Question about live rock........

[mennazeher04]

hey there my name is mike and i have a 120 gallon tank with a 30 gallon sump.........im basically wondering how much live rock i should put in at one time to start with? Also i found this place that sells florida live rock for like 1.99 per pound and the premium for 2.99 per pound. Does anyone have any suggestion of where to buy or the live rock that looks the best? Any help would be appreciated........Thanks

 

[dustin_P74]

1-2lbs per gallon, so id say about 120lbs to start, also id buy some fiji rock, the atlantic stuff seems to be more dense and less porous

 

[phuture1]

hi "Menn". could you post the web site or the name of the store that sells that rock....i'm looking for some myself. thanks.

 

[yote]

At 2 to 3 bucks a pound,I'd get as much as I could afford.Like Dustin said,1 to 2 pounds per gallon is the general rule of thumb.

 

[Teixeira29]

A good place to get base rock for cheap os marcorocks.com $.99 lb
Good Luck!

 

[Bifferwine]

If you put it all it at once, you only have to cycle your tank once. If you add a little bit of rock at a time, you risk cycling your tank over and over, which is especially risky once you have animals in the tank. So if you can afford it, buy 120 to 240 pounds all at once. If you can't afford to do that, you'll have to be more patient with establishing your tank.

 

[mennazeher04]

hi "Menn". could you post the web site or the name of the store that sells that rock....i'm looking for some myself. thanks.

hey this is the website i found with the pretty cheap florida rock.....hope this helps......hey that place with the base rock for $0.99. How much would you recommend getting of base rock?

 

[mennazeher04]

www.gulf-view.com

 

[dustin_P74]

if your going the base rock route id say 90-100 pounds base 20-30 pounds live if your go with 1 pound per gallon. if you go with 2 pounds per gallon id say 200-210 pounds base 30-40 pounds live

 

[mennazeher04]

hey thanks for all the info.......now i have another question. i have added my salt and my sand to my tank and it is almost clear.......now can i order my live rock now or do have to let that run for alittle longer.......(i added the salt and live sand this past weekend)........any info will help......thanks

 

[Jkraft136]

Your fine to add you live rock now. Just keep a watch on your params before you add any livestock to make sure your not cycling.

 

[yote]

Just make sure the salinity is right,and order your rock.
Then you get to play the waiting game while your tank cycles.

 

[mennazeher04]

thanks for the info, well my salinity is 1.025 and its been steady since i have added my salt. also my water temp has been steady at 78 degrees. well im thinking about doing 85 pounds of the dry rock from marcorocks.com and 45 pounds from liveaquaria.com......is there something special i have to do when adding the dry live rock?.....or is just the cycling period be alittle longer?........thanks again for the info

 

[Jkraft136]

Well i was always told to make sure u clean off your dry rock before u put it in the tank.

 

[dustin_P74]

just give it a good rinsing to get any dust or dirt off it and then put it in the tank

 

[yote]

Agreed.Just rinse the dirt and dust off the dry rock and its good to go.

 

[Bifferwine]

I'll add: rinse it in a bucket of saltwater. Rinsing live rock in freshwater would be pretty bad for the rock.

You'll just need a 5 gallon bucket, and a toothbrush to get off any dead stuff or any gunk that's trapped in the crevices.

 

[dustin_P74]

I'll add: rinse it in a bucket of saltwater. Rinsing live rock in freshwater would be pretty bad for the rock.

if its base rock it wont really matter

 

[Bifferwine]

if its base rock it wont really matter

Okay, I'll give you that :) But for live rock, it does matter.

 

[mennazeher04]

hey all thanks for the great info you've been giving me, but i have another question for ya. When i put live rock in and it starts its curing process how long do i leave the lights on for?........i have 2-10k 96watt bulbs and 2-blue actinic 96watt bulbs.....Also can you tell me how long to leave on the blue's and 10k's? Last question....lol....do i put both lights on (10k's and blue's) at the same time or do i run the 10k's and then run the blue's? Hopefully i made enough sense for yall to understand what im asking.....lol......thanks again