# Amount of live rock



## harif87 (Jun 5, 2006)

Hey, im just starting on a new 50 gallon saltwater aquarium and im in the planning stage. I just had a question bout live rock. I heard its 1 lb per gallon but if the place im ordering only has 45 lb boxes would this be enough, or would i have to find a place with different weight boxs?


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## Reefneck (Oct 15, 2005)

The General Rule is 1 - 1 1/2 pounds per gallon of aquarium volume. So 50 to 75LBs is what you need. Less is ok if you only plan a very light stock load.


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

well strangly enough, it depends on the rock itself, some rock is very dense, and some is very pourous, if its pourus, each rock is actually lighter, but it has more surface area, so you can use less rock. (does that make sense) your actually looking for more surface area for bacteria to grow on, so if you get some dense rock, you will need more of it, just try to put alot in there, 45 lbs will be ok, but more is always much better.


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## harif87 (Jun 5, 2006)

Yeah i definately hear you when you say more is better. I mean id rather spend more now than have to spend later when something happens when my pocket doesnt expect anything, but i dont want to spend uneccecarily.....Im planning on purchasing Fiji Foundation Rock. Any suggestions?


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Fiji rock is fairly light & porus, and you get more rock volume per weight with it than you would get with Gulf of Mexico rock, which is a lot denser.

On the other hand, Fiji rock is a bit light on occupying fauna, is totally infested with nasty stuff like planarians, ans is usually in terrible shape after bouncing halfway around the world. Florida rock looks much nicer, has no planarians ( which are a major scourge, you see, which is why I mention them ) is slam full of lifeforms with awesome coverage, and is usually found in very good overall condition. It is more expensive, though, since you need more of it on account of the increased density.

You pays yer money and makes yer choice on liverock. iIf all you want is a place to grow massive bacterial colonies and do it for cheap, then Fiji rock can't be beat. If you want much better rock in every way and don't care about the price, then Florida rock..er, rocks!


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

Can believe rock we find off our coasts costs us more then stuff flown half way around the world :lol:


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## harif87 (Jun 5, 2006)

Do you think if i went to florida i can just pick some out of the ocean? Because my uncle flies to florida at least once a week so maybe ill go with him to pick some up...........


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

I am alsmost positive that's illegal and a big find if you do. Most of the liverock farms down there i believe have permits and have their own collection sites far away from the sho-res(it *** out the word, must think it's w****s :lol to do so.....


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## harif87 (Jun 5, 2006)

How much you think the fine would go for?lol, cause if its cheaper than buying 200 lbs of rock then i think its worth it loll I would sell and would have beat the system!! bwahahah:evil:


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## flamingo (Nov 5, 2005)

Collecting live rock is HIGHLY illegal. The only place I know of where it's legal is in certain parts of Hawaii, and even then it's only a one pound per day limit.

Lol the fine is thousands of dollars >.<. Can't remember how much exactly but I know it's way up there, much higer cost then 200 pounds of live rock.

Don't worry though, at least your not in Wisconsin lol. I have like 2 places I know that sells live rock, just talking about ones that are less then 2 hours away. Even then it's around 8-9 bucks a pound 0.0.


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

Wonder how that walt smith stuff is online you see hmmmmm


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

your definatly on the right track, buying it all now, and being done with it is much better than buying it in parts, if you add rock to an existing tank, you have to cure/cook it, have cycles, and can cause lots of other problems. a good idea would be go with maybe 30 lbs of fiji, then get maybe 20-30 more lbs of something a little better to stack on top, a good mix of everything.


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## harif87 (Jun 5, 2006)

Im thinking about getting some Fiji premium with some Fiji foundation rock, the only thing is that im gonna have to do some calculations to figure out how much of each to get....but thats no problem, any idea of which to introduce to the tank first?


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## Reefneck (Oct 15, 2005)

Do 50/50 and add it all at once.


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