Can Live Rock go dorment?

[atony4688]

Hello, I am starting up a saltwater reef tank that I purchased from my brother, he has not run it in 5 years, but when he stopped he put his live rock into 5 gallon buckets, with the saltwater from his tank and sealed them shut. they were then placed in the garage untill yesterday when he gave them to me. My question is: He belives that the rock will go dormant during this time in the buckets. My fear is that the rock died from being in a garage where the temps can go from 90's in the summer to 10's in the winter. but essentially when i set up the aquarium if i use the rock in these buckets is there a chance it will come back to live or am I better off buying new live rock. Also as far as sand goes for a tank, I wanted black sand, but should I mix it with regular live sand too? and how deep should it be to prevent it from being toxic? Thank you for the advise, and I hope that I can get this show on the road.

 

[salt_for_brains]

Welcome to the site! If you are just starting the tank I would rinse that rock very well and use it for the cycle. It is not live now but will become live rock again. You can use the black sand if you prefer and your sand like the rock will become live too. I like to keep my sand depth around 2 inches. Get it all in the tank and throw in a piece of raw table shrimp and let the cycle begin. Good luck!

 

[chichimom79]

Welcome aboard! I can't imagine opening those tubs after five years. Didn't they stink up his garage??? Did they dry up? Im sure you can use the rock, but I would rinse it well and treat it like dry rock.

 

[atony4688]

Thank you for the advice, as far as rinsing the rock, just under tap water? Or what would the proper procedure be? I'm sure it will smell, but it has been sealed in the buckets, and they are still full of water. Is it correct to assume that during this period of storage, that everything died that was alive on the rock? Would it be beneficial to use some live sand to mix in with the black to add some organisms to the tank? And are these organisms what would bring the rock back to life? Sorry about all the questions, these are problems I cannot find solutions to by browsing the internet.

 

[salt_for_brains]

If you don't have RO/DI water available yet then rinsing the rock with tap water will be ok. Although some people use it I don't recommend using tap water as your aquarium water when you start filling.

Yes everything on that rock has died.

You can mix live sand with the other and it will seed your other sand to speed up the process a bit.

The bacteria that forms during the cycle process will make the rock become live. You can also buy a few pieces of live rock to help with the seeding if you like.

I have been successful using all dead rock and sand and I have been successful using all live rock and live sand when starting an aquarium. Going with dead is certainly the cheaper route but it takes a little more time and patience.

 

[chichimom79]

Huge plus is you won't have any of the common nuisance species of algae or aiptasia that sometimes come in on live rock.You don't need much to seed the tank. A cup of live sand and a few small pieces of live rock added to what you have is fine. Do you know how many pounds of rock he is giving you? You'll want 1-2 pounds per gallon.

 

[atony4688]

As far as the quantity I believe it is 4 - five gallon buckets full to the top, I'm just worried I'm wasting my time with it, when I clean it is it just a rinse? Meaning no wiping or anything. The only difference between what is in the buckets and new live rock is the stuff in the buckets is just rocks now. But I can turn it back into live rock by putting it in the tank with some new live rock I guess a few pieces mixed in and by using some live sand. If I do not use all the rock in the buckets does it help keeping it in the buckets of saltwater or is it the same thing to let it dry out?

 

[salt_for_brains]

I would scrub it with a stiff bristled brush and rinse it very well. Exactly, the rock you have now will become live rock and you will be saving a lot of money by using this rock. This is what I would do in your situation. If you have any left over I would let it dry out. Remember at minimum you want 1 lb/gal of rock but I like to be closer to 2 lbs/gal. I have ~200 lbs in my 90g.

 

[chichimom79]

+1 salt for brains. I have closer to 2 lbs per gallon as well.

 

[atony4688]

Thank you so much for your help. So my next hurdle is the initial start up process, here is my tentative plan let me know if you see any problems (I have assembled this from talking with you fine individuals, my LFS guy, and research of the web).

