BlueTurq Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 Quick question from a newbie here...... How long can a live rock be out of the water before the living organisms starts dying off..... Thanks Link to comment
hhasty79 Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 Stuff starts dying immediately I imagine. Things sensitive to temp changes, etc...some bits dry faster than others.... So the answer is, the longer you leave it out, the more stuff dies. I wouldn't leave it out of water more than a few minutes normally. During shipping it's out of water but sealed in a humid environment that should somewhat protect it. Link to comment
BlueTurq Posted April 14, 2003 Author Share Posted April 14, 2003 Heather, thank you for your response, the reason I ask, I was over our lfs and they just recieved new shipments of live rock. They were in boxes without any water. They must have been there in the 2-3 days. One guy told me its ok to leave them without water for weeks as long as they are not dried up. Again, Im just a newbie and trying to find out whats going on. Thanks Link to comment
hhasty79 Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 Weeks is definatlye NOT ok. Look for a better LFS ;-). Link to comment
Alanna Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 I agree, I don't think weeks or even days would be a good idea to leave them out of water. Even when uncured live rock is cured by collectors, it's still under a constant saltwater spray. But you have to look at what happens in real life, also. Tides ebb leaving rock uncovered for hours at a time and most of the organisms survive, although they may have a higher tolerance for air since it's at shore level. I would definately not purchase the rock from that lfs. When I bought my live rock, it was wrapped in wet newspaper and put in a garbage bag, and transporting it home was about an hour and I've had very little die off. Alanna Link to comment
Edge4Krusher20 Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 They can be left out of the water for months, but then they will start to stink, and you will have to cure them. Curing takes about 2 weeks to a month to do, and the LR is unusable until then, plus during the curing process the new organizms start to grow. So the old guy was right, but don't but it from him until it's cured otherwise you're going to have a stinky rock that'll mess up the balance and water conditions of your tank for weeks. Hope this helps. Link to comment
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