Live rock addition to established tank please help!

[Justfishing189]

Hey guys,

I previously had a 10 gallon nano with about 8 pounds of live rock. Just yesterday i transfered my 2 clowns and 3 coral pieces to a new 20 gallon long. Along with the livestock I added the live rock from above, the live sand from the 10, and all the water from the ten. Pretty much the only change was the increase in tank water volume. I would like to add about 12 more pounds of live rock to have more hiding spots, places to put coral, and most importantly more filtration. I would like to know the best way, if possible, to add the live rock. Thanks! A little background info on the live rock, it would be from my LFS and is kept cured in a tank full of just live rock. (Basically its a 40 gallon tank full of cured live rock) Any help is much appreciated!

 

[mOnsterzOas26]

If it's actually live rock just trow in ur tank , it should be fine.

 

[Zacco]

There is always the possibility of bringing hitch hikers into your main display tank when purchasing live rock. Aiptasia, Bristle worms, bubble algae, nuisance algae, etc. I would ask the LFS where they purchase their rock and how it is cured. If it looks clean ( free of algae and debris) and encrusted with coralline, ( being purple,pink, or even a grayish green hue=the start of the pretty coralline) it should be pretty safe. If the rock is not encrusted with coralline, I would have to assume that it is newer live rock and question how long the rock has been curing. Good husbandry would involve cooking the rock in a separate container for a few weeks and testing the water for phosphate and nitrate leaching. AKA Cooking= saltwater,powerhead,heater,waterchanges, dark environment in separate container or tub. If you don't want to wait that long, I would thoroughly inspect the rock for hitchhikers and flush the rock with a power head in a separate salt water container before adding it to the main display. I always use dry reef rock when adding or setting up a new display. Muriatic acid bath, RO Rinse and Soak, followed by 6 weeks of cooking the rock with water changes, seeding with beneficial bacteria and monitoring for phosphate/nitrates. But this is just me as I do not like to take chances with my tanks.