-Clean all the equipment to remove old algae and junk.
-Set up Sump( i think thats what it is, like a acrylic box with bioballs) and powerheads pretty much all of the hardware items.
-Clean dry sand and add to empty tank.
-Scrub and rinse dead rock from buckets.
-Add reverse osmosis water to tank and turn on filter pump and heater
-Add salt and work the water till mixture is good
-Once the levels are ok in the tank, add live sand to mix with dry sand.
-Add cleaned dead rock
-Seed with new live rock
-I was told to then add like 2 clown fish to provide ammonia.
-Then in a week or so when i see algae forming, to get a clean up crew.

What would be the best clean up crew and also is there a better way to make the reverse osmiosis water saltwater? Thank you very much.

 

[ErinCahir]

It's unnecessary (and cruel) to cycle with live fish. Just add a table shrimp (like the kind you eat... unseasoned and raw) to the tank to provide the ammonia.

 

[salt_for_brains]

+1 on not using live fish to cycle your tank. Raw shrimp works just fine.

Clean up crew won't be added until after your cycle and there is no time frame as everyone's tank cycles differently. You have plenty of time to work on that list.

 

[chichimom79]

After getting your salinity correct, it is advisable to arrange your rock the way you want it and then add the sand around the rock. This provides added stability to your rockwork. Then throw in the table shrimp so that you don't have to put a fish through a cycle. :)
Also thought I'd mention, most reefers are ditching the bioballs and instead using live rock rubble where they would go. The bioballs can create a nitrate problem.

 

[atony4688]

Well it stinks having the guy at the store tell me to use fish and you guys telling me not to. I understand it will hurt the fish and that's the last thing is want to do, he clearly wants me to spend more money with them and does not care about the fish. How did you guys get the reverse osmosis water to your tank. Tell me there is a better way than buckets. Thanks for saving my money and potentialy a fish's life.

 

[salt_for_brains]

You will find yourself getting disappointed a lot by what the LFS tells you. Always research and ask people here so you don't get bamboozled b/c someone wants to make money off of you. I filled a 55g trash can (new trash can) and pumped it from the can to the tank.

 

[emmett0122]

i have to use a bucket for my water changes but later on down the road i want to upgrade to a 300 gal tank that will stick out of the wall about 2/3's of the tank and in in the room where the rest of the tank will be is where my RO/DI filter RO/DI holding drum and my mixing trash can so i can just pump the water into my tank when i do water changes so if you can put your RO/DI filter close to your tank then you can get a small pump and pump it into your tank as nick said

 

[chichimom79]

Well it stinks having the guy at the store tell me to use fish and you guys telling me not to. I understand it will hurt the fish and that's the last thing is want to do, he clearly wants me to spend more money with them and does not care about the fish. How did you guys get the reverse osmosis water to your tank. Tell me there is a better way than buckets. Thanks for saving my money and potentialy a fish's life.

Local fish stores want your money. Much better to get advice from people who only have your tank's best interest at heart. :Cheers:
I make water in a five gallon bucket, add a powerhead and small heater and slowly add my salt mix. If I need a larger batch of water I do it in a trash can and haul it upstairs with the 5 gallon buckets. It's a pain, but I have nowhere close to the tank to put my RO/DI unit and it's still better than hauling water from the store! LOL

 

[atony4688]

As far as the RO/DI units any suggestions? I was looking at them online, found on that's 80 bucks, that you connect to a faucet. It says it will do 75 gallons a day but it has mixed reviews. Is it absolutely necessary to use RO/DI water, is tap really that bad? That is what what my friend used and he was able to sustain fish and coral. The guy at the LFS was trying to say that tap water has something in it that prevents the coral from being able to grow. I think it was that it blocks calcium or something. I want to do what's best for the tank which is probably the RO/DI the last thing I want is to set everything up and find out I should have used different water.

 

[atony4688]

Also, any suggestion on where to buy a RO/ID anything to avoid or be conscious of?

 

[salt_for_brains]

RO/DI FAQ

I would look here and talk to these guys http://www.thefilterguys.biz/