Live Rock Addition..?

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Big Tex

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is it safe to add live rock once my tank is almost completely cycled? its been about a month and i think my tank is a little sparse, i have diatoms already growing and was wondering what would happen, or if its too late.
 
is it safe to add live rock once my tank is almost completely cycled? its been about a month and i think my tank is a little sparse, i have diatoms already growing and was wondering what would happen, or if its too late.

If its not cured completely then the die off on the rock will cause an ammonia spike. Only way to do it would be 1. to buy base/dry rock, which is my recommendation since it cheaper and safer and will become live quickly, 2. Buy live rock and put it in a container of saltwater with a powerhead and let it cure over the course of a month, takes too long for me. 3. Buy 100% cured live rock, this rock is much more expensive than dry rock or live uncured rock and its too much in my opinion for something that cheaper rock with turn into very shortly. In 2-3 months my base rock was almost completely covered in Coraline algae with a nice purple color.
 
If its not cured completely then the die off on the rock will cause an ammonia spike. Only way to do it would be 1. to buy base/dry rock, which is my recommendation since it cheaper and safer and will become live quickly, 2. Buy live rock and put it in a container of saltwater with a powerhead and let it cure over the course of a month, takes too long for me. 3. Buy 100% cured live rock, this rock is much more expensive than dry rock or live uncured rock and its too much in my opinion for something that cheaper rock with turn into very shortly. In 2-3 months my base rock was almost completely covered in Coraline algae with a nice purple color.

so i cant add live rock from my lrs unless i want to wait 2-3 more months, where can i get "dry rock" and how long will this prolong my coral wait time?
 
That's what you need. I've put it in my tank without a problem. A lot of times live rock sits at the lfs for a long time

so thats what i got when i started my tank, it was about 1-2hrs in the styrofoam box and it bleached on me should i buy it and haul *** home then to keep it live?
 
I'm not sure. I drove like 5 miles with it and put it right in my tank. I'm not sure if that was bad or not since it didn't give me any problems. It really didn't have any growth on it since they didn't keep lights on the rocks
 
Id do dry rock. That's my opinion. IF their rock isnt cured completely or your drive causes some die off them your ammonia will spike. You have a very small amount of rock in your tank as it a so it would worry me that even if there was a small amount of die off on the rock you buy them the small amount of bacteria you have housed in you live rock won't be able to convert it fast enough. Like in my tank 10 lbs of rock wouldn't be too big of a deal because I have 275lbs of rock already so there is a lot of bacteria to convert all of the ammonia. IMO (take it for what it is) I NEVER add live rock to an established aquarium that's how I nuked my 55 gallon tank.
 
Id do dry rock. That's my opinion. IF their rock isnt cured completely or your drive causes some die off them your ammonia will spike. You have a very small amount of rock in your tank as it a so it would worry me that even if there was a small amount of die off on the rock you buy them the small amount of bacteria you have housed in you live rock won't be able to convert it fast enough. Like in my tank 10 lbs of rock wouldn't be too big of a deal because I have 275lbs of rock already so there is a lot of bacteria to convert all of the ammonia. IMO (take it for what it is) I NEVER add live rock to an established aquarium that's how I nuked my 55 gallon tank.

btw Timmy shoot me a text i lost your number last weekend, :facepalm:

and that sounds horrible, i would never want to "nuke" my tank, the guys down at my lrs said i should be ok with a small piece under 10lbs and thats all i want, its very sparse on one side and i just want one tall piece to fill up the space and ill be happy with it. but the dry rock sounds safer since i already have my caramel clowns and shrimp in there. i would die if i lost them to carelessness. :(
 
Buy the live rock put in a QT test the water after two days if there's ammo then you'll need to let it cure other wise put in the main tank
 
Buy the live rock put in a QT test the water after two days if there's ammo then you'll need to let it cure other wise put in the main tank

i dont have a quarantine tank, i wish i did, i have a 10g for my cichlid fry but its fw as of now. can i use that?
 
Just use a plastic bucket or storage bin. I have a bunch of live rock in three right now curing with a power filter and heater in each of them. Much cheaper than using an aquarium for things like that.
 
Just use a plastic bucket or storage bin. I have a bunch of live rock in three right now curing with a power filter and heater in each of them. Much cheaper than using an aquarium for things like that.

+1 Dollar store pails work great for this. You can use the 10 gl. you'll just have to rinse it before and after use.
 
well guys my lrs was out of dry rock would it be cheaper to order online? hows shipping?
 
Depends where you order from. Some places offer free shipping with orders over so much, and rock orders can put it into that category. I think saltwater fish.com offered free shipping this week on live rock if that's helpful.
 
Just use a plastic bucket or storage bin. I have a bunch of live rock in three right now curing with a power filter and heater in each of them. Much cheaper than using an aquarium for things like that.
I'm going to try this in a storage tote .
Do I need to have a heater ?
I just killed off a bunch of mushrooms I didn't want and just want a way to know they are safe to put in my tank .
 
I'm going to try this in a storage tote .
Do I need to have a heater ?
I just killed off a bunch of mushrooms I didn't want and just want a way to know they are safe to put in my tank .

You can cure them in a bit with saltwater and a powerhead or cure them by letting them dry out in the sun and completely bleach them out.
 
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