What to do with your extra live rock

[Amstar]

I am going to be taking down a few tanks and consolidating them into a just a few -- turning a 40 gallon breeder into a frag tank I think

every tank has live rock - some of it in better shape than other pieces (some of it has bubble agae, etc) --

what do you do with your "extra" live rock? - has brittle start fish, etc all on it/in it

Throw into a sump of a bigger tank
sell it to a LFS
put in a brute trashcan -- lights out?
put in a 20 gallon long and just let it run with a heater and powerhead in case rock is needed for updated aquaecapes

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

I am going to be taking down a few tanks and consolidating them into a just a few -- turning a 40 gallon breeder into a frag tank I think

every tank has live rock - some of it in better shape than other pieces (some of it has bubble agae, etc) --

what do you do with your "extra" live rock? - has brittle start fish, etc all on it/in it

Throw into a sump of a bigger tank
sell it to a LFS
put in a brute trashcan -- lights out?
put in a 20 gallon long and just let it run with a heater and powerhead in case rock is needed for updated aquaecapes

If your sump has room it is a good place for it.

 

[Amstar]

How much is to much in a sump? I have a 125 gallon sump - but will also have abojt 100-150 pounds of rock

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Whatever is not used I would bleach and store, maybe you'll change your mind later and start a new tank, who knows.

Buying live rock from someone else's tank is very risky and I believe experienced and wise reefers will bleach the rock before putting into their tank anyways. So if you do sell it, might as well sell it as clean dry rock. just my opinion.... good luck

 

[Amstar]

Whatever is not used I would bleach and store, maybe you'll change your mind later and start a new tank, who knows.

Buying live rock from someone else's tank is very risky and I believe experienced and wise reefers will bleach the rock before putting into their tank anyways. So if you do sell it, might as well sell it as clean dry rock. just my opinion.... good luck

That’s a good idea - I will search on here how to clean:beach rocks

I would not sell this rock to others based on the bubble algae, etc

 

[exnisstech]

I never dry out live rock. I keep it in a dark brute with a powerhead. I love being to insta cycle a tank.

 

[Amstar]

I never dry out live rock. I keep it in a dark brute with a powerhead. I love being to insta cycle a tank.

so blackout will kill off alot of the bubble algae etc -- (so would have to do a water change eventually) but then it would still like you said give the benefit of instant cycled tank almost (especially with that amount of rock--

do you have a heater or just a powerhead for water movement

 

[exnisstech]

so blackout will kill off alot of the bubble algae etc -- (so would have to do a water change eventually) but then it would still like you said give the benefit of instant cycled tank almost (especially with that amount of rock--

do you have a heater or just a powerhead for water movement

I'm not positive on the algae. I have bristle worms, asterinas, aiptasia, green palys and paly grandis that survived almost 9 months. No heat just flow but the water never gets colder than mid 60s
Maybe @fishguy242 knows whether the algae will die off?

 

[fishguy242]

No light ,no algae, knock off as much of the bubble as you can before putting in brute,a powerhead will do just fine, keep an eye on salinity

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Like others have said, I would either store it in a brute trash can or throw it in your sump.

 

[PPBlimpy]

If you have the room I would throw it in the sump, makes a great cryptic fuge. Keep that area dark. Tons of sponges will grow and act as filter feeders and polish the water.

then if you do decided to set up another tank down the road you have lots of good rock to help cycle and get the new tank off on the right track

 

[UNREEFER]

If you have a basement/garage/fishroom, I would temporarily store it in a brute trash can with a lid (they do make mini 5g, 10g, 20g etc. depending on how much space you need) with a small cheap wave maker.

If there are inverts, some macroalgae you like to keep on I would look at a 50g rubbermaid stock tank and put a cheap light in the middle hanging from the ceiling. Might make a cool little semi-second tank to watch as well. However you may need to tend to it more with evaporation, maybe a little dosing + casual testing if you want to keep coralline algae and some other stuff alive.

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

I’m in a similar situation. I had a 60g cryptic fuge built by GlassCages (24x24x24) out of acrylic. I’m about to load it with 150 pounds of live wet rock. I’ve delayed this because I’m concerned this could be come an apt aiptasia breeding pit. I’m guessing every two months toss some berghia in it?

 

[PPBlimpy]

I’m in a similar situation. I had a 60g cryptic fuge built by GlassCages (24x24x24) out of acrylic. I’m about to load it with 150 pounds of live wet rock. I’ve delayed this because I’m concerned this could be come an apt aiptasia breeding pit. I’m guessing every two months toss some berghia in it?

you could. If they are in the fuge and not spreading I would just leave them.

or if they spread to the main display then take care of the display but in a cryptic fuge I wouldn't bother them, they help by feeding on detritus and organic matter, they are just ugly but who cares in a dark box.

This comes from a guy that has a 45G frag tank and farms aptasia.

 

[Philip Chin]

Into the sump