Adding Fresh Liverock to Established Tank...

ginoandres · Apr 27, 2016

Here in Taiwan we get very fresh liverock. I believe it's harvested off the coast and pulled directly out of the ocean. Depending on how long it's been sitting at the store, some rocks are more cured than others. Right now I have 30-40 lbs. of liverock that has been in my 40 gallon tank and 20 gallon sump for a month and a half. There was not enough in the display tank, however, so I picked up another 10 lbs. or so today at my local shop. This stuff is very much alive, covered in coralline, and more cured than most rocks locally in that there is very little detritus or shed material left on the rocks. It's good, clean stuff.

So my question is this: I have added 1 piece directly to the DT, how should I add the additional 3 pieces to my display tank? Gradually, I presume? How gradually?

Keep in mind my tank has been operational for 1.5 months, with ammonia and nitrites at 0 since the first week. Nitrates are steady around 25 ppm at the moment. I have a few hermit crabs and two fish that are all thriving currently. Also I should mention that the new liverock I picked up today was out of water for 30 minutes tops between the store and my home, bagged and covered in wet newspaper along the way. It all smells fresh with no die-off odor to speak of, either from the rock itself or the circulating tub that the rest of the rock has been sitting in for the last 7 hours. A friend suggested adding 1 additional piece per week, with no additional fish, which would set me back another 3 weeks. I really don't want to wait that long...

Thoughts?

d2mini · Apr 27, 2016

If it's truly fresh live rock it should be able to go right in your tank.
If it's taken right out of the ocean, transported directly to the store in water, and put right in their holding tanks, there shouldn't be any cure time.

Now if this isn't the case and there is time where it's spent on trucks, out of water or with no circulation, then there is die-off to worry about and possibly cure time that's needed.
But if the rock has been in your LFS tanks for awhile and has cured, then again, it shouldn't matter. Just put it all in.

ginoandres · Apr 27, 2016

d2mini said:
If it's truly fresh live rock it should be able to go right in your tank.
If it's taken right out of the ocean, transported directly to the store in water, and put right in their holding tanks, there shouldn't be any cure time.

Now if this isn't the case and there is time where it's spent on trucks, out of water or with no circulation, then there is die-off to worry about and possibly cure time that's needed.
But if the rock has been in your LFS tanks for awhile and has cured, then again, it shouldn't matter. Just put it all in.

Yes, I've examined and handled enough liverock here in Taiwan to see the difference between rock that's still curing (usually covered in brown gunk and shedding) and the clean rock with less debris and living matter on it. This is cleaner stuff, and my intuition tells me it should be able to go right into the DT without issue. But this is also my first tank so I want to be careful and avoid any catastrophes... so I came here for further input. My friend who suggested one additional rock per week has been reefing for 20+ years and is very cautious... his caution doesn't always harmonize with my newbie zeal

d2mini · Apr 27, 2016

Let me give you an example. Pics speak a thousand words, they say.

See this stuff?
I would have ZERO problems putting it right in my tank, right now.
Because I know that it just came out of the ocean a day or two ago, was shipped to me in water and pure oxygen in the morning and I picked it up at the airport that same afternoon.

In this case, there is no curing. The best thing is to get it straight into my tank.
So once again, if you are positive that the rock is either A) This fresh, or B) Has been in your LFS tanks for long enough, then you can put it right in your tank.

If you are worried that it may not be fully cured, than follow your friend's advice and add a little at a time.

ginoandres · Apr 27, 2016

d2mini said:
Let me give you an example. Pics speak a thousand words, they say.

See this stuff?
I would have ZERO problems putting it right in my tank, right now.
Because I know that it just came out of the ocean a day or two ago, was shipped to me in water and pure oxygen in the morning and I picked it up at the airport that same afternoon.

In this case, there is no curing. The best thing is to get it straight into my tank.
So once again, if you are positive that the rock is either A) This fresh, or B) Has been in your LFS tanks for long enough, then you can put it right in your tank.

If you are worried that it may not be fully cured, than follow your friend's advice and add a little at a time.

Very nice rock. Some of the pieces I added previously looked just like that... with live sponges, corals and macroalgae all surviving to this day. This newer stuff isn't quite as fresh, but looks as though it's been curing in the store for some time. I will add a few days to be sure, but probably won't wait weeks as he suggested.

Thank you for your advice