Preserving Live Rock

[Nightfyre]

So I may have a line on 50 or 60 lbs live rock from an established tank for $75. Here's my dilemma. My tank is nowhere near being setup. My plan is to keep it in a new Rubbermaid 32 gallon trash can. What do I need to get to make this happen? And is there anything I should be aware of while doing this? I plan on finishing my tank stand, sump, and gathering last bit of equipment a bit quicker now. But looking for pointers or advice for this situation. Thanks!

 

[dstockwell]

Stack in a way so a pump can circulate as best as possible and depending on temp maybe a heater

 

[Idech]

Stack in a way so a pump can circulate as best as possible and depending on temp maybe a heater

Is feeding it necessary to keep the pods and such alive ? A little bit of food, and phyto sometimes ? If there is algae that you want to keep, then a light for just a few hours per day ?

 

[WheatToast]

Looks like you have some of the supplies necessary to cure the rock. Remember to ensure there is no air trapped in the rock by shaking it and to keep salinity stable by regularly topping off with RODI water (use a lid to reduce evaporation if one came with the trash can).
Guide:
https://www.liveaquaria.com/article/209/?aid=209

 

[dstockwell]

Why cure it, how much bio deversity will you loose. I look at this from the same way if I ordered from TB or GLR.

 

[Spare time]

I'd also put a light over it to not kill all of the photosynthetic stuff in there. Really all you need is a pump, a heater, and a light. If you are worried about keeping the microfauna alive, you can always put a pinch of fish food or maybe phyto in there.

 

[FSP]

is there anything I should be aware of while doing this?

Unless it's full of macro and other photosynthetic life besides coralline that you want to keep, I agree with WheatToast.

You'll get some ideas if you search "cooking" rock (not actually cooking like Emeril, just a silly term). A fresh shipment of Gulf rock is not the same as buying a tank full of used rock imo, and I'd be cautious using as is unless I knew the tank and owner personally. The big deal is phosphate, so check levels and deal with it if needed. Could take a few months if it's really bad, but it's totally fixable Anything lost during the cookout can be reseeded, and I'd rather order a small pack of ocean rock/critter kit than start a new tank with neglected rock.

 

[Lunatic Fringe]

Some good advice in the previous comments! Instead of reinterating most of it here I will just throw this out to you based of years of experience.

If the previous owner had issues with pest or algae you will too if you dont "cook" it. Most tanks that are broke down are usually broke down becuase the previous owner had issues and threw in the towel and then sold off their equipment to recoop some of the money they have invested. In fact I have seen this happen so much that I now keep a rock vat going that originally started off with dry base rock and has nothing on it that I didnt deliberately add so as to be pest free. As such I usually have about 150-200 lbs of quality rock around should I decide to set up another tank. But then again none of my tanks have Apitasia, Majano Anenomes, Briopsis, Bubble Algae, Vermatid Snails or any of the other common nasty's often found on live rock. My Rock Vat has a heater, strong circulation and actinic T5HO over it. I have found that modest actinic lighting will grow coralline algae a little faster and minimize algae growth to my clean up crew can handle business. A ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure as your Grandma used to say!

If it were me I would start out with dry base rock and go from there adding critters from Algae Barn and seed it with Coralline algae spores and Bacteria in a bottle and go from there. It might look ugly for a while and the cycle might last longer but at least I know I am off to a good start and pest free!