Dry rock/ Live rock ratio

[Explicit]

I have read a few posts on this topic but would like to be clear on the subject. I was originally going to buy 35 pounds of live rock. That would have been inn the vicinity of 150 dollars or so. What would be a good ratio to seed dry rock and how long would this add to my initial cycle?

 

[Waddi]

10 pounds i would say would be enough. You dont need much, one good size piece of live will do you.

 

[little_fish]

You want your total rock lbs to 1-2 lbs per gal, but you only need a very small chuck like Waddi said of live rock to get start.

I think marcorocks.com ships to canada and they have great dry rock prices, plus the stuff looks awesome.

 

[Explicit]

Awesome! Will seeeding the rock affect my biological filtration, I.e wait longer then usual to add wild life.

 

[little_fish]

well the more live rock you get, usually the faster you cycle happens. But i would save the money and wait a week longer so i can use the money to buy better fish and corals.

 

[Explicit]

well the more live rock you get, usually the faster you cycle happens. But i would save the money and wait a week longer so i can use the money to buy better fish and corals.

Patience is a virtue! But yes more money is always good. I'll go with 5 lbs of live rock and 25 pounds of dry.

 

[little_fish]

Sounds like an excellent plan. Even if you get a bunch of live rock you would want to wait at least two weeks before you add anything to make sure your tank is actually cycled.

 

[Explicit]

Yeah chemical processes are far to slow for my liking :)

 

[Waddi]

My cycle has just finished, had about 2lb to start with (Cheap i know!! ;) ) And i had alot of dry, but i added about 30lb of live toward the end of the cycle. took about a month and a half. No discouragement intended!! haha :p

 

[little_fish]

Yeah chemical processes are far to slow for my liking :)

Its a biological process ;)

 

[parrotchute]

To clarify on some of the above advice -
The biological filtration will be a little less with the dry rock at first, since it'll need time to "grow". I'd be a little slower adding livestock with such a small ratio of live rock at first. It is a great way to save a bunch of money. If you are stocking your tank at a normal, slow pace, the rock will have time to grow the microbes needed, as they will tend to balance out to match their food source (ammonia).

Also, another caveat: with less live rock, you're introducing less live "creatures" and therefore limiting your biodiversity. It won't affect the biological process of breaking down ammonia, but it may mean less species of worms/pods/etc. being introduced. That can mean a slightly less effective micro-clean-up-crew. You can also get some scoops of sand from your LFS' tanks and occasionally add/swap a piece of live rock.