I am in a predicament and need advice on how to keep live rock alive without a tank.

[AaronRV45]

I am building an Innovative Fusion Pro 2 10g setup. 

I ordered everything I needed for this build all at once. I ordered 20 lbs of live rock online. Unfortunately, my tank order was canceled by Innovative stating that they were out of stock even though they were in stock when I ordered 24 hours earlier.  Now I am stuck with 20 lbs of LR coming and nowhere to put it. 

Can I keep this LR alive in 5g buckets of saltwater until I can get a tank? Do I need to have lights over the LR? Do I need to have a filter for the LR in 5g buckets?

I am not sure what to do. I have considered buying a cheap 10g tank at Petsmart and adding a hob to it just to keep the LR alive. I don't know what I should do. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[AaronRV45]

Clearly, Innovative oversold to suppliers and the suppliers have had to cancel orders. This is so shady. I am very unhappy. I have specific measurements to fit a tank where I need it and the Innovative 10 was perfect. I am still going to try to get one but I am very upset at how they do business. 

If someone knows of an AIO that is no more than 20"s wide and is good quality please let me know. 

[night_cloud]

I think as long as you figure out how to get it some water movement and air flow or gas exchange it should be fine for as long as it takes for you to get your nuvo. It might also be a nice window for you to see what kinda creepy crawlies come outta the LR 

[AaronRV45]

What if I had 2x5 gallon buckets and I spread the rock between them with a powerhead in each bucket. Then I could rotate the rock around every few days. 

As for light I bought a Prime 16 HD. I could put that over the buckets.

I still feel like I would need some type of filtration to keep the water in check. Maybe the 10g glass tank and a big HOB is the idea until I can get an Innovative 10. It will have to sit on the floor in my kitchen I guess.

[natalia_la_loca]

It should be fine with a powerhead and bucket(s) and a heater. Idk if a light is necessary, but it wouldn’t hurt. You don’t need a filter to keep live rock going. You might need to do some water changes to counter any die off of organisms on the live rock due to shipment stress.

[AaronRV45]

Ok. Thank You. I will go get a couple more 5g buckets and a couple of cheap powerheads to circ the water in the bucket. Do I need heaters for live rock? My house is 68 degrees. If the rock needs to be 76+ I will get a couple of cheap heaters. 

[NoOneLikesADryTang]

Any container (buckets included) where you can have water movement will keep it live. If your home temperature is moderate, you probably don’t even need to put a heater in it. 
 

Had it all ready shipped? If not, you may be able to reach out to the seller and ask them to hold it for you. 

[natalia_la_loca]

11 hours ago, AaronRV45 said:

Ok. Thank You. I will go get a couple more 5g buckets and a couple of cheap powerheads to circ the water in the bucket. Do I need heaters for live rock? My house is 68 degrees. If the rock needs to be 76+ I will get a couple of cheap heaters. 

Having a heater isn’t important

 for the microbes on the rock but it might make a difference for some other organisms that might be living on it. If it were me I would heat the water, but it will probably be okay at room temp.

[braaap]

Get one of those big brute containers. Usually gray or black at walmart or the like. Fill it with SW. Toss in a heater and powerhead and set the lid on top and everything will be more than fine. 100% heat and water movement are all that is necessary. Light is not unless it has corals on it which is may.

 

Amazon link. https://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-Brute-Totes/dp/B001B1C4G0?th=1

 

Also the issue with IM and their business is they don't ship to the big online stores. Those stores place drop ship orders. BRS had a huge sale on them and it caused IM to blow through all their stock. Annoying but it happens. That said I know a shop in LA who has them in stock and will ship them if you want. Super good dude. He shipped me a brand new IM Drop off a couple weeks back. But you will pay a premium for it.

[AaronRV45]

3 hours ago, braaap said:

Get one of those big brute containers. Usually gray or black at walmart or the like. Fill it with SW. Toss in a heater and powerhead and set the lid on top and everything will be more than fine. 100% heat and water movement are all that is necessary. Light is not unless it has corals on it which is may.

 

Amazon link. https://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-Brute-Totes/dp/B001B1C4G0?th=1

 

Also the issue with IM and their business is they don't ship to the big online stores. Those stores place drop ship orders. BRS had a huge sale on them and it caused IM to blow through all their stock. Annoying but it happens. That said I know a shop in LA who has them in stock and will ship them if you want. Super good dude. He shipped me a brand new IM Drop off a couple weeks back. But you will pay a premium for it.

I ended up buying one from BRS. It will be here on Monday. The rock will be here Friday and so will the power heads and heater I need to keep the live rock in 5-gallon buckets. I already had the buckets. I don't have a store near me that carries powerheads and heaters for a decent price so I am waiting on Amazon 2-day shipping. 

I am going to heat the water so I don't lose anything living in the rock.

Thank You for all of the advice. 

[Rhetoric]

Someone said it, but worth noting again keep a lid on the bucket so you don't have a ton of evaporation.  

[AaronRV45]

1 hour ago, Rhetoric said:

Someone said it, but worth noting again keep a lid on the bucket so you don't have a ton of evaporation.  

I do have the 5-gallon lids and will be using them. My water change prep bucket will be one of them. 

 

I think I have everything I need to set this up. I spared no expense. About $1600 for everything. UPS battery, water top-off, skimmer, etc. I am going to get it all set up and keep it going for about 2 months before I add anything. I am in no rush. I am happy watching what comes out of the LR with the Prime 16 moonlight on for now. 

Eventually, I will add inverts and maybe a goby. Not a fish tank so at most it would be a goby or a clown. I will add a cleaning crew. I may need to feed the cleaning crew if I have nothing going in there otherwise. 

 

EDIT: A couple of months will tell me what type of cleaning crew I need. I have no idea what will come in on the LR. I know what to do to get rid of baddies and I will formulate a plan if needed. Hopefully no aiptasia on the rocks, but I know what to do if that happens. I am hoping I get a lot of life on the LR.

[Superdave]

17 hours ago, AaronRV45 said:

I do have the 5-gallon lids and will be using them. My water change prep bucket will be one of them. 

 

I think I have everything I need to set this up. I spared no expense. About $1600 for everything. UPS battery, water top-off, skimmer, etc. I am going to get it all set up and keep it going for about 2 months before I add anything. I am in no rush. I am happy watching what comes out of the LR with the Prime 16 moonlight on for now. 

Eventually, I will add inverts and maybe a goby. Not a fish tank so at most it would be a goby or a clown. I will add a cleaning crew. I may need to feed the cleaning crew if I have nothing going in there otherwise. 

 

EDIT: A couple of months will tell me what type of cleaning crew I need. I have no idea what will come in on the LR. I know what to do to get rid of baddies and I will formulate a plan if needed. Hopefully no aiptasia on the rocks, but I know what to do if that happens. I am hoping I get a lot of life on the LR.

You do want gas exchange however, so I wouldn't have lid on too tightly.  Mark the water level and add fresh water to compensate for evaporation.