Adding dry rock to system

[Clancaster23]

I have had my 180 running for about a year now and I started it with about 100 pounds of new dry rock from Reef Rocks. I now want to add 50 pounds to it and possibly another 50 a little later after I see how it looks with the first 50. I'm obviously going to rinse it off really well when I get it since I know from when I got the first batch that it was pretty dusty out of the box but would it effect the tank at all if I put 50 pounds of new dry rock in all at once? I'm guessing it shouldn't bother it much at all considering there's nothing alive on it and there wouldn't be any die-off going on in the tank but want to be sure. I have the tank pretty well stocked by now as far as fish goes and don't want a recycle.

 

[Reefvet]

As long as there's nothing to die off on the rock it effectively inert.

If it's been in a tank before, and then dried, it could have organics on it that could break down.

Aragonite can leach phosphates even if it hasn't been wet in century.

Tell us more about the tank and why you want to add rock.

 

[Clancaster23]

Well I'll be buying more from Reef Rocks. The first batch they sent me was awesome. Very clean, not a bit on it. Really loved it so that's why I'm getting from them again. As I said, it's a 180 and I have about 125 pounds in it now. I have a tall pillar in the middle and on both ends of the tank I have some rocks piled but they go not even 1/4 way up the tank. I'd like to have a much bigger kind of wall going around the pillar. It basically looks too empty and I'd like to cover the back wall with rock. I think a tank that has a lot of rock in it looks better than one without.

 

[MondoBongo]

i've added dry rock to my 75 at several points in the last few years.

i've always done it in relatively small batches. usually about 10 - 15% of the weight of the existing rock added at any one given time.

i don't know if there would have been any negative consequences of adding more, but i wanted to play it a bit safe and add slowly, just in case.