Live Rock .... do I need more ?

Another option is to find some cheap LR that someone is selling (might be nasty) and nuke it!!

 

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but with base rock, I just get the dry rock (let's say thru the mail with reefcleaners) and rinse it with RO water and put it in my established tank ?

 

try ceramic rock. check out vidarock by cerameco. They have some really nice pieces and affordable

 

yes that what you do. then in time your current LR will seed the base rock...and it becomes LR.

 

To answer your question, Yes....IMO, you do need more LR. 1.75/gal with a reef tank is the sweet spot. Now.....you mentioned that you have an anemone. Your numbers are looking very good. However, I would presume that your tank is on the new side....perhaps just cycled. If I am incorrect, please forgive me, but standard imperial procedure (sorry for the Star Wars reference) would dictate that you wait until your tank is matured and "finished off" before adding. Generally, this takes about a year. Just be careful if I am right. If the anemone goes, it takes your tank with it.....or at least it tries.

 

yes, this tank is pretty new you are right, but I did transfer the BTA from my old (15 gallon) tank along with the Maroon Goldstripe Clown and all the LR and everything else. I had read online that minimum for a BTA was 30 gallons, but my LFS said that it would be fine in my tank since I only had a maroon and the lights were strong, he even gave me a written guarantee the BTA would last, and it did :knock on wood: I just hope it stays in the new tank (so far, so good ... and again knock on wood lol) I do keep an eye out on it several times a day though just in case

 

Beautiful combination. Keep that note. Your tank sounds stable now....just keep a real close eye on it and practice amazing husbandry for the next several months. Base rock is what I would do definitely. Do not risk a cycle.

 

Nice pictures!

I started off with about 25 pounds fully cured LR and 20 pounds of base (46 gallon bowfront) in November. I've gradually just added more base rock over time. My LFS sells it for about a fourth of the price of LR. I was told (by whom, I can't remember) that the more porous pieces of base will seed faster that really heavy non-porous pieces. I've found some really nice pieces of base just digging through the boxes at my LFS. They do have to be major rinsed, and we usually scrub them a bit with a wire brush. The base rock I started with in November looks exactly like my LR now - same color and covered in coralline.