Adding a small piece of live rock

[alaska clowns]

I ordered some macroalgae and it was in the mail for at least 5 days; it was chaeto, and surprisingly, looks fine. It came with a fist-sized piece of live rock and quite a bit of water in the little bag. Can I add this piece of rock to my 26 gallon system without it being a problem? Thank you!

 

[murfman]

You can but expect a mini cycle from the dying critters on the rock. As long as you have an established system, it should be able to absorb the increase in ammonia and nitrite/nitrate.

 

[PRDubois]

If it was in water the entire time it should be fine.