dead rock question

[ironsnatch]

i have about 70lbs of rock from a tank i had 2 years ago. its beeen sitting in my garage. can i just add a piece at a time and it will become live again in the tank i already have
which also
im moving again in about 2yrs( military) when i move the rock will be taken out of the tank and dried out during the move
when i re set up the tank can i put the dead rock in the tank but not add fish untill everything is settled?

 

[sporto0]

if you have live rock in your existing tank now, you can add as much dry rock as you want, it will become live again over time (critters in & on the rock). depending on how long the rock is dry, die off will occur & it will need to be cured again or it will spike ammonia/nitrites in your tank when you set it up after the move, best way would be to transport the rocks in tubs with tank water in them, then you can just redo the tank right away after you move.

 

[jarrett]

i would caution on just putting the rock in the tank. personaly i would cook the rock before adding and let cure. test the water in the "cooking" container and once there are 0 readings comming from it put in the tank. you never know how much dead organics are left in the rock untill you get it wet again. once you put it in the tank your existing rock will "seed" your new rock with bacteria and make it live again. the actual timeframe for the "seeding" is a heavily debated one but eventually it will be good to go

 

[ironsnatch]

Thank u! Ill look into cooking

 

[Crusty Old Shellback]

If it's been sitting dry for 2 years, just rinse it off to wash off anything that may be left on it and then dry it out and place in the tank. There's nothing left alive on the rock after 2 years. If you rinsed it well before you stored it, it should be ok. As stated, the existing LR in the tank will seed it.

I have a 55G trashcan full of old rock i took out of my tank a few years ago. I soaked it and cleaned it well before storing. When I need an extra peice of rock, I just grab one and put it in. No problems.

 

[ironsnatch]

Nice thank u.