~200lbs of LR or ~150lbs or LR ?

[Nanook]

I think the DSB gives you more and better filtration than just liverock when it comes to denitrification. I think you could put 125 lbs of liverock in there and be fine. The thing to remember is that the functionality of the DSB takes time to really kick in. Meanwhile good nutrient export using skimming, macroalgae export, ATS, etc should be used to avoid algae blooms.

I like the more open look of less liverock than traditionally used in the last few years. This is mainly due to the fact that I want my corals to have room to grow before they are growing out of the water.

Nanook

[rstaaf]

I have this same dilema. I have heard the 1-1.5 lbs per gallon recommendation but, it is hard to visualize. I also have an AGA 120 gallon RR. I would like to avoid the mound of rock look. I am having a hard time decided exactly how much to go with. Can anoyone post pictures of their 120 and also post exactly how much rock they added. Maybe if I see what others have done I can determine what suits my tastes best.

Thanks

Bob

[Nanook]

Hi Bob,

If you click on my OLD website...you will see my 120g reef tank with about 170lbs of liverock...about 20lbs of it buried in the sand for stability.

Nanook

[benihana]

For those that are asking about "how much LR to add" I will be setting up a 75 g in about 2 months and I am planning on putting about 50lbs of LR. I agree with Nanook, I like the look of LESS LR in a tank, better coral growth, and also, more swimming room for your fish

HTH
Benihana:strooper:

[NeuroLarry]

Is there an issue with moving the LR with established corals to clean the sand beneath it?

[benihana]

I would not think so....?? I mean it is already in your tank...there should be no harm in moving them, to the tank that is....or wait...do you mean to the corals???

[Nanook]

Temporary move? Probably no problem...I wouldn't worry about cleaning the sand beneath it though...just get a good cleanup crew and let them do your work for you.


Nanook

[DgenR8]

I'm with Nanook here, don't move the rocks, hire critters to do the cleaning for you. If you move a rock, it will never go back to where you had it in the first place, for some reason, they don't seem to fit when you try to put them back.