Moving live rock - now dead rock - to a new tank

hazzurim · 06/27/2014, 12:42 PM

I just purchased a new 57G rimless tank and am beginning a new setup. Already have it filled with new saltwater and about 3" of live sand.

(If there is interest or this thread gets some comments I'll do an equipment breakdown and add some pictures.)

I previously had a 65G setup with about 75lbs of live rock. Unfortunately my move did not allow me to have two tanks going at once, so I simply placed the live rock in buckets and allowed them to dry outside for about two weeks.

Since then I've been trying to get them back "into shape" to put into my newly cycling aquarium. My LFS said to just soak them in water (not SW) for about a week, changing the water every day. Once I can take them out and not smell decay anymore, they should be good to go (so they say).

I also plan to scrub them down soon now that they've been soaking for a few days as they are covered in Spirorbidae.

So, my question: does anyone see any issues with cycling the rock this way - is it okay to put them into the tank after about a week of this?

There aren't any fish or coral in the tank yet, so a spike is okay. I just want to make sure I don't poison the water.

Thanks for your help / tips in advance!

thegrun · 06/27/2014, 01:02 PM

If you didn't have issues with either pests or high nitrates/phosphates in your old system carry on! If you did have problems I would give the rock an acid bath (run a search here on RC for an explanation of the entire process).

hazzurim · 06/27/2014, 01:10 PM

Thanks for the quick response!

My old tank did have quite high nitrates at the end. I was running a canister filter (bleh, I know) as it was my first SW tank... new tank is a sump setup.

I'll look into the acid bath though. I take it rock that was exposed to high nitrates in the past wouldn't be 'clean' enough just with regular freshwater filtering/bath?

06/27/2014, 12:42 PM	#1
hazzurim Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Brooklyn Posts: 4	Moving live rock - now dead rock - to a new tank I just purchased a new 57G rimless tank and am beginning a new setup. Already have it filled with new saltwater and about 3" of live sand. (If there is interest or this thread gets some comments I'll do an equipment breakdown and add some pictures.) I previously had a 65G setup with about 75lbs of live rock. Unfortunately my move did not allow me to have two tanks going at once, so I simply placed the live rock in buckets and allowed them to dry outside for about two weeks. Since then I've been trying to get them back "into shape" to put into my newly cycling aquarium. My LFS said to just soak them in water (not SW) for about a week, changing the water every day. Once I can take them out and not smell decay anymore, they should be good to go (so they say). I also plan to scrub them down soon now that they've been soaking for a few days as they are covered in Spirorbidae. So, my question: does anyone see any issues with cycling the rock this way - is it okay to put them into the tank after about a week of this? There aren't any fish or coral in the tank yet, so a spike is okay. I just want to make sure I don't poison the water. Thanks for your help / tips in advance!

06/27/2014, 01:02 PM	#2
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	If you didn't have issues with either pests or high nitrates/phosphates in your old system carry on! If you did have problems I would give the rock an acid bath (run a search here on RC for an explanation of the entire process).

06/27/2014, 01:10 PM	#3
hazzurim Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Brooklyn Posts: 4	Thanks for the quick response! My old tank did have quite high nitrates at the end. I was running a canister filter (bleh, I know) as it was my first SW tank... new tank is a sump setup. I'll look into the acid bath though. I take it rock that was exposed to high nitrates in the past wouldn't be 'clean' enough just with regular freshwater filtering/bath?