Adding live rock

larrybryans · 07/13/2009, 12:42 PM

I am new to salt water,I've been doing fresh for about six years,so bear with my lack of knowledge.I just aquired a 90 gallon reef tank that was set-up with about 100 Lbs of live rock, 100 Lbs of sand, assorted fish and corals.The person I got the tank from kept about half of everything but the sand. I even took about half of the water with me. We cleaned the sand and set the tank back up. I have been told that the tank will go through a cycling period now. I was thinking of adding about fifty Lbs of live rock now since it is cycling anyway. Is this the right thing to do or should I wait? And what will all this do to the Tang and Angelfish and corals? By the way,this has a sump set-up. I only have a little bit of rock,a pound or two,in one section and a little bit of algae in another section. Should I do more there and what about a light for the algae? Thanks and all advice is welcome.

Sugar Magnolia · 07/13/2009, 12:46 PM

If you can get your hands on some fully cured LR, then by all means, go ahead and add it. If all you can find is uncured or partially cured, you don't want to add it because it will cause another cycle. You can get yourself a rubbermade tub or a brute trash can and cycle the rock in that for 4-6 weeks. Add a powerhead and a heater, and check all the water params during the cycling process.

Here's a great place to start you off - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1031074

To Reef Central

der_wille_zur_macht · 07/13/2009, 12:47 PM

Get some test kits and start monitoring the water's critical parameters - salinity, pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. If you see any ammonia reading, you'll need to do some damage control.

At this point, I would not suggest adding "raw" fresh live rock. Instead, I would try to find some well-cured rock from an existing setup, and add it slowly - a piece at a time, every few days.

Still though, I'd be concerned about the health of the livestock given that you've cleaned the sand (which removed any beneficial bacteria growing on it) and relocated the tank, with only half the live rock. So keep an eye on things and be ready if the livestock starts to head south.

Sugar Magnolia · 07/13/2009, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by der_wille_zur_macht
So keep an eye on things and be ready if the livestock starts to head south.

I'll add to this...be sure you have plenty of freshly mixed salt water on hand so if you start to see a rise in ammonia you can do the water changes that will be needed to lower the numbers.

larrybryans · 07/13/2009, 04:06 PM

Thank you guys for the info.All the water readings are great right now...I'll keep watching it. I also checked with my local shop and they have cured live rock I can buy for six dollars a pound. I'm thinking I will just take all of this very slow. I would like to buy more corals and even more anemones and urchins( currently have one of each) but i will be good and wait.

der_wille_zur_macht · 07/13/2009, 04:47 PM

Just make sure their "cured" rock really is cured. Many LFS's just mail order large batches of rock and dump it in a vat, periodically adding more - so it can be a bit of a mixed bag.

Aquarist007 · 07/13/2009, 06:20 PM

I agree with what has been said above. You could get away with adding 5-7 lbs of live rock a week to your system however and probably not seeing much of an ammonia spike

07/13/2009, 12:42 PM	#1
larrybryans Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Sacramento Posts: 4	Adding live rock I am new to salt water,I've been doing fresh for about six years,so bear with my lack of knowledge.I just aquired a 90 gallon reef tank that was set-up with about 100 Lbs of live rock, 100 Lbs of sand, assorted fish and corals.The person I got the tank from kept about half of everything but the sand. I even took about half of the water with me. We cleaned the sand and set the tank back up. I have been told that the tank will go through a cycling period now. I was thinking of adding about fifty Lbs of live rock now since it is cycling anyway. Is this the right thing to do or should I wait? And what will all this do to the Tang and Angelfish and corals? By the way,this has a sump set-up. I only have a little bit of rock,a pound or two,in one section and a little bit of algae in another section. Should I do more there and what about a light for the algae? Thanks and all advice is welcome.

07/13/2009, 12:46 PM	#2
Sugar Magnolia Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Northern VA Posts: 17,691	If you can get your hands on some fully cured LR, then by all means, go ahead and add it. If all you can find is uncured or partially cured, you don't want to add it because it will cause another cycle. You can get yourself a rubbermade tub or a brute trash can and cycle the rock in that for 4-6 weeks. Add a powerhead and a heater, and check all the water params during the cycling process. Here's a great place to start you off - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1031074 *To Reef Central* __________________ Adrienne The only thing to fear is fear itself....and spiders.

07/13/2009, 12:47 PM	#3
der_wille_zur_macht Team RC Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NY Posts: 17,749	Get some test kits and start monitoring the water's critical parameters - salinity, pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. If you see any ammonia reading, you'll need to do some damage control. At this point, I would not suggest adding "raw" fresh live rock. Instead, I would try to find some well-cured rock from an existing setup, and add it slowly - a piece at a time, every few days. Still though, I'd be concerned about the health of the livestock given that you've cleaned the sand (which removed any beneficial bacteria growing on it) and relocated the tank, with only half the live rock. So keep an eye on things and be ready if the livestock starts to head south. __________________ Inconveniencing marine life since 1992 "It is my personal belief that reef aquaria should be thriving communities of biodiversity, representative of their wild counterparts, and not merely collections of pretty specimens growing on tidy clean rock shelves covered in purple coralline algae." (Eric Borneman)

07/13/2009, 04:47 PM	#6
der_wille_zur_macht Team RC Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NY Posts: 17,749	Just make sure their "cured" rock really is cured. Many LFS's just mail order large batches of rock and dump it in a vat, periodically adding more - so it can be a bit of a mixed bag. __________________ Inconveniencing marine life since 1992 "It is my personal belief that reef aquaria should be thriving communities of biodiversity, representative of their wild counterparts, and not merely collections of pretty specimens growing on tidy clean rock shelves covered in purple coralline algae." (Eric Borneman)

07/13/2009, 06:20 PM	#7
Aquarist007 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Hamilton, Canada Posts: 28,240 Blog Entries: 1	I agree with what has been said above. You could get away with adding 5-7 lbs of live rock a week to your system however and probably not seeing much of an ammonia spike __________________ I prefer my substrates stirred but not shaken Current Tank Info: 150gal long mixed reef, 90gal sump, 60 gal refugium with 200 lbs live rock

07/13/2009, 04:06 PM	#5
larrybryans Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Sacramento Posts: 4	Thank you guys for the info.All the water readings are great right now...I'll keep watching it. I also checked with my local shop and they have cured live rock I can buy for six dollars a pound. I'm thinking I will just take all of this very slow. I would like to buy more corals and even more anemones and urchins( currently have one of each) but i will be good and wait.