Adding more rock to an established tank

[Teahowa]

I have a 90 gallon talk that has been going for about 2 months. It only has about 50 lbs of rock and I'm planning on adding another 50 lbs. Currently everything is running great. I have corals and fish that are all doing fine. I was wondering, if I add the extra rock, is that going to significantly affect the ecology of the tank?

 

[Crabs McJones]

I have a 90 gallon talk that has been going for about 2 months. It only has about 50 lbs of rock and I'm planning on adding another 50 lbs. Currently everything is running great. I have corals and fish that are all doing fine. I was wondering, if I add the extra rock, is that going to significantly affect the ecology of the tank?

Are you ading dry rock or live rock? And if it's live rock is it being shipped in or picked up local? If it's dry rock you should be able to add it no problem. If its live rock you're getting shipped in you will have some die off and your levels may spike from the die off breaking down.

 

[Teahowa]

It'll be dry rock. When I started I didn't really understand the purpose of rock and I thought it was primarily for looks and placing coral. Now that I have a better understanding, I was going to add more rock and then figure out what to do with my existing rock that I through together. I went a little crazy with bondo on the first batch of rocks. So, I have large patches of pink all over the rocks where they're tied todether. I was confident I shouldn't replace all the rock at once but may down the road I should replace my original rock. I don't know.

 

[Crabs McJones]

It'll be dry rock. When I started I didn't really understand the purpose of rock and I thought it was primarily for looks and placing coral. Now that I have a better understanding, I was going to add more rock and then figure out what to do with my existing rock that I through together. I went a little crazy with bondo on the first batch of rocks. So, I have large patches of pink all over the rocks where they're tied todether. I was confident I shouldn't replace all the rock at once but may down the road I should replace my original rock. I don't know.

Have you ordered the rock yet? If not I would highly suggest checking out www.reefcleaners.org they have great dry rock that is ready to add to the tank. It has been professionally cleaned and dried after a long soak in a deep water well to prevent leaching of phosphates. This rock is free of organics except the dust that may settle on it during transport. Because of this it can be added to an established tank without causing a cycle. It's what I used to start my tank

 

[Teahowa]

I actually already ordered it from my LFS. They're holding it for me until I can pick it up this weekend.

 

[Crabs McJones]

I actually already ordered it from my LFS. They're holding it for me until I can pick it up this weekend.

Sounds good Just make sure to rinse it off with RO water so that any dust or rock particles on the rock comes off before you add it into your tank

 

[Teahowa]

Absolutely. Now I have a question with the existing rock. Like I mentioned, I tied it all together with bondo. But, I did it in kind of a "child with playdough" way. Will it look normal once the bacteria grows over the rocks of should I think about replacing that to make it look more attractive?

 

[Crabs McJones]

Absolutely. Now I have a question with the existing rock. Like I mentioned, I tied it all together with bondo. But, I did it in kind of a "child with playdough" way. Will it look normal once the bacteria grows over the rocks of should I think about replacing that to make it look more attractive?

Yup, once your bacteria takes hold, and your coraline and other algae's start growing in, you'll never notice it

 

[Teahowa]

Thank you for the discussion. I appreciate the info.

 

[neupane00]

The only rock I use these days are dry rock. Too many problems and hitchhiking on LR

 

[HawaiianReef]

Shouldn't the op cure the rock to prevent an algae outbreak from the rock leaching phosphates?

 

[Jesterrace]

I have a 90 gallon talk that has been going for about 2 months. It only has about 50 lbs of rock and I'm planning on adding another 50 lbs. Currently everything is running great. I have corals and fish that are all doing fine. I was wondering, if I add the extra rock, is that going to significantly affect the ecology of the tank?

Yes, you can do it. As long as you make sure to completely rinse it well it should be fine to add.