Adding rock to an active tank???

[underdasea]

This is probably a ridiculous question considering the fact that I've been in the hobby for 3 years, but please ignore the ignorance.
I had some live rock that I took out of the tank several weeks ago because I thought I had too much. It was taken out, it dried out, and now I'm curious if I can put it BACK in the tank without an ammonia spike that will harm my livestock???? It is currently sitting in freshwater with a powerhead and no light just to get the junk off of it, but because there has obviously been die off, I'm curious as to whether or not putting it back in will create some problems.
Any advice would be great.

 

[ccampbell57]

You can definitely put it back in once you wait for the die-off. Basically you are adding base rock and it will become "live" in the matter of months.

 

[laddy]

if you did not remove the die off, you'll see an increase in nitrates if your system can't accomodate the rock.......best to boil the rock, let it cool and replace it back in the system if you don't need the beneficial bacteria.

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by underdasea
http:///forum/post/2473910
This is probably a ridiculous question considering the fact that I've been in the hobby for 3 years, but please ignore the ignorance.
I had some live rock that I took out of the tank several weeks ago because I thought I had too much. It was taken out, it dried out, and now I'm curious if I can put it BACK in the tank without an ammonia spike that will harm my livestock???? It is currently sitting in freshwater with a powerhead and no light just to get the junk off of it, but because there has obviously been die off, I'm curious as to whether or not putting it back in will create some problems.
Any advice would be great.
Since the rock is not that old I would guess it has a lot of life dying on it.
Change the freshwater it's soaking in with SW and test for Ammonia in a couple of days.