does live rock die if it is in water?
- Thread starter peckhead
- Start date
barchtruong
Member
live rock is rock. Rocks don't die.
live rocks are just a good media for good bateria to house in there to keep your tank biologically balance cuz lr is very porous.
live rocks are just a good media for good bateria to house in there to keep your tank biologically balance cuz lr is very porous.
mandarin w
Member
Yes, live rock can die even if it is in saltwater. If the saltwater isn't keep properly. If the water get too cold, hot. or no circulation so the water go stagnate. If you have live rock that you want to keep alive until you are ready to put it in your tank. Just put the rock in a bucket with saltwater, a heater so the water stays warm enough and a power head for circulation. the rock will be fine. You may need to check your levels every week to make sure everything is fine. As the water evaporates, you will need to add fresh unsalted water (RO) to replace the evaporated water so your salinity levels do get to high.
fender
Active Member
Depends on how "live" you want it.
To keep most of the critters in it alive...
You need to keep the water somewhat moving, the temp above 70 but below 90, the salinity from 1.018-1.030. Avoid drastic changes.
I don't recommend the following but I will share some experience with how robust "live" rock is....
I had to store some "live" rock in a tank that was unheated but indoors with one small power head flowing, no lights except room lights, no filters, nitrates unbelievably high, topped off from time to time with some nasty chlorinated Detroit city water with salinity varying in the range above for over 10 months. When the rock was stored this way there were no corals (that I knew of) nor any snails (that I knew of) on the rock. I thought surely it was "dead" by the time I was able to do something with it.
The water was eventually changed, temp brought up to 78, powerheads added, lights turned on and... coralline survived, tons of small feather dusters lived (and appeared to flourish), vermatid snails flourished, peppermint snails survived, cerith snails survived, and a small colony of polyps did as well. Cheato survived. A watchmen goby also was hidden in the rock and lived too.
Bubble and turf algae also survived
The polyps were white as ghosts when I discovered them and figured they were goners.... Well they didn't and are thriving. Life is pretty miraculous and some things can surprisingly survive in pretty harsh conditions.
Not something I would do again or recommend but the situation was unavoidable and I am thankful that I didn't have a bunch of "base" rock at the end of it.
To keep most of the critters in it alive...
You need to keep the water somewhat moving, the temp above 70 but below 90, the salinity from 1.018-1.030. Avoid drastic changes.
I don't recommend the following but I will share some experience with how robust "live" rock is....
I had to store some "live" rock in a tank that was unheated but indoors with one small power head flowing, no lights except room lights, no filters, nitrates unbelievably high, topped off from time to time with some nasty chlorinated Detroit city water with salinity varying in the range above for over 10 months. When the rock was stored this way there were no corals (that I knew of) nor any snails (that I knew of) on the rock. I thought surely it was "dead" by the time I was able to do something with it.
The water was eventually changed, temp brought up to 78, powerheads added, lights turned on and... coralline survived, tons of small feather dusters lived (and appeared to flourish), vermatid snails flourished, peppermint snails survived, cerith snails survived, and a small colony of polyps did as well. Cheato survived. A watchmen goby also was hidden in the rock and lived too.
Bubble and turf algae also survived
The polyps were white as ghosts when I discovered them and figured they were goners.... Well they didn't and are thriving. Life is pretty miraculous and some things can surprisingly survive in pretty harsh conditions.
Not something I would do again or recommend but the situation was unavoidable and I am thankful that I didn't have a bunch of "base" rock at the end of it.
eroticaquatica
Member
wow...dont mean to steal this thread, but where, oh where did you find your LR? it sounds amazing! did you buy it off this site by any chance?
sepulatian
Moderator
If you want to keep your "critters" alive then it needs movement, filtration, heat, and regular testing. If your rock is mostly just algae and bacteria, then just keep it warm and aerated as indicated above. I recently had my rock stored in a cold environment with a filter and water movement, but no heat or lights. The water was ice cold when I got my rock out. It is coloring back up nicely and kept two tanks from having a full cycle. The rock was in one tank then moved to the other. The biological bacteria on it was alive and well.
royal gang
Active Member
Originally Posted by eroticaquatica
wow...dont mean to steal this thread, but where, oh where did you find your LR? it sounds amazing! did you buy it off this site by any chance?
??? :notsure: :notsure: ???
wow...dont mean to steal this thread, but where, oh where did you find your LR? it sounds amazing! did you buy it off this site by any chance?
??? :notsure: :notsure: ???
eroticaquatica
Member
Originally Posted by fender
... coralline survived, tons of small feather dusters lived (and appeared to flourish), vermatid snails flourished, peppermint snails survived, cerith snails survived, and a small colony of polyps did as well. Cheato survived. A watchmen goby also was hidden in the rock and lived too.
wow...dont mean to steal this thread, but where, oh where did you find your LR? it sounds amazing! did you buy it off this site by any chance?
... coralline survived, tons of small feather dusters lived (and appeared to flourish), vermatid snails flourished, peppermint snails survived, cerith snails survived, and a small colony of polyps did as well. Cheato survived. A watchmen goby also was hidden in the rock and lived too.
wow...dont mean to steal this thread, but where, oh where did you find your LR? it sounds amazing! did you buy it off this site by any chance?
eroticaquatica
Member
thats how i meant for my first reply to come out, but it didnt. lol i didnt find all those critters in my LR!
sepulatian
Moderator
Originally Posted by eroticaquatica
thats how i meant for my first reply to come out, but it didnt. lol i didnt find all those critters in my LR!
It depends on where you buy it and how high you let your ammonia climb while curing it. Most critters don't come out at first. If you let your ammonia skyrocket then they will die before they have a chance to come out.
thats how i meant for my first reply to come out, but it didnt. lol i didnt find all those critters in my LR!
It depends on where you buy it and how high you let your ammonia climb while curing it. Most critters don't come out at first. If you let your ammonia skyrocket then they will die before they have a chance to come out.