Live rock dead?

[GHOSTLY]

So I scaped my live rock yesterday and put it in a bin with 2 CMs of water and covered in damp towel everywhere. Today I woke up and it felt kind of moist. Today Once I add it in should I be worried about Die off

 

[Quietman]

You should always be concerned about nutrient build up from decay of dead organisms on live rock - but if you kept it wet and minimized time it was out of water, it should be minimal impact. Monitor nutrients and perform WC if necessary to limit build up. If you have ammonia strips/test kits - check them a day or two after adding if not, check nitrates after a week or so.

 

[GHOSTLY]

If i get ammonia Should I evacuate everything? I kept it damp with towels but not everything is covered. Will it be ok?

 

[brandon429]

if you get ammonia, you should immediately google "reef tank ammonia misread" and locate your tester among those twenty thousand results and then ignore it. you didnt harm the rock. I could drain my entire reef empty from now till lunch and it wouldnt harm the rock, we have myriad examples of emersion testing already on file scattered about challenge threads. *what makes your test kits misread here is the mixing around of waste that would normally be settled and only read as .25/cyclers joke. but really its the organics you're mixing around by moving rock, its not actually free ammonia and your aquarium rock doesnt have much to die off, post pics of it for examples. its not uncured KPI aquatics rock I bet

 

[Quietman]

You should always have a backup plan...but water changes can always make up for anything. If you have fish/corals - you'll want to keep ammonia low as possible (0), if no livestock - you're ok up to a couple ppm as system recovers the bacteria population needed. I keep PolyFilter on hand for situations like that as well. Be aware that API test kits have a false positive at very low levels. Personally, I just use some test strips (there as good as anything, quick and cheap for a go/no go type test).

If you do have ammonia and it isn't a test error - doesn't hurt to have a starter additive on hand. It does reduce time and if something completely unforeseen happened to your rock it'll minimize water changes.

All that said...if you kept rock wet and it wasn't out of water more than a day or two everything will be just fine.

 

[GHOSTLY]

I have livestock. I have a sachem ammonia reader, API kits, and saliferts. Ive kept it out of water for a day but inside a cool box with Lots Of Damp paper towels. Should It be ok to put in the tank?

 

[Quietman]

I have livestock. I have a sachem ammonia reader, API kits, and saliferts. Ive kept it out of water for a day but inside a cool box with Lots Of Damp paper towels. Should It be ok to put in the tank?

Yes indeed.