How long can live rock be out of water?

jade2122

New member
This weekend I am switching out my tanks and I want to do the aquascaping of my new tank right. I want to be able to take my time getting it just right, so I want to figure out my desired formations outside of the tank and then reassemble inside tank. Question being if I keep the rock moist how long can it be out of water without die off? Thanks
 
Awesome, I was about to make the same post, I am going to be doing the same thing. Tagging along for this one.
 
If there are no corals on it you can leave it out for hours. All most all rock is shipped from Fiji to LA then to were ever and its is only packed damp
 
Depends what else is on it. Many sponges react poorly to being left out in the air, and rotting sponges are not something you want in your tank in any quantity. Personally, I'd keep my rock under water -- a couple of appropriately sized containers should cost you all of $20 at Home Depot.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11614599#post11614599 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hyperfocal
Depends what else is on it. Many sponges react poorly to being left out in the air, and rotting sponges are not something you want in your tank in any quantity. Personally, I'd keep my rock under water -- a couple of appropriately sized containers should cost you all of $20 at Home Depot.

Well when I do my custom aquascaping, i will be drilling holes in the rocks so they will need to be out of water.
 
The simple answer is that they start dying as soon as you remove them
As stated above, sponges will die straight away

The less time the better.
The guy who posted, do as said above and stick em in containers of your current tank water. Get fresh made up and call it a big water change.

The guy drilling, nothing you can do except keep each piece in water until needed, then get it back asap after drilling. Shouldn't be out for more than a couple of mins
 
Most of the live rock in our tanks and the associated animals are collected intertidally. Almost all of them are exposed to air during the lowest tides, even though they may still get splashed or have the occasional wave make it high enough to keep them damp. You don't want to take them out and let them totally dry out for hours at a time, but as long as you keep them damp, the life on them should be fine. (That's why suppliers are able to ship most live rock damp, or wrapped in wet cloth, rather than in water.)

Good luck,



Don
 
^ Agreed. You think they ship crates of this stuff in water? No way, it is shipped damp. It can be kept out of water, but damp, for hours.

And I dont know where that sponge myth came from. maybe its true for sponges you would buy at the LFS, but the sponges on collected LR can certianly be exposed to air... do you think that LR was never taken out of water? I've got a few types of sponge which have been doing great since I got my rock... they have been out of water for a few hours a few different times... never noticed anything bad come of it.
 
And how much live rock turns up damp from indonesia without needing to be cycled?
lmao
Of course it can be kept damp and be ok, already been said.
Bottom line is that stuff out of water starts to die straight away, bacteria for instance.
The less time it's out of the water the better
 
Not only should you not keep them in water, but make sure to keep them in a bucket for no less than 1 day. They start to rot in stagnant water.
 
There's a big difference between shipped live rock, and rock coming out of and heading back into a tank. The longer the rock is kept out of the water, the more likely there is to be some die off and subsequent cycle.

Like I said, *I* would spend $20 on a couple of cheap tubs and keep the rock as wet as possible for as long as possible. I don't see much of a downside ($20? C'mon, it's less than the cost of a junky frag) but see a valuable upside (Better chance of keeping stuff alive. Why wouldn't I?) Plus, if you "go dry" you better hope something doesn't go wrong along the way, because you aren't leaving yourself with a place to keep the rock overnight if need be.

Don't think it's necessary? Don't do it.
 
Don't leave hundreds of dollars worth of Coral baking in the sun. Build your structure, drill holes, keep a spray bottle of tank water to dampen, rinse rock in tank water you removed, place your aquascape, finish your water change. Regardless of the transition and die off in a month you're back in action with a beautiful scape. It's not science, it's common sense. I don't know about anyone else but my reef is always cycling one way or another. Certainly not a set it and forget it hobby.
 
Don't leave hundreds of dollars worth of Coral baking in the sun. Build your structure, drill holes, keep a spray bottle of tank water to dampen, rinse rock in tank water you removed, place your aquascape, finish your water change. Regardless of the transition and die off in a month you're back in action with a beautiful scape. It's not science, it's common sense. I don't know about anyone else but my reef is always cycling one way or another. Certainly not a set it and forget it hobby.

you do realize this guy asked this question 10 years ago !!!!!.....
 
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