live rocks still alive?

DesoShade

DesoShade

I'm a noooooob
After purchasing my first live rock today and putting it in my tank, a questions arose. How do I know my live rock is still "live"? Since it's my first rock, I might have screwed something up and killed it.... so.. how do I know it's still "live" and not "dead" rock? Come to think of it, how can you tell with ANY rock? Whether they are still alive? Hey... how do I know the lfs sold me a legit live rock and not just a stone?! :grumble:
 
ROFL...I think you and have the same prob. We think too much.

Firstly, what makes you think you might have "killed" the rock? If it didn't dry completely and you didn't soak it in bleach, I would think you're fine.

The way you know for sure if the rock is live, is the cycle. Over the course of the next few days, you should start your nitrogen cycle. I know you know about that, if you've hung out here for very long you've had to read about it.
I'm a little rusty on this, so forgive me if I get some of this backwards.

Some of the life in your rock has died. It will decompose in your tank. This will cause ammonia to rise. After the ammonia rises, bacteria will break it down into nitrate, thus causing a spike in that. Finally, another form of bacteria will break the nitrate down into nitrite. Test throughly and watch for the cycle. It'll let you know if the rock is truly live.
 
Well I bought the lr at a store and it sat in the car for a few hours before getting it home so I duno if it's still alvie or not and I have no way to tell. I just now put water in my tank, salt, some Cycle stuff and my Live rock. I just hope I didn't mix anything wrong and kill my rock. heh.
 
Everything should be fine as long as the LR stayed wet. Can you post a pic of your rock? Is there any purple or reddish color on it? Is it cured?
 
Well you know. Little by little. It's all I could afford at the moment. Afterall, I just spent lots of $$$ on the tank and setup itself. That one pound rock cost me 15 bucks. ugh. But yeah. It's the start of my Roman Empire. haha. :) It's such a cute little rock. siting there all by himself.
 
Hey, don't feel bad buddy...I've been sitting around with two empty tanks and a half finished sump for like FOREVER!!!

How long has it been guys?
 
wow! 15 bucks a pound! that has to be the most expensive live rock i've seen yet. have you looked online. a lot of places will have specials and sell it for 3 or 4 bucks a pound, with free or very cheap shipping.
 
DesoShade,
The way to tell if the live rock is good or not is stick your nose on it and take a good deep breath.Then ask yourself these 2 questions:
#1 Does this rock smell fresh and salty?
OR
#2 Does this rock smell like its been rolled around in a pile of fish thats been dead for a week?
 
Your rock should be fine. It may have a little die off but I doubt it's anything to worrie about. One way to tell is the smell. If it smell really bad then it has alot of die off.
 
DesoShade said:
eh. yeah. it was 15 bucks.
Click to expand...

Dude,You got raped.:shocking:
15 bucks a pound is just flat out too much to pay for rock.

Heres an idea for ya.
Check around your area and see if you can find a local reef club.Most clubs are more than willing to help new members out.A lot of times they'll at least point you to someone that might be willing to sell some rock for 4 or 5 bucks a pound.
 

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