Adding Rock thats been outside?

oshanickreef · 12/15/2013, 09:17 PM

So i just got a bigger sump with a large space for a fuge. i have a bunch of rock that has been sitting outside in the rain and some was on mulch. anyways i want to add it to my system, so i have it in a bucket of saltwater currently and i was wondering if adding it would be risky to add bad nitrates or anything??

also can i add it all at once or should i do it in small chunks?

thanks,

nick

aandfsoccr04 · 12/15/2013, 09:28 PM

I'm also interested in this.

UTCReefer · 12/15/2013, 09:29 PM

Just rinse it off and use it. I'd only be worried if you spray your yard at all.

mike_cmu04 · 12/15/2013, 09:47 PM

Rinse it very well and slowly add it to your system I don't know how much you have but I would only do a piece at a time to be safe.

oshanickreef · 12/15/2013, 09:59 PM

ya i have eben reading other threads and people are saying you have to cure it in a separate bucket for a month.. i understand why... but I need to do it now because my overflow drains into my first chamber which is my fuge. and the bubbles are crazy also i have chaeto breaking and entering my display which is not good if it gets into the rocks...
i want to add a bunch of rock to act as a screen so all the bubbles and chaeto wont make it through.

kikoreefer · 12/15/2013, 10:24 PM

It's hit or miss anytime I add dry rock I get a diatom bloom so I would add slowly. Is there any way you can put filter floss or something like that while you cycle it? Especially if it's been sitting out it's probably full of organics and possibly PO4 if you want to risk your tank I guess go ahead but I would try something else until I could cycle it...

oshanickreef · 12/15/2013, 10:36 PM

ya i may go to LFS and ask if i can buy rocks out of their tanks... i gues there are risks in that too though..

oshanickreef · 12/16/2013, 08:44 AM

I decided to cycle the rock and be patient... so i took out a small rock from my tank and threw it in a 32 gal bucket with probably 10 gal of salt mix and a bunch of rocks i had sitting outside. I have a powerhead and a heater in this bucket and i am just going to let it run for a month or so. should i just test ammonia in a week to see if anything has happened? or is a small rock enough to start a cycle?

leveldrummer · 12/16/2013, 09:15 AM

do you have a valve on your return pump? you should limit the speed the water goes through your sump so it isnt creating a ton of bubbles and isnt breaking up your cheato.

oshanickreef · 12/16/2013, 09:32 AM

ya i do.. i wil lower it a bit tonight

aandfsoccr04 · 12/22/2013, 03:13 PM

bump for more opinions.

billdogg · 12/22/2013, 05:38 PM

rinse it well and toss it in.

JM.02

heritage · 12/22/2013, 11:54 PM

I had live rock that sat outside for more than a year. I cycled it first. Besides, there were all kinds of spiders and bugs that came running out once it hit the water. This was a good time to remove them.

Maxxumless · 12/23/2013, 12:51 AM

I have a pile of former LR outside for years. I grab some now and again for projects and the only problem I've ever had is after washing them in RO then salt water are all the dead leaves, bugs and dust. I just finished cycling a tank with 'reef bones' using BIO-Spira and a little Fritz Zyme. Cycle took about 4 days. Like a poster above said, unless you treat your yard or house perimeter with chemicals/poisons you're good to go. If the rock is truly dead (been outside for months) there's little to no chance of anything bad happening. It's inert like a decoration. Stuff will grow on it eventually, but for now, nothing.

MegNut · 12/23/2013, 07:04 AM

I'd play it safe and boil it or soak it for a few days then give it a good scrub before putting into the tank. And as others mentioned, add it slowly and monitor water params.

Vadafallon · 12/23/2013, 07:24 AM

I soaked mine in RO with bleach and a powerhead for 2 days. .Then ran it with just RO for a day, drained that and filled back up with RO again. Now i have it in another bucket with water and prime. I will test after a week to see where i am at.

usmc121581 · 12/23/2013, 07:30 AM

Good choice in being patient, i would never risk ever putting rock like that in my system. We spend to much time and money in it. I am currently doing the same thing, i bought a tank from someone and they had a bristle worm farm. I let most of the rock sit outside and then bleached, it has been sitting in a rubber maid trash can cycling for 3 weeks with water changes every weekend.

FastUno · 12/23/2013, 07:50 AM

STOP!!!!

I just did this with awesome rock that I purchased from a local reefer. He said he had it in his tank & just took some out. I only placed in rock & the next day one of my corals started getting bleached. That night another one & that same night yet another.

