Adding Rock

[corey.nolta]

I decided to start a 20L in my basement next to my water mixing station. It is undecided what it'll be used for. I was thinking either a small grow out tank, or a clown / anemone tank. I took about 10-15 pounds of rock from my main tank (90 gal) sump that has been up and running 2 years, along with 2 filter socks to help lessen the cycle time of the new 2oL.
My question is this. I have about 50 pounds of dry rock, that I had in an old tank, laying around. It has been dry for roughly 8 months. If I give it a good rinse, am I able to add this to my main sump to replenish the rock I took? It wouldn't be all at once, but more a piece at a time. Is this going to throw anything off? I'm just getting my main tank back to looking good as I got pretty lazy for a few months, so I just want to make sure I don't take a giant leap back!
Thanks!!!

 

[GMay]

You should be fine if you o slowly as you describe. I would just test for ammonia for the first couple of days as you might have a small spike from the any organic that remains on the rock.

 

[corey.nolta]

@GMay, Sounds good. Next question would be, if there is a spike, what's the next step to take? Just do a water change?

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

If there's a lot of dead matter in the rock, it could release in your nice tank. I personally wouldn't want to risk it. you could see spikes in ammonia, nitrites and/or nitrates. are you willing to risk it and deal with the possible consequences?

 

[GMay]

Just stay up with your testing and make water changes as needed. Your system sounds large enough and established enough to handle limited addition of the rock. Your might consider scrubbing the rock very well to remove as much material as possible. You could then cure it a separate container of salt water for 30 to 60 days with a few water changes, rather than added slowly to your sump. I and other have done this with old rock in a Brut trash can. You can also add nitrifying bacteria like Dr. Tim's to help the process along.