adding base rock to a tank

95accord · 12/07/2007, 09:51 AM

i have a 55gal FOWLR tank. i have about 20 lbs of LR and 65 lbs of LS. My LFS will be getting about 100lbs of base (dead) LR for relatively inexpensive. i was considering purchasing some 20-25lbs extra. could i add it directly to the tank? would i need to remove fish? QT for a month to establish it? would i need to cook, cure, scrub or do anything special to the rock before adding it?
any info would be great
thanks
Tom

usmc121581 · 12/07/2007, 10:00 AM

You might have to scrub it. But you will have to wash it good enough to get all the dirt that comes with it.

swjim · 12/07/2007, 10:01 AM

When I've added base rock in the past I just rinsed the dust off and put it in. There is some risk in that you don't know where it's been or if anything has leached into it, but the supplier I purchased from had a good reputation here so I felt pretty safe in doing so. Do you know where the rock is coming from?

barclayrl · 12/07/2007, 10:02 AM

you may be able to add it slowly, but I would not, I would cure it in a rubbermaid tub for 6 weeks or so, you could easily wipe out your entire tank adding that much. You could even pick up a few pounds of extra "live rock" to help see the base rock. Even after is it cured i would add it slowly.. Just to be safe.

95accord · 12/07/2007, 10:25 AM

its supposed to be Fiji base rock. should be arriving next week. they are supposed to get +100lbs or so.
i already have about 20-25lbs of well established LR in my tank. i was just wondering if it would cause my tank to cycle again or something.
ill probably just scrub/clean them off.....might let them soak overnight or something.

akaatomic · 12/07/2007, 11:46 AM

Let them soak in your old water change water to cycle. Dry rock is covered in dead organics that will continue to break down once in water again. Curing dry rock stinks just as bad as curing live rock because it all dead material waiting to dissolve and break down. That being said, you probably only need to cure it for two weeks or so because everything is dead already. Then, add a piece every few days, test and keep up with you water changes. Within two more weeks you'll be in the clear.

m2434 · 12/07/2007, 11:51 AM

No need to cure base rock, but it wouldn't hurt to soak it. Cycling is caused by dead decaying bio-matter. If there is nothing but rock there is nothing to decay...

m2434 · 12/07/2007, 11:56 AM

unless it is covered in dead organics, but most base rock is just clean rock...

spamreefnew · 12/07/2007, 10:29 PM

one word of caution baes rock takes forever and a day to become what i would call "live" rock i did a 50/50 mix br/lr and wished i had spent the xtra$

demonsp · 12/07/2007, 10:34 PM

Sounds like premium LR thats uncured. If you add uncured LR in your tank then this could be bad. Base rock would be dry and void of any life. And in a 1 yr tank the base would not take long to take on life .

demonsp · 12/07/2007, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by spamreefnew
one word of caution baes rock takes forever and a day to become what i would call "live" rock i did a 50/50 mix br/lr and wished i had spent the xtra$

Going all LR only increases the chance of unwanted hitchhickers , sponges , and others. Also with LS you take a chance of it really being live. If it is all live then great but if the LS has been stored awile then it coould all be base sand and a total waste of money but would look uniform.
If you keep water conditions high and water readings low then base will take color fast.

95accord · 12/07/2007, 10:54 PM

well i got some tonga deep water "dead" Live rock a while ago from another fellow reefer......it was cycling in his tank for about 1-2 weeks then i added some of it to mine. color spread pretty fast. still has a way to go but its coming along very nicely IMO

i hope this stuff is along the same lines. im sure ill make a final decision once i see the product.

demonsp · 12/07/2007, 11:02 PM

More like smell the rock. If it has ammonia smell then its uncured. Should smell like the ocean if cured or like the LR you have now.

uscharalph · 12/08/2007, 01:30 AM

Go the safer route. You don't want to initiate a cycle.

