Live rock out of water

[dreamcatcherr9]

When transferring rocks from a established tank to a new tank (new as in brand new set up), and you are re aquascaping;

How long can rock be out of water (not fully submerged)?

Assuming not hours, but hopefully for than seconds. So minutes? 5-10? 20-30?

Thoughts and opinions please...

 

[xxkenny90xx]

You can have them out for hours (although i wouldnt recommend it). Im sure there is a bit of die off but nothing serious.

 

[Smokeshow]

No first hand experience but from what I've researched it depends on how big the colony is. And read it can be anywhere from 30 min to a few days. Main thing is to keep the rock wet as much as possible. The longer its out of water the more will die

 

[Picasso Clown]

I usually keep coral out of the water for a maximum of 10 minutes with zero negative effects, so I’m thinking at least that long. I spent 30-45 minutes arranging my live rock in my tank with only 1/4 of the amount of water in it and experienced little side effects from it being exposed like that. I got the rock 100% wet from a friend’s super established sump where it’d been living for at least 5 years or so, and cycled it for a month in a dark bucket. Water cleared right up and I got corals in the same day with a 100% live rate! But I also used the water change water from my friend’s tank for the first 2 months so I bet that also helped a ton.

 

[Reef Racket]

I read somewhere that live rock left out to long can become live again if introduced to an established tank over time? Not sure where I read this or if it’s even accurate... think it was a random google search answer. Anyways, I just replaced my live rock with some new and nicer pieces but thought about breaking down some of the old ones for a mushroom island or something.... any thoughts on how long I have to make this decision? Will the live rock come back if it sat out over night? Anything helps I’m just brainstorming rather than just throwing out this live rock.

Thanks

 

[Rjukan]

If you need to leave it out more than a few min, soak some white paper towel in tank water and drape them over the rock. They can stay out for easily 30 to 45min this way with no worry of die off.