A friend wants to give me a 75 g tank

[Kat]

Hi, this guy is moving out of state and wants me to have the tank, one of the problems I'm thinking about is he is taking some of the live rock with him so that would leave me with a cycled tank with not enough rock. how do I add more rock without causing problems? could I cycle it in a seperate container? and would the tank be ok until I get the rest of the rock in there? I think there will be about 30-40 lbs of rock left after he takes what he wants

 

[daugherty]

just get some cured live rock from the lfs or get some dry base rock and just add it to the yank you will be just fine

 

[messiah023]

Exactly.
If the liverock is cured at the LFS, you shouldn't have any cycle issues.
Also, save yourself some money and go with base rock.
The 30-40 lbs will seed it easily enough.

 

[stagofdoom]

LFS should have you covered if you want cured rock or just go base.

 

[Bifferwine]

Keeping the new rock in a separate container for a bit won't hurt, and will actually help you avoid a new cycle. Even if you buy cured rock, there's a chance it can start a new cycle because something always dies off.

 

[yote]

I'd just pick up some dry base rock.The live he's leaving will seed it no time.Plus its cheaper.

 

[lightcs4]

As others have said, go with some dry rock (base rock) and let the existing live rock seed it. You can get dry rock for $2 - $3 a pound vs over $8 for live rock (at least around here). Also, you may be able to get live rock from Craig's list or such when people are decommissioning their tanks.

 

[Piggy]

Agree with others. Go with base rock it's cheaper on the wallet.

 

[Kat]

well I decided not to get the tank, I went to look at it and its a mess and after taking measurements I just cant make it fit in my little house. he wants to keep the skimmer and some of the equipment so I would have to buy a bunch of stuff. theres a few hermits, mushrooms, couple other corals and 2 chromis in it I can't believe they are still alive. if anyone is interested its free

 

[lightcs4]

Sorry it didn't work out, but the right tank is out there.