Live rock from LFS, is it really live?

[BeachVacationer]

Wanting an instantly cycled tank, I bought some for $4/lb which I thought was a decent price. I brought them home with in a bucket full of the water the rocks were kept in. Well, when I got home I tested salinity of the water. It was only 1.014. With it being so low, is the rock really live? Is it still seeded at salinity so low?

 

[Reef Frog]

It probably does have some nitrifying bacteria on the rock if that's what you mean by "live". Some hitch hikers may be limited or missing. Some of this depends if the LR tank is fed regularly and how long it's been cured in the LFS tanks.

It's bacterial volume and thus processing capacity may not be optimal so the best advice is to stock slowly, allowing the bacterial colonies to adapt to the new and growing ammonia production. A mini or abbreviated cycle is always a possibility so testing should be done. You could introduce some pure 100% Ace ammonia and test the rock's capacity.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Wanting an instantly cycled tank, I bought some for $4/lb which I thought was a decent price. I brought them home with in a bucket full of the water the rocks were kept in. Well, when I got home I tested salinity of the water. It was only 1.014. With it being so low, is the rock really live? Is it still seeded at salinity so low?

Just this comment,"Wanting an instantly cycled tank..." is a bad sign for your potential success in this hobby. Patience is a HUGE asset in this hobby. The old saying around here is, "Nothing good happens quickly in a reef tank!"