Removing established live rock

[Mr. Microscope]

Hello All,

I'm thinking about removing a live rock from my aquarium because I want to go for a simpler look. I have a 3 gallon with about 5.5 lbs of rock. The tank is almost 6 months old. The rock I want to remove is probably 1.5 lbs. Will this be severely detimental to filtration? Also, this rock has been sitting in the sand since I started. Would lifting it up release a bunch of toxins into the water and crash my tank?

Thanks!

[lakshwadeep]

What is the livestock list? 1.5/5.5=27.3%, which is fairly significant. Removing rock doesn't release "toxins", but it does decrease your filtration capacity.

[cms90740]

i dont have a ton of experience with live rock so i don't know how severely it would affect filtration, but i'd say just monitor your parameters closely and see if there's a huge change. more importantly see if there's an unmanageable change. but i dont think it would be that big of deal, maybe increase your water change frequency?

[Degener8]

What is the livestock list? 1.5/5.5=27.3%, which is fairly significant. Removing rock doesn't release "toxins", but it does decrease your filtration capacity.

 

BUT depending on the depth of the sand bed and if you have something sifting it.. lifting the rock that has been burried could release toxins if the bottom of the bed is anaerobic. (this can occure in medium to fine sand best 2" or more depending on time of setup and disturbance during its time in the tank.)

 

so depending on your sand bed level it could be detrimental.

 

To get around this scenario move the rock in very small amounts over the course of a few weeks doing water changes as you move it until its sitting on top of the sand. This will re adjust the sand bed and give the organisms time to adjust. The water changes after adjustment should help remove any toxic material that may have been released.

[Spicer]

Remove the rock, but keep it in a sw bucket with a powerhead until your 100% sure its fine.

Easy solution.