Adding deal live rock

James M · Aug 1, 2018

I know there’s tons of threads on this but I want to add more rock to my tank but without the curing process , I just want to rinse the rock and cleaning it with a wire brush . What cause will this have on my tank besides a algae problems .

laverda · Aug 1, 2018

It depends on a lot of factors. How big is your tank? How much rock is in it already? How much are you going to add? Has the rock been cured at all? Is it fresh live rock?
If you have a good amount of fully established live rock already and are just adding a piece or two the effect should be minimal unless the rock had I lot of die off.
If you don't have much rock and your adding twice as much and it is not cured at all and has a lot of die off it could trigger a complete cycle and cause havoc with your fish and corals. Due to corresponding spikes in toxic ammonia and nitrite.
Always safest to cycle it first or add very small amounts at a time.

James M · Aug 1, 2018

laverda said:
It depends on a lot of factors. How big is your tank? How much rock is in it already? How much are you going to add? Has the rock been cured at all? Is it fresh live rock?
If you have a good amount of fully established live rock already and are just adding a piece or two the effect should be minimal unless the rock had I lot of die off.
If you don't have much rock and your adding twice as much and it is not cured at all and has a lot of die off it could trigger a complete cycle and cause havoc with your fish and corals. Due to corresponding spikes in toxic ammonia and nitrite.
Always safest to cycle it first or add very small amounts at a time.

I have a 20 gallon tank that’s been set up for over a year . There’s 20 pounds and wnat to add a 10 pound rock . The rock was in a tank for about 4 moths and been sitting in a box for around 6 months . I’m adding to change the aqua scape .

RandyC · Aug 1, 2018

James M said:
I have a 20 gallon tank that’s been set up for over a year . There’s 20 pounds and wnat to add a 10 pound rock . The rock was in a tank for about 4 moths and been sitting in a box for around 6 months . I’m adding to change the aqua scape .

There's no way I would risk that amount of rock in such a small tank. Maybe adding a one pound of rock at a time is doable. Personally though, I'd at least cure the rock in a separate bin of saltwater until ammonia was no longer produced. At that point, most, if not all organic material should be done decomposed.

For me, curing dry rock from the ocean (dried, but not washed/cleaned) took about 2-3 weeks to process all ammonia to nitrites. Of course, your mileage my vary depending how clean/dirty the rock is.