Should i keep this rock or pitch it ? I need advice

[tarantulaman]

I have live rock that was given to me , It was in water that was not ideal in any way. The heater was shut off, the salinity test was 1.030 , also no filter or lights. This rock was kept like this for 1 month , I called my local fish store they told me to pitch it because it will have all dead bacteria on it that will pollute my tank. I thought that i could use it with some new live rock and over time it will become alive again. Am i wrong or is the pet store wrong ? please help !

[drewmd.]

your pet store is wrong. live rock is corals that have died and the remaining is the exoskeleton. (your live rock) it doesn't matter if you leave live rock to dry in and out of water it will still contain some trace of organisms that will eventually come to life again. (mother nature) though it may take a while you will see something. i would just make sure you will clean it well before you put it in your tank. (that way it will not stink,remember you have a lot of organisms that have died off) you will be fine

[tinyreef]

as usual, the lfs advice is suspect. i agree with drew that you can use that rock. but if you already have an established tank i wouldn't add that LR directly into it.

 

you may want to cure it a little in a separate container first. it'll also give you a chance to clean off the rock and test it (in case the former owner used chemicals). after a couple of weeks of curing you could then add it at your leisure. good luck!

[WorldNation]

keep the lr, what lfs told you this so we can go and tell them that they have bull###### advice?

[tarantulaman]

Thank you guys for the advice . I will keep the rock and buy some new rock to put on top. About how long will this take to cycle ? I recently bought a skimmer it is a red sea pro deluxe , How long should i wait before i hook it up ? oh the pet store name was wet pets and friends

[drewmd.]

wet pets and idiots is more like it. if your just getting your tank up and running you don't need to worry about putting in the skimmer just yet. no waste in there just yet. once your tank has cycled fully and you introduce your first inhabitants i would wait about 2-3 weeks to put it in. without any waste whats it skimming? nothing. well good luck to you.

[drewmd.]

and as far as how long it will take for your tank to cycle is usually about 3-4 weeks. now you can speed up the process by putting in your live rock and adding a small amount of pure ammonia. make sure it's pure and no additives. you can purchase this at any local market. you'll know it's pure for one by the lable and also you can shake the bottle. pure ammonia does not foam. make sure you only add about 1/8 of a cup. this will begin the nitrogen cycle even faster and your tank should fully cycle in about 1 1/2-2 weeks. just make sure you test your parameters before you add any live stock.

[bgraber]

That quick?

[SeaSide]

It is called fishless cycling at FW tank. You can do it with FW tank cuz there's nothing really produce ammonia if there's no fish. Someone uses urine, dead shrimp etc, but pure ammonia is better(no undesired residues) and easy to get.

Then, when it comes to SW. I normaly do not recommend this method.

 

If you think the LR contains some dead tissues that can produce ammonia when it is gettng decomposed, then you probabally just put them into water and wait. If you think the LR you talking about looks exactly like a dead rock, and almost nothing to be decayed, then it may not produce enough ammonia to get cycle going. So, it is not a bad idea using pure ammonia in this case. It's your decision.

1/8 cup is rather hallow measure. I would say ammonia level should be about 5ppm. Then your tank will be cycled about 2 weeks.

[1fish2fish]

After advice like that I hope you aren't going to buy the rest of your live rock from that store. Sounds to me like they:

 

1) are kinda clueless

or

2) just want your money

 

Goodluck and post some pics when it's set up.