New Aquascape: live rock in established tank?

[Aliu]

Hi everyone,

So I've had my tank for approx. 2 months now. My clownfish seems to be doing great and I plan on putting another one in with a couple frags in January.

My question is: I currently only have 3 Live rocks in my tank. My uncle, who has been into reefing for over 15 years, told me that I should put more into my 14 gallon tank. He recommended me to put a couple more live rock into the tank and change my scape a little bit. Is it okay to put live rock into my tank? Would that cause an unnecessary cycle? Not too sure what to do. Just want to get a second opinion.

Any tips from people who have added live rock into their established aquariums? Here's a picture of my current scape.

 

[RMS18]

If your uncle has been doing this for 15 years and is family i would think you would take his advise... Did he steer you wrong at some point in life lol? [emoji14] But yes you can add live rock, i have done it to a tank running longer than yours. At 2 months you shouldn't have an issue with nutrients in the sand bed, but just to be safe try not to sir it up to much. It's also a good idea to do a water change after you change things up. There is a general rule of 1lb of rock per gallon but not every follows that. I have a total of 33.5ish gallons with fuge and display and i have 25 lbs of rock.

 

[Aliu]

Haha he definitely gave me some whacky advice when it came to girls. Good thing my wife says otherwise. [emoji5]️

Anyways, that's some good advice. Thanks very much. I've also heard of the 1 lb per gallon. I currently have 8 pounds in a 14 gallon tank.

I'll see if I can get cured live rock to place into the DT.

 

[cmcoker]

If you were unsure how cured the live rock is you could cycle it with a powerheads in a bucket of saltwater, check for ammonia from die off, after a few days of 0 ammonia put it in.

But, Another thing to consider is that it could be possible to transfer disease in with the rock, so consider the source of your rock. If it's in a system tied into tanks with livestock, I personally would cure it in a bucket for the 76 day period at least ten feet away from the display.

Rather than do that, I would actually add dry rock after curing in a bucket to allow for decay and stuff, once ammonia zero, add to display.

Just depends on your risk level tolerance.

Also I like your aquascape, you could add some marine pure or something in the back chambers to increase biofiltration, if you wanted to go that route. The biocube doesn't actually hold 14g, so I have probably 8lb of Pukani in mine, with another lb or so in chamber 2. Has done fine with 2 clowns as a softie tank.

 

[Reefing Madness]

Fish only tanks it starts out at 1lb per gallon, in a reef tank it starts out at 2lbs per gallon
You can add any amount of Live Rock you want to a tank at any given time, but, it must be fully cured or your tank will cycle.

 

[cmcoker]

Fish only tanks it starts out at 1lb per gallon, in a reef tank it starts out at 2lbs per gallon
You can add any amount of Live Rock you want to a tank at any given time, but, it must be fully cured or your tank will cycle.

I would say it depends on your rock, as well. The Pukani I use is very light for the volume, if I put 240lb of rock in my 120g, there wouldn't be room for anything else..

 

[Breakthecycle2]

I don't think you need anymore to be honest.

 

[brandon4432]

I would recommend adding more. In the case of a reef more rock is better. Although if you choose to add live rock you either have to cycle it separately or add it slowly one piece at a time over the span of ten or so days to avoid ammonia spike. In this case i would add quality dry rock.

 

[Reefing Madness]

http://www.gulfliverock.com/live-rock-care.html
http://www.livestockusa.org/LIVEROCKFAQ.html
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/t...ock-per-gallon-in-a-saltwater-aquarium.86762/

You choose.

 

[Stephanie11]

With a smaller tank id add rock. It's your filter.

In a bigger tank you can get away with less per gallon. With flow, water volume, skimmer, reactors, fuges... Things you can't fit in a smaller tank, or be as effective.

 

[larangcon]

I think you are fine, you need room for your corals to grow.

 

[p.pep85]

your tank looks nice with the rock you have. i wouldnt change it. everyone has an opinion do your research and do what you like.