12/07/2007, 09:51 AM	#1
95accord Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Fredericton Posts: 623	adding base rock to a tank i have a 55gal FOWLR tank. i have about 20 lbs of LR and 65 lbs of LS. My LFS will be getting about 100lbs of base (dead) LR for relatively inexpensive. i was considering purchasing some 20-25lbs extra. could i add it directly to the tank? would i need to remove fish? QT for a month to establish it? would i need to cook, cure, scrub or do anything special to the rock before adding it? any info would be great thanks Tom __________________ when life passes you by....downshift Current Tank Info: Reef 2.0 - 45 Osaka cube

12/07/2007, 10:00 AM	#2
usmc121581 Where am I? Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Abingdon, maryland Posts: 1,671 Blog Entries: 1	You might have to scrub it. But you will have to wash it good enough to get all the dirt that comes with it. __________________ I prefer not to think before I speak, I like to be just as surprised as everyone else by what comes out of my mouth. Current Tank Info: I have a 180 gal mostly LPS corals, it contains 1 Val. Tang, 1 yellow striped clown fish, 3 percula clownfish, a blood shrimp, cleaner shrimp and a sand shifting goby, 5 pajama cardinals, 1 green chromis. Also a 75 gal. sump/fug.

12/07/2007, 10:25 AM	#5
95accord Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Fredericton Posts: 623	its supposed to be Fiji base rock. should be arriving next week. they are supposed to get +100lbs or so. i already have about 20-25lbs of well established LR in my tank. i was just wondering if it would cause my tank to cycle again or something. ill probably just scrub/clean them off.....might let them soak overnight or something. __________________ when life passes you by....downshift Current Tank Info: Reef 2.0 - 45 Osaka cube

12/07/2007, 11:51 AM	#7
m2434 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 2,171	No need to cure base rock, but it wouldn't hurt to soak it. Cycling is caused by dead decaying bio-matter. If there is nothing but rock there is nothing to decay... __________________ Our imagination is stretched to the utmost, not, as in fiction, to imagine things which are not really there, but just to comprehend those things which are there. ~Richard Feynman

12/07/2007, 11:56 AM	#8
m2434 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 2,171	unless it is covered in dead organics, but most base rock is just clean rock... __________________ Our imagination is stretched to the utmost, not, as in fiction, to imagine things which are not really there, but just to comprehend those things which are there. ~Richard Feynman

12/07/2007, 10:01 AM	#3
swjim Registered Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Boerne, TX Posts: 884	When I've added base rock in the past I just rinsed the dust off and put it in. There is some risk in that you don't know where it's been or if anything has leached into it, but the supplier I purchased from had a good reputation here so I felt pretty safe in doing so. Do you know where the rock is coming from?

12/07/2007, 10:02 AM	#4
barclayrl Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Chambersburg, PA Posts: 332	you may be able to add it slowly, but I would not, I would cure it in a rubbermaid tub for 6 weeks or so, you could easily wipe out your entire tank adding that much. You could even pick up a few pounds of extra "live rock" to help see the base rock. Even after is it cured i would add it slowly.. Just to be safe.

12/07/2007, 11:46 AM	#6
akaatomic Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: NJ Posts: 155	Let them soak in your old water change water to cycle. Dry rock is covered in dead organics that will continue to break down once in water again. Curing dry rock stinks just as bad as curing live rock because it all dead material waiting to dissolve and break down. That being said, you probably only need to cure it for two weeks or so because everything is dead already. Then, add a piece every few days, test and keep up with you water changes. Within two more weeks you'll be in the clear.

12/07/2007, 10:29 PM	#9
spamreefnew Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: rhodeisland Posts: 1,491	one word of caution baes rock takes forever and a day to become what i would call "live" rock i did a 50/50 mix br/lr and wished i had spent the xtra$

12/07/2007, 10:34 PM	#10
demonsp Moved On Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: el paso tx Posts: 7,634	Sounds like premium LR thats uncured. If you add uncured LR in your tank then this could be bad. Base rock would be dry and void of any life. And in a 1 yr tank the base would not take long to take on life .

12/07/2007, 10:54 PM	#12
95accord Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Fredericton Posts: 623	well i got some tonga deep water "dead" Live rock a while ago from another fellow reefer......it was cycling in his tank for about 1-2 weeks then i added some of it to mine. color spread pretty fast. still has a way to go but its coming along very nicely IMO i hope this stuff is along the same lines. im sure ill make a final decision once i see the product. __________________ when life passes you by....downshift Current Tank Info: Reef 2.0 - 45 Osaka cube

12/07/2007, 11:02 PM	#13
demonsp Moved On Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: el paso tx Posts: 7,634	More like smell the rock. If it has ammonia smell then its uncured. Should smell like the ocean if cured or like the LR you have now.

12/08/2007, 01:30 AM	#14
uscharalph Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Long Beach, CA Posts: 1,248	Go the safer route. You don't want to initiate a cycle. __________________ Ralph Mendoza Jr. Long Beach, CA Current Tank Info: 80 Gallon Reef Tank