how much live rock?

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jpcampbell123

Redtail Catfish
MFK Member
Feb 18, 2011
2,011
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In the water
how much live rock would be needed for a 180. a while back i had a 180 had alot of setbacks going on so i sold it. well now i found a better design for one how much live rock would i need for it?
idk what i want to put in it yet either.

john
 
Im setting up a 90 so I did a 30/60 split... 60 pounds Base and 30 pounds live... I followed the 1 pound per gallon rule but Ive read on other forums you always dont have to abide by that just depends on how patient you are for the tank to cycle. Also depends on what you want to do with the the tank Reef, FO, FOWLR.... Technically FO you wouldnt need any but you would have to be pretty good on water changes and would probably be more expensive in the long run
 
I would say that you could buy 50lbs of live rock and 130lbs of base rock. But if you wanted to save a little technically you could just buy 175lbs of base rock and only buy 5lbs of live, but you would just have to let it cycle for a month. In my 40 breeder that i just set up I only used 5lbs of LR and 40lbs of base and just put prawns in to let them decay. Saved alot of money considering LR is 7.00 a pound here and base rock is only 2.50.
 
X2, 50 of live and 130+- of base.

Or run a deep sand bed and you can get away with only 150-160lbs or rock perhaps starting out. That's what I would do. A deep sand bed sets you up better for reef in the long run. I did not do a deep sand build on my 135 and I know I am going to regret it..
 
I don't do base rock in my tanks.. I like all live rock.. My rule of dumb is 2.5 x 3lb per gallon.. Also depends a bit on the type of rock and how dense it is.
 
I don't do base rock in my tanks.. I like all live rock.. My rule of dumb is 2.5 x 3lb per gallon.. Also depends a bit on the type of rock and how dense it is.

That's kinda dumb because base rock turns into live rock so you're pretty much wasting money.

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