I really missed those corals & wished that I had not. I was standing there debating whether I should add the rock & did not use the rocks for such a long time because of this worry. I was just finally desperate for space & I was very tired, so I just added it.

I have learned a very valuable lesson, that I already knew deep down inside. I deeply regret it now & 3 of my fav & ever expanding/growing corals paid the price.

oshanickreef · 12/23/2013, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FastUno

STOP!!!!

I just did this with awesome rock that I purchased from a local reefer. He said he had it in his tank & just took some out. I only placed in rock & the next day one of my corals started getting bleached. That night another one & that same night yet another.

I really missed those corals & wished that I had not. I was standing there debating whether I should add the rock & did not use the rocks for such a long time because of this worry. I was just finally desperate for space & I was very tired, so I just added it.

I have learned a very valuable lesson, that I already knew deep down inside. I deeply regret it now & 3 of my fav & ever expanding/growing corals paid the price.

That is a bummer man! I actually did this all last week. I talked to a local guy in our local fish club and he was taking all of his rock out of his sump because he is doing some remodeling.. he sold me his rock for very very cheap and i took it home in water (about 25 lbs). I just threw it in my sump.. which probably wasnt the smartest choice... but his reef looked good and i just took the gamble.. everything is doing great now, so i guess its just luck of the draw. Regardless i still have rock sitting in my room cycling... so now i dont need it i may just cycle it and then sell it or give it away to a local reefer.

thanks for all the replies!!

sirreal63 · 12/23/2013, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Like a poster above said, unless you treat your yard or house perimeter with chemicals/poisons you're good to go. If the rock is truly dead (been outside for months) there's little to no chance of anything bad happening. It's inert like a decoration. Stuff will grow on it eventually, but for now, nothing.

Though you may not treat your yard, your neighbors might and during a heavy rainfall there is a possibility of contamination from those around you. Rainfall also picks up contaminants from the air as it falls. Dried out live rock is far from inert, it absorbs water just like a sponge and also acts like a filter.

Quote:

I'd play it safe and boil it or soak it for a few days then give it a good scrub before putting into the tank.

Never boil rock, even rock that has been outside, there is a chance of it rupturing and what good would it do to boil it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickstl

I talked to a local guy in our local fish club and he was taking all of his rock out of his sump because he is doing some remodeling.. he sold me his rock for very very cheap and i took it home in water (about 25 lbs). I just threw it in my sump.. which probably wasnt the smartest choice... but his reef looked good and i just took the gamble.. everything is doing great now, so i guess its just luck of the draw. Regardless i still have rock sitting in my room cycling... so now i dont need it i may just cycle it and then sell it or give it away to a local reefer.

thanks for all the replies!!

If it came from a healthy system that you saw, I would not worry too much. If it had been in a tank with copper meds then his tank would have already suffered, if it was loaded with phosphates then you probably would have seen a lot of algae either on the rock or in his tank. This is a very good way to get more rock, provided you are able to see the tank it came from or know the person.

oshanickreef · 12/23/2013, 10:18 AM

ya that was the judgement i used. His tank was huge and it looked very nice.. granted he had a tank crash a few years ago ... but his stuff has since bounced back and everything looked healthy. its cool because i can see the rock i put in my sump and it has some neat sponge growth and some random softy corals as well. Also My chaeto that is floating on top of the rock is growing like crazy and since putting it in a few weeks ago, I have seen a bunch of pods on my tank glass, which were not there before... this probably has something to do with taking down my UV Sterilizer and adding the fuge.

sirreal63 · 12/23/2013, 10:22 AM

I don't think I would be concerned, if it is encrusted with sponges then the rock is happy. You are fortunate, there is a large base of outstanding reefers in your area. I learned a lot from the STL crowd in the 6 years I was there.

oshanickreef · 12/23/2013, 10:28 AM

ya i went to a long time reefers house last week.. the tanks were insane! and he had a coral that was MASSIVE! it was a leather. absolutely mind blowing.

sirreal63 · 12/23/2013, 10:30 AM

Dave's tank, had to be. Stick around the SLASH members, they are extremely helpful.

oshanickreef · 12/23/2013, 10:32 AM

haha yup!! i imagine you have seen it.. it is unbelievable.

