New Tank Question

[vanyel]

I'm helping a friend move, and I am getting her 120 wide tank in exchange, she can't have it where she is moving. She also has about 100 pounds of Live Rock. I just found out the live rock has been out of water for 2-3 years.
Questions..Is there anyway beside buying more Live rock to bring it back to life? And How long would it take to bring it back with live rock in with it?
Thanks
PS I have a 75 gallon cure tank set up, for this task

 

[spanko]

I would toss it in the cure tank and let it rip for a while testing for ammonia daily. There may be enough die-off on and in the rock to start the cycling process with no intervention from you. If you don't see and ammonia start to appear in a week then you may have to add an ammonia source to get it going. Remember to put a heater and a powerhead for circulation in the cure tank.

 

[blenny]

Welcome!!!

And yes it is very possible to bring it back to life. Are you going to use the sand also?

 

[happygirl]

Look up information on "seeding" live rock. Depending on the amount of dead critters inside, the time it takes to cure will vary.

 

[vanyel]

I'm not gonna use Live sand, I'm going to use ddry sand. I talked to a manager of a LFS, and he said live sand in bags is overratted, basically its pretty much dead, and unless you can get fresh sand from the beach it's not worth it.
I also have 2 powerheads,and a heater in the tank already. Do I need a light source. I have the cure tank in my garage, and not any access to direct light.
and thanks for all the great info

 

[florida joe]

Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/3066901
I would toss it in the cure tank and let it rip for a while testing for ammonia daily. There may be enough die-off on and in the rock to start the cycling process with no intervention from you. If you don't see and ammonia start to appear in a week then you may have to add an ammonia source to get it going. Remember to put a heater and a powerhead for circulation in the cure tank.
What a minute he is going to resurrect rock just by putting it in a tank of water ? The rock that has been out of water for 2 to 3 years I guess we are looking for divine intervention here or the rock was thrown in the back yard and some creepy crawlers took up residence in the rock and we hope they drown in the tank water

 

[oceana]

your LFS is correct. live sand bags are very over rated. even live rock is overrated to a point. both rack and sand are VERY easy to seed with very small amount of "live" from another tank or from your stores tanks.
as for lights on the cure tank no you dont need them BUT because of the rock is if a good idea to ensure you dont lose some of the algeas on the rocks that you do want. If there is sand only then no you dont need light at all. in yoru case however this rock is 100% dead and only the below applys
PS: if this is a new tank your setting up and the rock has been washed your dealing with base rock that will not have any die off which mean there is no need to cure it. The only reason you would cure base rock is if it had been left in the rain or something. Your best bet is to set up your tank as you want and then add a few peices of quality live rock to it and call it a day. it will not take long for the old base rock and sand to be "seeded" and become just as live as the new stuff

 

[florida joe]

And my question is, what is live rock? If its rock with nitrifying bacteria, anaerobic bacteria, micro and macro algae and critters IMO it will take a considerable amount of time to get this base rock to come ALIVE

 

[bulldog123]

Could someone please post a picture or good scrip of the dry sand that can be use in stead of live. Sorry about the hijack.

 

[florida joe]

IMO you can use any aragonite or other calcium carbonate sand you just have to decide what grain size you want for your tank. They can range from sugar sand (very fine) to large pieces of crushed coral

 

[bulldog123]

Muchas gracias

 

[vanyel]

Thanks to all for there help. What I'm going to do is still put it in a cure tank, and get a couple of pieces of live rock, and try and get the whole thing going. The tank will need to be cleaned and such, before I set it up.
Vanyel