Dry Rock???

[GV7486]

Would it be fine to use what used to be live rock into a new aquarium?

I have a friend who took down his aquarium a while back and kept his rock but let it dry (die?) and heard I was interested in starting a new aquarium. He offered it to me free of charge just as long as I help him out with his website.

Could I use this rock? Do I just seed it or what?

Thanks for any help you can provide :)

[383camaro]

You would probably need to cure it first. I think that whatever live critters died on it would probably begin to rot once the rock is resubmerged. Then you could reseed it with a few pieces of good quality live rock.

[GV7486]

Thanks for the reply....I'm surprised not that many people have responded :(

[wooden_reefer]

If indeed there are still dried up dead critters to decay then you should detect ammonia. If you can't detect ammonia in a few days, add a source of ammonia.

No cycling will occur without ammonia somehow.

[an411]

I would rinse and soak the rock in freshwater or even boil the rock if you like. Then I would add the Rock to the tank along with other live rock that is not dead maybe grab a piece from a friend or the local fish store that will help seed the dead rock (base rock). Personally I would add ammonia source anyway to ensure that you get an ammonia spike. HTH

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Soak it in plain tap water for a day or two to loosen things up, then scrub it and rinse it several times. At that point, proceed as if it was normal "base" rock," i.e. it's more or less inert and will need a seed source of real live rock to get beneficial life to spread across it.

Once it's clean, you could seed it right in your display, or you could do it in a rubbermaid or other container. Just make sure it has some flow and light to keep things moving along.