REBUILDING my 55g long tank .

im rebuilding my reef tank and i plan on havign about 100plus pounds of live rock . my question is . will i be able to add more live rock after the rock i have in my tank now has finished curing . and will i need to maintain fish in my tank during that time to supply the rock with food . or will the rock survive alone if i wanted to focus on getting live rock built up in quantity first .

 

Yes you will be able to add more, but you should do it slowly. Especially if it's not cured. It will cause a mini-cycle - nothing to really worry about though in low quantities. However in a 55 gallon tank I would say 100lbs of LR is MORE than enough, if not too much.

As for the fish providing the rock "food," I had to chuckle at this a little I won't lie. But it's good you're asking questions! Live rock doesn't...eat? Is that the word? What makes live rock "live" is all the microorganisms and such on it. They are built up over time by breaking down waste in the form of ammonia. Ammonia is largely provided by fish, yes, but it's not a "food."

To answer your question though, yes it would be a good idea to keep fish in the tank AFTER your initial cycle, which will be about 4-6 weeks. I recommend doing a fish-less cycle.

 

clearly the rock is feeding of the waste in my tank then ; ) . i dont know how that warrented a chuckle . but i thank you for your response . and most people have told me that you could never have to much live rock .... as the more you have to more waste that will be broken down ( eating up by the rock ).

not new to this just trying to perfect on my last tank . ty for being the one person to respond tho lol i was wondering if anyone would . lol