How much live rock can I add

Discussion in 'New To The Hobby' started by xpand, Sep 10, 2011.

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  1. xpand

    xpand Flamingo Tongue

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    Hi, I'm in week 9 and tank is doing well. Its a 200g with 75g sump. I know I need way more Live rock and plan to get some a.s.a.p. Right now I have about 55LBS of Fiji. How much can I drop in at a time if it's fully cured?
    I'm thinking like 30LBS?
     
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  3. toemoss

    toemoss Plankton

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    Do you have any critters in there yet? You can probably add more than that
     
  4. xpand

    xpand Flamingo Tongue

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    Well, I started off quick! 5ocellaris clowns 20or so hermits and 3 turbo snails for clean up crew. 2 emerald crabs. 2 large polyps and recently 2 green bubble tip anemones. Everything was added in stages.
    Clowns school together and interact with the anemones. Coralline algae is spreading. All seems awsome. Some feed back earlier was to add lots more LR though.
     
  5. tom.n.day

    tom.n.day Eyelash Blennie

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    Other feedback would to be slow down and enjoy it!

    Most would say you are adding animals too quickly. I would say you need at least another 100lbs of rock. At this stage, I would order 100lbs of dry rock from reef cleaners or marcorocks. The dry rock you could put right in and it wouldn;t "restart" a cycle

    Out of curiosity, what kind of lighting/skimmer are you running to get Coraline growth so quickly?
     
  6. dellyjoe

    dellyjoe Teardrop Maxima Clam

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    i do not think you have to wait to long adding 30 more lb of live rock is not that much of a differences i think if you plan to put i n 1.5 to 2 lb per gallon of water then you do not need to move that slow.

    and i would get some crabs and snails and then add more live rock
     
  7. chuck78

    chuck78 Astrea Snail

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    If it's already cured, than you can add as much as you want b/c if it's TRULLY cured than you don't have to worry about an ammonia spike. I have 210lbs. in my tank. I added it 50lbs. at a time over the course of 40 or so days.
     
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  9. saltyfresh

    saltyfresh Corkscrew Tentacle Anemone

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    Go with base rock from reef cleaners more bang for ur buck and
    No hitch hikers
     
  10. link248

    link248 Ritteri Anemone

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    +1 I agree
     
  11. rainmkr07

    rainmkr07 Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    Agreed. Slow down a bit. Don't rush it. The general rule is 1-1.5lbs/gallon. So 200-300lbs for your tank. Maybe add 95lbs more to get you to 150 total, and see how it looks. You could then add 50-150 more based on your personal preference.
     
  12. clarkkey594

    clarkkey594 Aiptasia Anemone

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    You could also slowly add more and different types of rock in order to get a nice variety and an interesting scape.