Can I mix old dry rock?

[JCOLE]

Hello everyone, I am getting my new 150 gallon in on Wednesday. Upgrading from my 55 gallon this weekend. I have 80lbs of dry rock I ordered off Amazon and about 100 lbs of dry rock I bought from a local reefer(I dont know how old or what conditions these were in). I want to move everything over including the rock and live sand from my 55 to the 150. Can I add this dry rock to my existing live rock without fear of another cycle? Dont want to kill corals or fish because of it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mich2599]

You can. It will help seed the dry rock faster. I woudnt add anymore livestock for a good few weeks until the new rock starts to get bacteria. Just in case check your parameters to stay safe.

 

[JCOLE]

You can. It will help seed the dry rock faster. I woudnt add anymore livestock for a good few weeks until the new rock starts to get bacteria. Just in case check your parameters to stay safe.

Ok. What about my existing fish and corals? Will they be good for the switch?

 

[ihavecrabs]

If you have SPS you'll likely see enough instability to affect them. Especially the picky ones.

I would clean them and cure them in a container separate from the tank and then begin cycling them prior to adding those to the larger tank. I'd do 3 months and add them slowly watching my parameters closely.

If you do not have the more picky acropora, you may be fine with a short cycle and combining them all at time of upgrade.

 

[MaiReef]

If you have SPS you'll likely see enough instability to affect them. Especially the picky ones.

I would clean them and cure them in a container separate from the tank and then begin cycling them prior to adding those to the larger tank. I'd do 3 months and add them slowly watching my parameters closely.

If you do not have the more picky acropora, you may be fine with a short cycle and combining them all at time of upgrade.

+1

 

[JCOLE]

If you have SPS you'll likely see enough instability to affect them. Especially the picky ones.

I would clean them and cure them in a container separate from the tank and then begin cycling them prior to adding those to the larger tank. I'd do 3 months and add them slowly watching my parameters closely.

If you do not have the more picky acropora, you may be fine with a short cycle and combining them all at time of upgrade.

I currently have some Palys and all LPS at the moment. I do have about six or seven SPS frags that I was waiting until I moved over into the big tank to make them permanent. See attached picture. Do you think any of those are the picky ones? Sorry just getting in the SPS know and trying to figure that all this out.

I have a couple Acropora, pink millipora, a couple birds nest, Hollywood stunner chalice, stag, cyphastrea, and an echinata.

 

[JCOLE]

I have a trash can filled with dry rock from the guys old tank. I was going to spend all day blasting them with a pressure washer. If I go this route then do you think it will be ok to set up my new tank with some of the rock?

 

[JCOLE]

I have a trash can filled with dry rock from the guys old tank. I was going to spend all day blasting them with a pressure washer. If I go this route then do you think it will be ok to set up my new tank with some of the rock?

Also, should I boil it if decide to use it? Outside of course

 

[TriggerFinger]

I pressure washed my rock, soaked in vinegar and tap water for a week, changing the water every couple days because it smelled to bad. Once the smell died down I did a bleach & tap water rinse, rinsed in clean tap water with added prime and dried them in the sun for a month or so. The rocks got pretty white and clean. Mine looked way worse than yours does, I don’t think yours looks bad at all.

I added them to a brute in saltwater and they are still in there 5 months later. Glad I did this because I still had a cycle and very high phosphates leached from my rock.

I don’t recommend putting that with livestock at all until you clean and cure and then cycle it.

 

[JCOLE]

I pressure washed my rock, soaked in vinegar and tap water for a week, changing the water every couple days because it smelled to bad. Once the smell died down I did a bleach & tap water rinse, rinsed in clean tap water with added prime and dried them in the sun for a month or so. The rocks got pretty white and clean. Mine looked way worse than yours does, I don’t think yours looks bad at all.

I added them to a brute in saltwater and they are still in there 5 months later. Glad I did this because I still had a cycle and very high phosphates leached from my rock.

I don’t recommend putting that with livestock at all until you clean and cure and then cycle it.

Ok thanks. Should I cycle it for a couple months then add to my new tank. I am switching over to a 150 in a couple weeks so just checking.

 

[TriggerFinger]

I don’t know if you will need that long but definitely clean the rock. And don’t add it directly to the tank at the same time as the livestock

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

I would think a acid or vinegar bath would be in order. It will clean organic from the rock. Then get it in a tub with saltwater, a heater and a pump. You’ll need to change 100% of the water a couple times. Don’t rush the cycle, your new tank will thank you for it. This will take a few weeks. You know your ready when the tub of rocks test zero or extremely low PO4.

 

[cracker]

Hey h2, That rock You got from a friend looks real nice . You idea of cycling for a few months sounds best to me . Please consider "not" using any chemical on it vinegar,bleach ,what ever. Put it in a barrel maybe a bottle of
Dr Tims or such . Mother nature will clean the rock just fine for you. No reason you can't move existing contents from the 55 & add this other rock down the road. Good luck & please let us know what Ya decide to do !

 

[JCOLE]

Hey h2, That rock You got from a friend looks real nice . You idea of cycling for a few months sounds best to me . Please consider "not" using any chemical on it vinegar,bleach ,what ever. Put it in a barrel maybe a bottle of
Dr Tims or such . Mother nature will clean the rock just fine for you. No reason you can't move existing contents from the 55 & add this other rock down the road. Good luck & please let us know what Ya decide to do !

Thank you. I am just worried what might be on these rocks. He mentioned to me that his last tank crashed. These rocks where in his basement and not in his currently running 75 gallon. Makes me wonder if these came out of his crashed tank and there might something on the rocks. That is why I am considering the bleach or vinegar. What do you think? What about boiling the rocks first the letting bacterial clean it?

 

[TriggerFinger]

If you mean boiling as in a pot on the stove, that’s dangerous and the rocks could explode if heat builds up inside them.

 

[JCOLE]

If you mean boiling as in a pot on the stove, that’s dangerous and the rocks could explode if heat builds up inside them.

I was going to boil them outside in a pot. I didnt even think of explosions. Is there a good chance this will happen? I always heard of bacteria, palytoxins, etc in the rocks that could be released from boiling. That is why I was going to do it outside.

If I choose to boil them then how long should I boil them so I do not blow them up..

 

[TriggerFinger]

Umm I’m not sure on that. I never looked into that since it wasn’t ever an option for me. Maybe someone else will know.

Crackers mention of just letting Mother Nature take care of it is the best option. Adding saltwater, heat, circulation and bottled bacteria is safe. You can power wash the rocks before that if you want too but it’s not necessary. As I said before, my used rocks looked much worse and had dried green algae all over it, dried corals and bivalves, inverts were inside...it was gnarly.

 

[JCOLE]

I spent the morning pressure washing the rocks I picked up then I pressure washed new dry rock. I am going to put them in their own brute can and add flow, heat, and bacteria. About how long should I cure them for? Should I check parameters after a month and if Ammonia, and other parameters are normal then I should be good?

What about adding Dr Tim's Ammonium to jump start it?

 

[JCOLE]

Also, can I use tap water instead of RO/DI water?

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

I would use tank water after a water change, I’m a recycler. I don’t see why tap would not work, then the final 100% water change or two I would use ro/di.