Want to re-do my rock work

[shazeone]

i have had my tank up for about 6 to 7 months and i really want to re-do my aquascaping. my question is how long can i pull the rock out without losing beneficial bacteria in the rock? i want to do some pvc piping or acrylic rod so i am going to need a little time. any suggestions?

[sfilipowski]

I did the same thing (didn't add pvc) redid the aquascape at about 6months or so. Do a WC with the water being put into something big enough for most of your rocks. As long as it does not take all day everything should be fine imo as long as the temp stays close you should be fine. because I did not do any drillin n such most of my rock was back in the tank within an hour or so but I was trying to work fast cause this is my first reef and did'nt know much. My tank is a year ina half and goin strong. good luck

[thegrun]

I would try to limit the time the rock is not in water to about 10 minutes, less is better. As posted above, make a water change before you start the rearranging and use the old water in 5 gallon buckets to store the rock in while you reaquascape.

[cmbspd]

I've seen several posts that suggest you might get a mini cycle from disturbing the tank so track water parameters extra carefully after you are done.

[sfilipowski]

I agree with cm just be careful when you remove so you stir things up as little as possible... turn your flow off will also help some

[Stuart60611]

Having some live bacteria on hand, such as biodigest or microbacter, will be a big help and avoid any ammonia spike which may occur. Once you put the rock back in the tank, add the bacteria and monitor parameters closely. If you measure any ammonia or nitrite, quickly add some more bacteria.

[shazeone]

thanks for the feedback all. i might just go with a section at a time to reduce the stress. i will also use the water change idea as it seams that i might have the rock out for an hour or so.figure it can never hurt to do a good water change and use the tank water to keep the rock at temperature and use it also to clean any cuts or holes being drilled. i am making good preparation of my work space to get what needs to be done as fast as possible.

[shazeone]

i also will take the microbacter into consideration as i will be fearing the ammonia spike.