Adding liferock to established tank?

PegasisR

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I wanted to add the new carib sea liferock flatz to my tank and remove some old mature dry rock but wanted to know how to go about it safely, without causing issues to current livestock thank you

Rock:
 

TnFishwater98

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I wanted to add the new carib sea liferock flatz to my tank and remove some old mature dry rock but wanted to know how to go about it safely, without causing issues to current livestock thank you

Rock:
Get a better opinion but I believe you would be switching out old mature dry rock for new un-mature dry rock.....
 

Lyss

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I feel like the best you could do would be to cycle it in a separate container and seed it w/a piece of rock or some media from your tank prior to making that switch.
 
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PegasisR

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I feel like the best you could do would be to cycle it in a separate container and seed it w/a piece of rock or some media from your tank prior to making that switch.
how long would i need to cycle it?
 

Jdadams

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Yea get a storage container and put your new rock in it with a piece or 2 of your mature rock and let it sit for a few weeks with a heater and wavemaker in it.
 

gbroadbridge

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I wanted to add the new carib sea liferock flatz to my tank and remove some old mature dry rock but wanted to know how to go about it safely, without causing issues to current livestock thank you

Rock:
How long has the old rock been in your tank?

What percentage of the rock do you want to change?

I would think that taking out 20-50% and putting in 20-50% new would have no effect on an established tank.

I think the rip theads have already proven this.

If you have established substate that would probably mean even more safety
 
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PegasisR

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How long has the old rock been in your tank?

What percentage of the rock do you want to change?

I would think that taking out 20-50% and putting in 20-50% new would have no effect on an established tank.
id say around 50% possibly less and the rock has been in there for 5 years
 

gbroadbridge

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id say around 50% possibly less and the rock has been in there for 5 years
With a 5 yo tank, I'd not concern myself with taking out 50% rock and replacing it with new.

I'd probably do an Ammonia test for fun, but honestly, it wont happen. The old rock will take up the load faster than the fish can pee it out.

Seriously, just recently I had to set up a QT and I grabed a rock from the DT , threw it into an new QT and threw in a huge amount of fish. Never any ammonia spike.

Rocks rock.
 
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PegasisR

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With a 5 yo tank, I'd not concern myself with taking out 50% rock and replacing it with new.

I'd probably do an Ammonia test for fun, but honestly, it wont happen. The old rock will take up the load faster than the fish can pee it out.

Seriously, just recently I had to set up a QT and I grabed a rock from the DT , threw it into an new QT and threw in a huge amount of fish. Never any ammonia spike.

Rocks rock.
That is reassuring! ill def go slower than the 50% addition... but thank you for sharing your experience :)
 

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So, it’s advertised as no need to cure but my life rock leached ammonia during the cycle. If you think your established bio filter could handle that possibility even with some rocks removed then go for it. I tend to err on the side of caution in this hobby but that is just me.
 

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If you have sps corals, especially Acropora, they might not do well with a 50% change out of mature rock. The nitrification/denitrification cycle will remain intact. But the maturity that allows SPS to thrive will be altered and will stress them. That’s what happened when I restarted my reef.
 
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PegasisR

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Wet live Indo LR? Or the Carib Sea version?
wet indo :D but the thing with why im after scaping with this rock, is because i like keeping my acros on frag tiles and it would make things incredibly easy whenever id need to frag em'
 
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