transporting live rock....

[flchevygrl]

Hello,
My son has bought 100 lbs of fuji live rock which we have to go pick up and drive 2hrs. Home. So now my question is how do I move it? I have about 15 5 gallon buckets from Walmart and a Rubbermaid tub can't remember how big tub is. Will I need to fill my buckets with saltwater and just add what rock I can to ea? Then load what I can into tub? Son read on Web to wrap live rock in newspaper that has been dipped in saltwater.

Thanks in advance for your time and help....

 

[Saltyskimmer]

Hello,
My son has bought 100 lbs of fuji live rock which we have to go pick up and drive 2hrs. Home. So now my question is how do I move it? I have about 15 5 gallon buckets from Walmart and a Rubbermaid tub can't remember how big tub is. Will I need to fill my buckets with saltwater and just add what rock I can to ea? Then load what I can into tub? Son read on Web to wrap live rock in newspaper that has been dipped in saltwater.

Thanks in advance for your time and help....

It has been a while since I got my rock but if I remember right all I did was transport it in a Styrofoam box that the LFS got their livestock shipped in. I have a 45 minute ride to my store but it was not stored in water until I got home.

 

[pegasus]

It would be ideal if you keep the rocks submerged in saltwater, as there would be minimal die off of microfauna. If that's not an option, wrapping them in wet newspapers will be better than nothing. With that much rock, it's highly advisable to cycle the rocks once you get them home so they don't poison your tank. The time it will take to cycle will depend on how well the rocks were maintained in their original state (submerged, wrapped, or open), and the amount of die off. Naturally, it will take considerably less time if they were submerged thought the entire transport. You may want to consider getting a larger container that will hold all the rocks, enough water to cover them, and put a heater and circulation pump in. Check your ammonia after a day and see if there's a spike. If there is, wait for it to fall and check for nitrite. Once nitrite falls, the rocks can be transferred to you tank. If there is no ammonia spike after a day or two, then you did a wonderful job of transporting them.

 

[mandy111]

HI, I tried the wet newpater trick once, found odd bits of paper floating around the tank weeks later, got stuck in nooks and crannys. I moved a second time and found that wet towels were fantastic, just make sure you double rinse them in clean water before using them to get rid of any soap powders etc. Much lighter that trying to carry water and easier to remove than wet newpaper.
Bacteria should be alright up to a couple of hours if kept damp, you may get some die off but it wont take long to come back. We had a 8 hour drive and another couple of hours unpacking and setting up and we had a small mini cycle but nothing to worry about.
Damp is ok.

 

[flchevygrl]

I was thinking the ink may cause issues...
Now the person we are getting the rock from has it in a brute can with circulation and a heater. Now we are waiting on a new stand to be shipped. Which should be here Fri or Sat....my other question is can we buy a brute can and get mixed saltwater from Lfs and do the same until stand gets here? Or should we just wait and get rock later? Don't want to spend 300 bucks for it to turn to poop.

 

[mandy111]

I personally would wait and get rock later. Have everything set up ready to go when rock is picked up, less die off that way.