help me salvage some encrusting sps!

[Meshmez]

Long story short, i picked up around 100# of live rock from another reefer, it was in a garbage can with water, powerhead, etc. i decided to leave the can open with a standard daylight compact florescent bulb from home depot to see if i got an response from the halimeda plant that was on some of the rock. much to my surprise the next day, i could see some polyp extension from some encrusting sps coral (maybe monti? i dont really know) which i figured was dead!

so here comes the problem... i dont plan to have an aquarium ready for this rock for probably at least a month, which is why i got it now, so it has time to cure... however, after seeing that i have living sps, i would like to try to preserve it... and i imagine leaving it in a dark garbage can for a month is not the way to do that... i have experience with lps but not sps... i know sps needs pristine water conditions, which is going to be difficult in this situation... so im looking for the best option/idea for keeping this stiff alive.

my thought is i will get a larger bin from home depot so i can spread the rock out instead of having it all stacked on itself, and i have 2 150W MH lights that i am saving for my future project that i can put over them, and i have an old skimmer i can throw in the bin to try to keep the water quality up... does anyone have any other ideas or input?

 

[Grant W]

Heater and water changes, plus. Flow should keep them going with the lights and skimmer

 

[Snowsrfr]

I'd get good flow, heater and decent lighting, if possible over any possible encrusting montis that might be on the rock. Even if they don't look the best before or during initial set up of the tank, don't give up on them. Montiporas are probably one of the most resilient corals I've owned. I've personally had bleached out ones come back from the dead to their full glory.

 

[Meshmez]

so i have a heater, 2 powerheads, and a skimmer running in a big shallow bin i got last night. the rocks are completely covered with water, though they are only about an inch under the surface. i have a 150W MH about maybe 18" above the water. i guess we will see what happens! Luckly it looks like the guy i got the rock from knew what he was doing, and got the rock in water quickly after removing from his DT because there doesnt seem to be much die-off at all (rock doesnt smell bad) so hopefully that will help me keep these going until their new home is ready for them.

I think the MH bulb is 12000k, actinic bulbs are mainly for the coloration right? am i correct in the belief that just running the MH should keep them alive and well, and then later on, under actinic, their color should brighten?