Live Rock Debate

[MINIATUS]

I just purchase all new rock for My 90 gal tank. This stuff is very light and holey for lack of a better term. Im replacing all the fiji which in weight was about 125-135 lbs.This new stuff is half its weight so it takes up the same amount of square inchs but less water displacement. how does the rule of 1-1 1/2 lbs per gal apply here.Basically If i went with the same weight amount there would be no room for anything else.
Any comments on this.


MINIATUS

 

[wrightme43]

I think the weight rule is if you dont know what the heck your doing and ask someone to recomened a amount. I think light porus rock is better than dense solid rock. I dont think its any better to take three weeks for a molucule of water that is nitrate laden to slowly seep into the center of a rock and back out than it is to have it done in say 3 days in a more porous rock. Now this is just my opinion. I may be way off base. I have been before and I will be again. I think you did the right thing and it will make your tank operate better.
Flip side of the coin is this analogy. I live in Ky we have the karst landscape. Most water drips and runs rapidly thru the cave systems in the rock to the water table. Our water table gets dirty quick and cleans up quick.
Out west they have the water table that takes 1000s of years for the water to flow to the aquafier. Its pure and crystal clear when it comes out.
So that is just something else to think about.
I think a balance is what I want. I like my tonga branch and I like marshall island. I will say though that some branch rock I have seen is very very dense. This I got is very porous with many holes drilled into it by critters its old and not fresh broken off the reef.

 

[bc_slc]

well said. It is all about surface area so a dense round rock that weighs 20 lbs provides less surface area for the good bacteria/pods etc to grow on than a very porous, tortuous and bumpy rock of the same weight.

Mat

 

[MINIATUS]

Thanks for the response. We will se how it works. If Im a little short I can get a few more pieces.

MINIATUS