Dead rock - cured rock?

[vthondaboi]

I heard something interesting about dead rock in regards to that it doesn;t need to be cured.

By dead I mean laying around outside for a week or two. Could you then just drop that rock into an established tank after a little washing out?

 

[crash519]

Laying outside for a year or two maybe. A week or two, you will most likely have dead rock, but the organic build-up from the die off is going to start a cycle itself.

 

[NathanSE]

@crash519 wrote:

I disagree. In the discussions going round RC, it's generally agreed that even dead rock needs to be cooked. What happens to the phosphates and waste in the rock after two weeks are up? Does the phosphate fairy come to get it?

Yes, "dead" rock may start a cycle for you, but there's also a good chance it's got a ton of nasty organic waste in there when all the bacteria and living things died.

 

[crash519]

I'm not quite sure why you are quoting me and them disagreeing. You basically said the same thing I did I didn't mention phosphates, mainly because phosphates are going to be in there from either the rock type itself, or exposure to something. Your "live" rock is going to get phosphates in it from exposure to phosphates. Your not going to keep it out. Cook it all you want, it will get it back if you feed your tank.

I mentioned a year or two maybe. That is only if it was stored in a vacuum. If not, it will have something in/on it. After only a week or two, I'm willing to bed you would start a new cylcle by putting very much in, even after rinsing it well.

 

[chrisk]

I would suggest it. I got some holey limestone rock from the lot my parents are going to build on. The rock has probably been sitting in the sun for .... 20 years or so (margin of error = +/- 1000 years). Even after washing it 4 times AND soaking it in a 35 gallon trashcan with pumps and powerheads stuff STILL comes out of the holes after spraying it with the hose. It also started out smelling fairly nasty after soaking it. Once it is finally clean, it will make some nice caves and hiding spots for my fish.

 

[kwl1763]

It's true that it won't need curing in the true sense. Curing is when ammonia is being released in the water due to the die off and the bacteria is repopulating to deal with it.

Dead rock will definitely leach nasty stuff though. Any rock will, land based or not. Some more then others. Always a good idea to let any rock cure/leach for a minimum of 6 weeks and I usually do it longer. Why take the chance?

What I have done in the past with dead rock is let it sit and leach for 6 weeks then add a couple pieces of live rock to the vat and start introducing small amounts of ammonia (i.e. very smal piece of shrimp). This will quicken the bacteria population of the once dead rock.

 

[chrisk]

So, if I soak the rocks for awhile, then put them in a new / empty tank with live sand, and let that run for a week or so, it should be ok too?

 

[kwl1763]

Add at least some live rock or you won't get corraline and bristleworms and stuff that you want! But generally speking you would be alright. You want to go really really slow on adding livestrock so the bacteria have time to catch up with the bioload increase. Would suggest a fish a month for the first 3 months max!

 

[chrisk]

I have a established 80 gallon tank I'm moving to a 100 gallon tank (I'm planning on doing this over a weekend). I'm planning on using the new rock to 'fill out' the tank to account for the size difference and to just add more height to the rock structures. Overall, I think I will be adding ~50% more. I also plan on adding a bag on live sand and using some of the old sand (after cleaned a little). Hopefully, I'm not still stuck with the 1 fish / month since the old live rocks are already used to the bioload.

 

[newtofish]

About three months ago I was talking to a gentleman who used to keep a reef tank. During the conversation he informed me that when we broke down and sold the tank nobody wanted the rock (This was about six years ago) he told me he threw the rock int he back yard to fill a hole.
I went over and picked up about 25 lbs. I took it home, washed it with a power washer, let it dry and dropped it in my tank. You can not tell the diffeence from the stuff I've had since the beginning.
No cycle, no ill effects that I could monitor.

 

[kwl1763]

@chrisk wrote:

You'll have a much easier time them. Personally I would avoid using any more then a few cups of the old stuff. Justy go buy some new. It's super cheap and there is no reason to risk having some nasty compound leach back into your tank.

Oh ya and I have to put in my obligitory plead for a QT tank and taking your time. I add fish real slow and QT them all for at least a month before adding. Very rarely have I ever added more than one (or a pair like clowns) less than a month apart.