Adding rock to established reef

[Denisk]

Hey all,

So I wanted to add a couple pieces of shelf rock to my display tank but not sure how to go about it best. I just picked up the rock that came from my buddies frag tank sump however that system came down 5 days ago and the rock has been sitting in a 5 gallon bucket with no heater or wave maker at room temperature since then.

My questions are

1) can I just throw it into the tank since it’s just a couple pieces?

2) should I be aware of any nutrient levels going out of wack?

3) or should I go about it differently?

Thanks everyone!

 

[BonnieB]

You will probably have some die off depending what the rocks were hosting. If it were me, I’d stick them in a bucket with clean saltwater that matches your DT parameters with a heater and flow for a few days and see how it all looks before you swap it into your DT.

 

[slingfox]

Hey all,

So I wanted to add a couple pieces of shelf rock to my display tank but not sure how to go about it best. I just picked up the rock that came from my buddies frag tank sump however that system came down 5 days ago and the rock has been sitting in a 5 gallon bucket with no heater or wave maker at room temperature since then.

My questions are

1) can I just throw it into the tank since it’s just a couple pieces?

2) should I be aware of any nutrient levels going out of wack?

3) or should I go about it differently?

Thanks everyone!

If those pieces were sitting in a sump they don’t have much growth on them, therefore, any die off is relatively limited. I would just rinse them in clean saltwater then add straight to the tank.

If you want to be extra safe you could add them to a new bucket is saltwater for a few days. Using an Airstone and heater would be ideal but not necessary.

 

[Denisk]

Thanks everyone!

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Personally I would bleach them. Beware of putting other peoples rocks in your tank lol

 

[Lavey29]

If your friends tank looks good and you don't see any obvious pests like aptasia, I just drop stuff like that straight in since they are small and easy to examine.

 

[exnisstech]

I have a brute full of old live rock in my basement. It has a powerhead but no heat and have never had a problem. I started my 20g a few months ago with all rock from that brute and added livestock the next day.

EDIT: While bleaching is the safest as far as pests then its just dead rock and of no benefit. I've also found nuisance algae loves sterile dead rock.

 

[Science/G]

Yeah, I would put them in a bucket with seawater and an air stone for a little while before placing them in your tank.