does pound of rock per gallon rule apply to large tanks?

[Grimreefer89]

title pretty much covers it but looking around people are saying it doesn't apply and a large tank is different? any advice before i purchase 210 lbs of dry rock.

 

[this is me]

You want the rocks. Whether if you want them in the display tank, it’s up to you on how you aquascape. More rocks is better in general. Just not all in the display tank. Buy extra, stuff them in the sump.

 

[fishguy242]

HI ,old school here,yep,the more the better,the rock and skimmer are your life support system

 

[kenchilada]

Depends how porous and mature the rock is. Good quality rock goes farther.

The 1lb per gallon "rule" is more of a guideline than a rule. You can supplement with bio-media like ceramic rings or blocks if needed.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Absolutely not. I have a 300 gallon and have less than 150 lbs. the premise behind 1 lb per gallon came from surface area for bacteria to perform the nitrogen cycle. There are many alternatives to that these days. I use cinctured glass like siporax in the sump to provide the necessary surface area.

 

[Grimreefer89]

ok i appreciate it i guess the siporax is a good solution then. i want islands not rock piles and its gonna be hard to accomplish this with 200 pds of rock lol.

 

[92Miata]

Absolutely not. I have a 300 gallon and have less than 150 lbs. the premise behind 1 lb per gallon came from surface area for bacteria to perform the nitrogen cycle. There are many alternatives to that these days. I use cinctured glass like siporax in the sump to provide the necessary surface area.

It's not just that - tanks when this rule was invented were generally big piles of rock with poor flow. Much more processing capacity was needed because so much more food was rotting in the tank.


Nowadays, with much better flow and much better skimmers, tanks are very rarely limited by their ability to process nitrates (and biofiltration) in general)

 

[WVNed]

Like many rules it can be broken but is a good enough rule to have value in the absence of other information. I have 400 pounds in my 400 gallon system spread among 3 tanks and the sump.
None of them are a wall of rock.

 

[Grimreefer89]

i have large sump so i will definitely have some sort of something in it. my sump is designed for a fuge but i may just pile rocks and run the skimmer. still deciding, but rocks and substrate are next on my list to buy.