12/15/2013, 09:17 PM	#1
oshanickreef Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Saint Louis, MO Posts: 2,367	Adding Rock thats been outside? So i just got a bigger sump with a large space for a fuge. i have a bunch of rock that has been sitting outside in the rain and some was on mulch. anyways i want to add it to my system, so i have it in a bucket of saltwater currently and i was wondering if adding it would be risky to add bad nitrates or anything?? also can i add it all at once or should i do it in small chunks? thanks, nick __________________ Mixed Peaceful Reef :) ~140 Gallons of Water Non-agro fish Instagram: Oshanickreef

12/15/2013, 09:28 PM	#2
aandfsoccr04 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Posts: 3,561	I'm also interested in this. __________________ 120 gallon mixed reef

12/15/2013, 09:47 PM	#4
mike_cmu04 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Shepherd, Mi Posts: 2,348	Rinse it very well and slowly add it to your system I don't know how much you have but I would only do a piece at a time to be safe. __________________ 92 Gallon corner tank, 2-radion gen 2 led lights, 2 mp40's Current Tank Info: 92 Gallon Corner Tank

12/15/2013, 09:59 PM	#5
oshanickreef Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Saint Louis, MO Posts: 2,367	ya i have eben reading other threads and people are saying you have to cure it in a separate bucket for a month.. i understand why... but I need to do it now because my overflow drains into my first chamber which is my fuge. and the bubbles are crazy also i have chaeto breaking and entering my display which is not good if it gets into the rocks... i want to add a bunch of rock to act as a screen so all the bubbles and chaeto wont make it through. __________________ Mixed Peaceful Reef :) ~140 Gallons of Water Non-agro fish Instagram: Oshanickreef

12/15/2013, 10:36 PM	#7
oshanickreef Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Saint Louis, MO Posts: 2,367	ya i may go to LFS and ask if i can buy rocks out of their tanks... i gues there are risks in that too though.. __________________ Mixed Peaceful Reef :) ~140 Gallons of Water Non-agro fish Instagram: Oshanickreef

12/15/2013, 09:29 PM	#3
UTCReefer Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: San Diego Posts: 652	Just rinse it off and use it. I'd only be worried if you spray your yard at all.

12/15/2013, 10:24 PM	#6
kikoreefer Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Las Vegas, NV Posts: 221	It's hit or miss anytime I add dry rock I get a diatom bloom so I would add slowly. Is there any way you can put filter floss or something like that while you cycle it? Especially if it's been sitting out it's probably full of organics and possibly PO4 if you want to risk your tank I guess go ahead but I would try something else until I could cycle it...

12/16/2013, 08:44 AM	#8
oshanickreef Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Saint Louis, MO Posts: 2,367	I decided to cycle the rock and be patient... so i took out a small rock from my tank and threw it in a 32 gal bucket with probably 10 gal of salt mix and a bunch of rocks i had sitting outside. I have a powerhead and a heater in this bucket and i am just going to let it run for a month or so. should i just test ammonia in a week to see if anything has happened? or is a small rock enough to start a cycle? __________________ Mixed Peaceful Reef :) ~140 Gallons of Water Non-agro fish Instagram: Oshanickreef

12/16/2013, 09:15 AM	#9
leveldrummer Reefer Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Atlanta Posts: 1,831	do you have a valve on your return pump? you should limit the speed the water goes through your sump so it isnt creating a ton of bubbles and isnt breaking up your cheato.

12/16/2013, 09:32 AM	#10
oshanickreef Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Saint Louis, MO Posts: 2,367	ya i do.. i wil lower it a bit tonight __________________ Mixed Peaceful Reef :) ~140 Gallons of Water Non-agro fish Instagram: Oshanickreef

12/22/2013, 03:13 PM	#11
aandfsoccr04 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Posts: 3,561	bump for more opinions. __________________ 120 gallon mixed reef

12/22/2013, 05:38 PM	#12
billdogg Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Grove City, Ohio Posts: 10,806	rinse it well and toss it in. JM.02 __________________ I'll try to be nice if you try to be smarter! I can't help that I grow older, but you can't make me grow up! Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef with 40b sump, RO 150 skimmer, AI Sol Blue x 2, and a 60g Frag Tank with 100g rubbermaid sump. 2 x Kessil A360w lights, BM curve 5 skimmer

12/22/2013, 11:54 PM	#13
heritage Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: PHILLY Posts: 561	I had live rock that sat outside for more than a year. I cycled it first. Besides, there were all kinds of spiders and bugs that came running out once it hit the water. This was a good time to remove them. __________________ Chris

12/23/2013, 12:51 AM	#14
Maxxumless To the Max... Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 2,364	I have a pile of former LR outside for years. I grab some now and again for projects and the only problem I've ever had is after washing them in RO then salt water are all the dead leaves, bugs and dust. I just finished cycling a tank with 'reef bones' using BIO-Spira and a little Fritz Zyme. Cycle took about 4 days. Like a poster above said, unless you treat your yard or house perimeter with chemicals/poisons you're good to go. If the rock is truly dead (been outside for months) there's little to no chance of anything bad happening. It's inert like a decoration. Stuff will grow on it eventually, but for now, nothing.

