live rock in bucket since dec

Sophie-G · 01/30/2008, 10:48 AM

We have an opportunity to buy 220lbs of live rock.
The tank was taken apart in December and the live rock was placed in buckets, in the salt water from the tank.
These buckets have been placed in a heated shop , I believe the buckets have lids on.

1st question- will the rock be okay to use?

2nd question -how much should we pay for it? asking price is $600. canadian

Thanks for the help...

jimbo78 · 01/30/2008, 10:53 AM

did they wave powerheads in the buckets?

jimbo78 · 01/30/2008, 10:53 AM

did they have powerheads in the buckets?

Sophie-G · 01/30/2008, 10:55 AM

Not sure.....

jimbo78 · 01/30/2008, 11:00 AM

without water movment i dont think they will be good. if there was water movement and the temp was good it should be fine.

HumanIMDB · 01/30/2008, 11:02 AM

If they haven't been circulating the water in the buckets I believe the rock will be dead or mostly dead. So, unless Miracle Max (gotta love Princess Bride) is around, you're going to get a whole bunch of base rock.

If you can, take a few pieces out and smell them...if they smell really bad, you've got dead rock. If they smell "like the ocean", then you should be okay.

Still $3CAD/lb for "mostly dead" rock isn't that bad...brand name base rock is around $2CAD/lb, at least that's the cheapest price I could find.

TheOtherReefer · 01/30/2008, 11:09 AM

Dead water = Dead rock

Dustin1231 · 01/30/2008, 03:40 PM

i had some that was sitting in a 5 gallon bucket for 3 months during the winter out in my garge. Pulled it out, and everything came back to life. even the dang shrooms.. even thought they are now bleached... but there spreading like wild fire again...

Dustin1231 · 01/31/2008, 07:07 AM

i had some that was sitting in a 5 gallon bucket for 3 months during the winter out in my garge. Pulled it out, and everything came back to life. even the dang shrooms.. even thought they are now bleached... but there spreading like wild fire again...

jbarone · 01/31/2008, 09:58 AM

I had 15 pounds in a bucket of tank water with no heat and no power head for about 4 months. the water was at about 60 degrees the whole time. I thought it would be rotten when I opened it but it was OK. I broke it up and put in a nano with water from my DT. I had no cycle and even saw a baby starfish come out the next day. One week later after adding cheato to the sump I had pods all over it.

JB

rustybucket145 · 01/31/2008, 10:33 AM

I think you'll be fine. Just use common sense. ie, If the water's black and smells like week old dead chickens you're gonna need to soak it in some freshwater for a while to cleanse it. But like 'Human' said, If it smells like the ocean you're good to go. However it wouldn't hurt to pop a powerhead in the bucket for a few days before you put it in your tank.

01/30/2008, 10:48 AM	#1
Sophie-G Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: London, ON, Canada Posts: 115	live rock in bucket since dec We have an opportunity to buy 220lbs of live rock. The tank was taken apart in December and the live rock was placed in buckets, in the salt water from the tank. These buckets have been placed in a heated shop , I believe the buckets have lids on. 1st question- will the rock be okay to use? 2nd question -how much should we pay for it? asking price is $600. canadian Thanks for the help...

01/30/2008, 10:53 AM	#2
jimbo78 Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: miami Posts: 3,099	did they wave powerheads in the buckets? __________________ Dive with sharks? Doesn't everyone. Current Tank Info: 60 cube

01/30/2008, 10:53 AM	#3
jimbo78 Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: miami Posts: 3,099	did they have powerheads in the buckets? __________________ Dive with sharks? Doesn't everyone. Current Tank Info: 60 cube

01/30/2008, 11:00 AM	#5
jimbo78 Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: miami Posts: 3,099	without water movment i dont think they will be good. if there was water movement and the temp was good it should be fine. __________________ Dive with sharks? Doesn't everyone. Current Tank Info: 60 cube

01/30/2008, 11:02 AM	#6
HumanIMDB Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Winnipeg, MB Posts: 1,556	If they haven't been circulating the water in the buckets I believe the rock will be dead or mostly dead. So, unless Miracle Max (gotta love Princess Bride) is around, you're going to get a whole bunch of base rock. If you can, take a few pieces out and smell them...if they smell really bad, you've got dead rock. If they smell "like the ocean", then you should be okay. Still $3CAD/lb for "mostly dead" rock isn't that bad...brand name base rock is around $2CAD/lb, at least that's the cheapest price I could find. __________________ Chris Rivers Will do computer support for frags. :) Click on the Red House to see our AGA92 Corner Reef Tank Build thread. Current Tank Info: 10 Gal (Aqualight 96W Quad 50/50, AquaClear Power Filter 70 with Chaeto lit by 6500K Bulb, AquaClear Power Head 20, 50w Tronic Heater), 92 Gal All-Glass Corner (Cycling)

01/30/2008, 10:55 AM	#4
Sophie-G Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: London, ON, Canada Posts: 115	Not sure.....

01/30/2008, 11:09 AM	#7
TheOtherReefer Pre-Internet Club Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Miami Posts: 1,154	Dead water = Dead rock __________________ When a man lies he murders some part of the world... Current Tank Info: Custom shallow (72"x24"x16") 100 gallon reef.

01/30/2008, 03:40 PM	#8
Dustin1231 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Wichita Kansas Posts: 260	i had some that was sitting in a 5 gallon bucket for 3 months during the winter out in my garge. Pulled it out, and everything came back to life. even the dang shrooms.. even thought they are now bleached... but there spreading like wild fire again... __________________ WOW, never thought id spend more money on a fish tank then a motorcycle... Current Tank Info: a 12 nano and 120 mixed started on June 16 2007

01/31/2008, 07:07 AM	#9
Dustin1231 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Wichita Kansas Posts: 260	i had some that was sitting in a 5 gallon bucket for 3 months during the winter out in my garge. Pulled it out, and everything came back to life. even the dang shrooms.. even thought they are now bleached... but there spreading like wild fire again... __________________ WOW, never thought id spend more money on a fish tank then a motorcycle... Current Tank Info: a 12 nano and 120 mixed started on June 16 2007

01/31/2008, 09:58 AM	#10
jbarone Government Sponge Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Troy, IL Posts: 936	I had 15 pounds in a bucket of tank water with no heat and no power head for about 4 months. the water was at about 60 degrees the whole time. I thought it would be rotten when I opened it but it was OK. I broke it up and put in a nano with water from my DT. I had no cycle and even saw a baby starfish come out the next day. One week later after adding cheato to the sump I had pods all over it. JB

01/31/2008, 10:33 AM	#11
rustybucket145 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: valdosta, ga Posts: 3,707	I think you'll be fine. Just use common sense. ie, If the water's black and smells like week old dead chickens you're gonna need to soak it in some freshwater for a while to cleanse it. But like 'Human' said, If it smells like the ocean you're good to go. However it wouldn't hurt to pop a powerhead in the bucket for a few days before you put it in your tank. __________________ 400gals of various tanks in the same system. Current Tank Info: 2 175w MH, 2 VH0 Actinics, Lots of Live Rock, tons of copepods, a Fat Mandarin Goby, Niger Trigger, Yellow Tang, Falco Hawkfish, Bi-Color Pseudo, numerous soft, SPS and LPS Corals