How to best add some new rock to my existing 180

JP&JL

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Hello fellow reefers and Merry Christmas!!!

I have acquired some new rock, I want to add it to my existing 180 Gallon setup and I'm debating on the best way to go about it. It's only a few pieces and purely to enhance my current aquascape (give me some new places to add corals). Here are the facts and following them I will post my questions/concerns. Any insight from the community would be much appreciated!

The new rock....
- A reefing buddy of mine just bought a 185 gallon tank tear down and still has the rock. It had been in the system for several years, was covered in coralline and is a combination of Live Rock and Manufactured rock
- He did not use the rock, he wasn't able to offload the rock and eventually decided the brute trashcan that was holding it was taking up too much room in his apartment so he tore down the holding area and put the rock outside to dry until he figures out his plan for it. It has been outside for about a week now. I decided to purchase the rock off of him
- I plan on using about 15-20 lbs of this rock as soon as I can to enhance the aqua scape in my tank

My tank and it's filtration (because this is relevant to the situation.....)
- I have a 180 gallon mixed reef that's a little over a year old, it's very much cycled, settled and am growing SPS very well
- I have a 70 gallon sump for all of my equipment, additives, mechanical filtration, dosing, etc.. and a 55 gallon refugium solely for a large chaeto home that is plumbed in as well

my questions and concerns??????

1 - Since I am only adding 15-20lbs of the above mentioned rock how much curing should I do if any at all??
2- If I should do some prep work before adding the rock what do y'all think I should do in order to safely get it in my tank as soon as possible without die off affecting my current system....I have a bunch of SPS colonies growing well and quickly, I really really don't want to upset them but at the same time in my mind I feel like my current system could handle the rock addition

I'd love to hear your guys' thoughts on this. I think this is a relevant situation that other reefers besides me have been in before and have the experience that I do not on this particular matter.

Merry Christmas Everyone! Looking forward to hearing the discussion and input I hope this generates!!
 

fishguy242

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hi,i would run in saltwater for atleast a week,with a skimmer would be ideal,before adding to display,"prob" would be ok to add to current system,but better safe than sorry :)
 
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JP&JL

JP&JL

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hi,i would run in saltwater for atleast a week,with a skimmer would be ideal,before adding to display,"prob" would be ok to add to current system,but better safe than sorry :)
thats great to hear! Kind of what I was thinking I just wasn't sure on the timeline. Appreciate your response!
 

fishguy242

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vetteguy53081

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If it’s old rock, I recommend curing the rock prior to adding it to a tank with livestock. This way you will not jeopardize the life in your tank. But when adding rock, you don't really need to build up a biological filter. Bacteria will eventually colonize the new rock.
I personally would bleach it and then run cold water as much as 30 minutes until you can’t smell bleach any longer as cold water neutralizes it
Place in container with water flow and mesh bag with carbon to get colors out and then allow to air dry before introduction
 

Spieg

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If it's been sitting dry outdoors for a week, it's no longer "live" rock. I'd boil it in RODI, scrub it down real good with a stiff brush and just put it in your tank... a mature healthy tank the size of yours should be more than capable of establishing the necessary biology for that small amount of rock.
 

fishguy242

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definitely would not boil
 

Brandon3152134

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It having so much live organic matter that's been dried out I'd cure it like you were starting a new tank. Could your system handle it? Probably but why put it thru the strain waiting 2 weeks or so for the decaying things to rot away is what I would do.
 

Eagle_Steve

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definitely would not boil
DO NOT BOIL!!!! If there were ever palys or zoas they can atomize a d that’s not good. Also, other things deep i. The rock can release noxious gasses.

As @vetteguy53081 stated, bleach it, rinse it, add to a tub or anything that will hold it and water, add some prime and some sort of something to circulate the water.

I typically use hob filter and a plastic storage bin. Stuff the hob filter with carbon and run a few days. At that point it is dead rock with nothing to foul up your current tank. The good thing is that it is not fresh dry rock. Typically all phosphate bound is already gone, so no crazy uglies.

When done with running through fresh water circulating, stop circulation and let rest an hour or so. Shake rock in that water to dislodge anything that might be stuck and place in tank.

Also, use rodi water if you can. The prime is more for any bleach that may have seeped in and the first rinse didn’t get.
 

Spieg

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Palytoxin decomposes rapidly when dry... in a matter of hours. There is no hazard in this situation.
 

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