12/23/2013, 07:04 AM	#15
MegNut Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 24	I'd play it safe and boil it or soak it for a few days then give it a good scrub before putting into the tank. And as others mentioned, add it slowly and monitor water params.

12/23/2013, 07:24 AM	#16
Vadafallon Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 974	I soaked mine in RO with bleach and a powerhead for 2 days. .Then ran it with just RO for a day, drained that and filled back up with RO again. Now i have it in another bucket with water and prime. I will test after a week to see where i am at.

12/23/2013, 07:30 AM	#17
usmc121581 Where am I? Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Abingdon, maryland Posts: 1,671 Blog Entries: 1	Good choice in being patient, i would never risk ever putting rock like that in my system. We spend to much time and money in it. I am currently doing the same thing, i bought a tank from someone and they had a bristle worm farm. I let most of the rock sit outside and then bleached, it has been sitting in a rubber maid trash can cycling for 3 weeks with water changes every weekend. __________________ 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.

12/23/2013, 07:50 AM	#18
FastUno Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: NY Posts: 1,726	STOP!!!! I just did this with awesome rock that I purchased from a local reefer. He said he had it in his tank & just took some out. I only placed in rock & the next day one of my corals started getting bleached. That night another one & that same night yet another. I really missed those corals & wished that I had not. I was standing there debating whether I should add the rock & did not use the rocks for such a long time because of this worry. I was just finally desperate for space & I was very tired, so I just added it. I have learned a very valuable lesson, that I already knew deep down inside. I deeply regret it now & 3 of my fav & ever expanding/growing corals paid the price. __________________ 75g AGA/RR/BB, 20g sump, Aquactinics 2x250 (Phoenix 14K)/2x54 T5 (AB & B+), Eheim 1262 Return, Deltec AP600, Tunze 6060 & Osmolator 3155, Homemade 2 part Current Tank Info: SW, Reef

12/23/2013, 10:18 AM	#21
oshanickreef Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Saint Louis, MO Posts: 2,367	ya that was the judgement i used. His tank was huge and it looked very nice.. granted he had a tank crash a few years ago ... but his stuff has since bounced back and everything looked healthy. its cool because i can see the rock i put in my sump and it has some neat sponge growth and some random softy corals as well. Also My chaeto that is floating on top of the rock is growing like crazy and since putting it in a few weeks ago, I have seen a bunch of pods on my tank glass, which were not there before... this probably has something to do with taking down my UV Sterilizer and adding the fuge. __________________ Mixed Peaceful Reef :) ~140 Gallons of Water Non-agro fish Instagram: Oshanickreef

12/23/2013, 10:22 AM	#22
sirreal63 Go Spurs Go!!! Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Meadowlakes Texas Posts: 13,357	I don't think I would be concerned, if it is encrusted with sponges then the rock is happy. You are fortunate, there is a large base of outstanding reefers in your area. I learned a lot from the STL crowd in the 6 years I was there. __________________ Jack No One has ever been seriously injured by using the search function. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be a convenience store, not a government agency. Current Tank Info: Reefing the Pentagon.

12/23/2013, 10:28 AM	#23
oshanickreef Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Saint Louis, MO Posts: 2,367	ya i went to a long time reefers house last week.. the tanks were insane! and he had a coral that was MASSIVE! it was a leather. absolutely mind blowing. __________________ Mixed Peaceful Reef :) ~140 Gallons of Water Non-agro fish Instagram: Oshanickreef

12/23/2013, 10:30 AM	#24
sirreal63 Go Spurs Go!!! Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Meadowlakes Texas Posts: 13,357	Dave's tank, had to be. Stick around the SLASH members, they are extremely helpful. __________________ Jack No One has ever been seriously injured by using the search function. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be a convenience store, not a government agency. Current Tank Info: Reefing the Pentagon.

12/23/2013, 10:32 AM	#25
oshanickreef Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Saint Louis, MO Posts: 2,367	haha yup!! i imagine you have seen it.. it is unbelievable. __________________ Mixed Peaceful Reef :) ~140 Gallons of Water Non-agro fish Instagram: Oshanickreef