How much rock

[Quintin]

Hi guys.
What’s a good rule of thumb for adding live rock to an aquarium to start of off?

I’ve seen calculators, stating 2 pounds of rock per gallon of water but based on past experience, that really fills the tank up with a shed load of rock.

The idea is to establish a new tank with enough room for SPS to grow, at the top in a mixed reef while softies and LPS can be somewhere in the middle.

Probably a two island scape…

Going for a 60 gallon tank, so any rough guidelines on how much to get?

Looking at using TBS live rock to seed the tank.

Any pics of your setup and how much rock would be appreciated.

 

[The_Paradox]

I’ve always heard 1:1 but scape purely on ascetics. Sometimes more, others less. You can always pack sump if you really feel you need to. I usually have 3-4 rocks in sump cycling just in case I need one.

 

[Idoc]

1lb per gallon seems to look nice and not create a "wall" of rock. But, it all depends how dense the type of rock you want to use is compared to other types.

 

[Idech]

I like about 1 lb per gallon. You can always add more if needed.

 

[Quintin]

I’ve always heard 1:1 but scape purely on ascetics. Sometimes more, others less. You can always pack sump if you really feel you need to. I usually have 3-4 rocks in sump cycling just in case I need one.

Thanks.
Any pics you can share of your setup, just to give me a rough idea?

 

[The_Paradox]

Lights are off now on one tank and moonlights other so excuse photos but that’s ~50lbs in a 60g cube. Sand is ~1.5”.

 

[Spare time]

I just add enough so that each fish has a place to hide and that there's enough room to space out corals.

 

[Jekyl]

You can use as much as you feel like. Less rocks just means less fish. You need a cave/hiding/sleeping/personal space for each fish / pair.

 

[Quintin]

You can use as much as you feel like. Less rocks just means less fish. You need a cave/hiding/sleeping/personal space for each fish /

You can use as much as you feel like. Less rocks just means less fish. You need a cave/hiding/sleeping/personal space for each fish / pair.

Thanks.
Was asking more from a filtration point of view.
Last time I was in the hobby was back in 2016.
The days when Vertex was top of the must have equipment for sumps and skimmers and cerebra was the new hot topic. Also around the time most purchased grossly oversized skimmers as the norm and everyone was aiming for zero nitrates and phosphates.

I know a lot has changed since then and technology has grown in leaps and bounds.

Still have my old gen 1 profilux sitting in the cupboard… which I may or may not use as the probes on it are fubar from being dry for so long.

 

[crabgrass]

You can use as much as you feel like. Less rocks just means less fish. You need a cave/hiding/sleeping/personal space for each fish / pair.

Yes - and for caves, its not the big man made caves that look nice. Its the tiny crevices, etc. that a fish can really hide in to feel secure.