Adding live rock that's been sitting in old tank water

[Cool Ethan]

So about 2 months ago I moved an established tank into my place. During the breakdown, move and setup process I apparently set aside a bucket in my closet that had some leftover water and liverock in it. At the time I was still playing around with the aquascape and decided I didn't need it.

However now I do want to add some more to the tank. I know its generally safe to add small pieces of dry rock without issue, but I am unsure if sitting in old tank water is bad, good or neutral. I don't know if anything bad might change with the bio during that time.

Can I just add it directly? Need to rinse/scrub? Dry it first? Or better to just toss it out.

 

[KrisReef]

If it was good before, (not leaching PO4, or copper), then just rinse it off really good with fresh water to remove old gunk and then throw it in. Good thing about rocks is that they don't rot like apples!

 

[Tim92G]

So about 2 months ago I moved an established tank into my place. During the breakdown, move and setup process I apparently set aside a bucket in my closet that had some leftover water and liverock in it. At the time I was still playing around with the aquascape and decided I didn't need it.

However now I do want to add some more to the tank. I know its generally safe to add small pieces of dry rock without issue, but I am unsure if sitting in old tank water is bad, good or neutral. I don't know if anything bad might change with the bio during that time.

Can I just add it directly? Need to rinse/scrub? Dry it first? Or better to just toss it did this with liverock that was sitting in a tank in my basement for over a year that I thought died but came back. Get a 20g long or 40g breeder depending on how much rock you have, a powerhead, heater, and some kind of light. Rinse the rocks thoroughly with saltwater and give them a bath in hydrogen peroxide and scrub off any die off. They might need multiple baths depending on the condition. Put them back in the tank and do a 25% water change every couple of days since you will probably get a bacterial bloom. Let it recure again for 2-4 weeks.

So about 2 months ago I moved an established tank into my place. During the breakdown, move and setup process I apparently set aside a bucket in my closet that had some leftover water and liverock in it. At the time I was still playing around with the aquascape and decided I didn't need it.

However now I do want to add some more to the tank. I know its generally safe to add small pieces of dry rock without issue, but I am unsure if sitting in old tank water is bad, good or neutral. I don't know if anything bad might change with the bio during that time.

Can I just add it directly? Need to rinse/scrub? Dry it first? Or better to just toss it out.

So about 2 months ago I moved an established tank into my place. During the breakdown, move and setup process I apparently set aside a bucket in my closet that had some leftover water and liverock in it. At the time I was still playing around with the aquascape and decided I didn't need it.

However now I do want to add some more to the tank. I know its generally safe to add small pieces of dry rock without issue, but I am unsure if sitting in old tank water is bad, good or neutral. I don't know if anything bad might change with the bio during that time.

Can I just add it directly? Need to rinse/scrub? Dry it first? Or better to just toss it out.

I did this with liverock that was sitting in a tank in my basement for over a year that I thought probably was dead but came back: Get a 20g long or 40 breeder depending on how much rock you have leftover , a powerhead, heater, and some kind of light. Rinse the rocks thoroughly with saltwater and give them a bath in hydrogen peroxide and scrub off as much die off as you can. They might need multiple baths depending on the condition. Put them back in the tank and do a 25% water change every couple of days since you will probably get a bacterial bloom. Let it recure again for 2-4 weeks.

 

[Cool Ethan]

Thanks guys. That's mostly what I figured, but I wanted to make sure there wasn't some type of "growth" that might be dangerous from old, still water. Bacteria, algae, mold or whatever the aquarium version might be.

I'm also only adding 1-2lbs into the 25-30 already in the tank. Definitely going to do some extra water changes, but from what I read my chance of of a full bacterial bloom are low? It came from the same tank as the rest, just didn't add it when I initially set the system back up.

 

[mehaffydr]

I would give it the smell test if it doesn't stink I would just drop it right in. That small amount will not be a problem. If it stinks I would clean it first.