Adding dry rock to established tAnk

Sam22

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 6, 2020
Messages
156
Reaction score
73
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
My tank is coming to 5 months old and is doing well I started with dead rock and sand so have had a long ugly phase which is starting to come to an end. My question is I have a spot on my Aquascape that has a mushroom shape and I wanted to add some dry rock around the base of the mushroom to form a large bolder shape so I have more space to place corals
Is there a best way to go about this? will just putting it straight in cause a mini cycle Cos I have fish and a few corals already in the tank doing well and if I can’t just add it straight in what would I have to do to prep it for going in the tank? I’d be looking at around 5kg or 10 pound of new dead rock
 

HeyJay

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 18, 2018
Messages
308
Reaction score
433
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
In my experience you'll be fine. Rinse the new rock in RO, but if it's dead rock there will be nothing to die off and cause an ammonia spike
 

stanleo

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 11, 2014
Messages
1,508
Reaction score
1,976
Location
Statesville, NC
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
when i did this, I used tank water that I got from a water change and soaked the rock in it for a month with a heater and filter.
 

reef_ninja

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 14, 2014
Messages
303
Reaction score
230
Location
Carson City, NV
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Kind of depends. Some dry rock can still have a bunch of dead stuff on it that could add more nutrient load until it matures. But it depends on the size of your tank and how much LR you have as to whether it would be an issue.

For example, I have about 40 lbs of live rock in my system, and about 3-4 weeks ago I added maybe 5 lbs of true dry rock (nothing dead on itt) to my sump, and that worked just fine.
 

Krixic

A Tad Obsessed
View Badges
Joined
Jun 19, 2020
Messages
760
Reaction score
652
Location
California
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I just recently added a massive piece of dry rock because I was not satisfied with my scape. Make sure to cycle it through RO water for a day or two preferably with a pump of some sort. Its been in my tank for a week with no issues now.

Generally speaking, as long as you let it soak, you wont have any issues. Its when you take out live rock that the problems arrise
 

Pdash

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 5, 2019
Messages
461
Reaction score
548
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
My tank is coming to 5 months old and is doing well I started with dead rock and sand so have had a long ugly phase which is starting to come to an end. My question is I have a spot on my Aquascape that has a mushroom shape and I wanted to add some dry rock around the base of the mushroom to form a large bolder shape so I have more space to place corals
Is there a best way to go about this? will just putting it straight in cause a mini cycle Cos I have fish and a few corals already in the tank doing well and if I can’t just add it straight in what would I have to do to prep it for going in the tank? I’d be looking at around 5kg or 10 pound of new dead rock
I would rinse the new rock thoroughly and place it in your sump for a month or so before going into the display, you could even add individual peices into the sump gradually over a period of a couple weeks. After a month or so move it up to the display. This should help prevent the algae explosion you sometimes see on new rock added to an existing system.
 
OP
OP
S

Sam22

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 6, 2020
Messages
156
Reaction score
73
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Could it help If I added the new dry rock to the sump then add in some dr Tim’s one and only to boost it with bacteria
My tank is about 75 gallons I’m not sure how much rock in weight I have in atm as I had a ceramic custom scape built but I’d say I’d need maybe 5-10% more rock than what I have in now
 

HeyJay

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 18, 2018
Messages
308
Reaction score
433
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Could it help If I added the new dry rock to the sump then add in some dr Tim’s one and only to boost it with bacteria
My tank is about 75 gallons I’m not sure how much rock in weight I have in atm as I had a ceramic custom scape built but I’d say I’d need maybe 5-10% more rock than what I have in now

Your current rock is already loaded with bacteria which will seed the new rock. No need for bottled bac.
 

hexcolor reef

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 28, 2023
Messages
1,002
Reaction score
600
Location
Aussie
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
revisiting this thread, I just added dry rock to my cycled system and now I’m dealing with cloudy water. I rinsed the dry rock in tap water inside of 5gal buckets until water ran clear. Then added a full 4oz bottle of Fritz bacteria. All was well until the following day. I now have cloudy water and it seems to get worse when the lights go out. I have very good filter socks that keep water crystal clear and it seems impossible to get rid of this cloudy water after adding dry rock

I also did a water change same day. Red Sea Salt bucket and i usually use the Red Sea Salt Coral - black bucket
 
Last edited:

N-A-S-O

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 21, 2017
Messages
65
Reaction score
75
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
revisiting this thread, I just added dry rock to my cycled system and now I’m dealing with cloudy water. I rinsed the dry rock in tap water inside of 5gal buckets until water ran clear. Then added a full 4oz bottle of Fritz bacteria. All was well until the following day. I now have cloudy water and it seems to get worse when the lights go out. I have very good filter socks that keep water crystal clear and it seems impossible to get rid of this cloudy water after adding dry rock

I also did a water change same day. Red Sea Salt bucket and i usually use the Red Sea Salt Coral - black bucket

I'm currently having the same issue. How long did it take for your tank to clear?
 

ben5impson

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 29, 2022
Messages
38
Reaction score
10
Location
Toowoomba, Queensland
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
revisiting this thread, I just added dry rock to my cycled system and now I’m dealing with cloudy water. I rinsed the dry rock in tap water inside of 5gal buckets until water ran clear. Then added a full 4oz bottle of Fritz bacteria. All was well until the following day. I now have cloudy water and it seems to get worse when the lights go out. I have very good filter socks that keep water crystal clear and it seems impossible to get rid of this cloudy water after adding dry rock

I also did a water change same day. Red Sea Salt bucket and i usually use the Red Sea Salt Coral - black bucket
that's likely a bacterial bloom from the Fritz or excess nutrients in the rock or tap water. Diatom blooms appear on surfaces and not in the water column unless after scraping the glass. I don't think the UV was what cleared the water. probably helped but bacterial blooms are usually short lived and of no concern but still great to.have a UV on hand if it has the appropriate specs for the application. but yeah in this instance it was probably counter intuitive as that bacteria blooms was feeding on something in your system, probably what you added it for in the first place. but all that unsettled bacteria would have just been blasted away by the uv. also it's a really bad idea to soak your dry rock in tap water as it's extremely porous and can trap all sorts of nasties to leech out in to the aquarium later hence everyone saying tank water or RODI water. usually I just add a small amount at a time. also while silicates lead to diatom blooms which are ugly but rarely harmful.
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 73 37.8%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 66 34.2%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 13.0%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 28 14.5%
  • Other.

    Votes: 1 0.5%
Back
Top