Live Rock help

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macknight22

Member
I just bought a 90 gal. tank and set up for my first reef attempt. The guy I bought it from lost the tank during Katrina when the whole system crashed. The sump went under water from flooding but not the main tank. He gave me three 5 gallon buckets full of what used to be the live rock in the tank. It was sitting outside and dry and had alot of dead growth on it. He suggested that i only needed to wash it off good before placing it back in the tank at the appropriate time. Any suggestions or thoughts on this subject. thank you for your input.
 
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macknight22

Member
As long as this has been out of the water, would this now be considered "dead" or "base" rock?...would I need to buy some live rock to get it seeded?
 
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macknight22

Member
Hey Wood!!

When Katrina hit, the stand went under water, so this week I have been constructing a DIY stand for it to sit on. That will be finished today.

One of the pumps with the equipment I purchased doesnt work and I guess I need to replace it. I cant tell from the pump itself what kind of pump it is or how many GPH is pumps. I tried to included a picture of the tank and sump, the writing on the return pump, the skimmer and a photo of all the "dead" (used to be live I guess) rock I received with my purchase but the file size exceeds what the site will let me upload. Any suggestions?
 
Witfull

Witfull

Well-Known Member
another thing about bacteria. not all of it dies. when it dries out spores go dormant. add water and bacteria returns. they will need food though, at first they feed on there dead brethren, but add a coctail shrimp in a pantyhose and it will decompose and cycle the tank.
 
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macknight22

Member
Thanks Wit! I should have my cabinet finished by the weekend, then next week get the live sand and get started....check out my photos under the "return pump suggestions on a 90 gal tank". what do you think about the rock....do you think it retained in bacteria after 5 months?
 
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seacat7up

New Member
macknight22 said:
Thanks Wit! I should have my cabinet finished by the weekend, then next week get the live sand and get started....check out my photos under the "return pump suggestions on a 90 gal tank". what do you think about the rock....do you think it retained in bacteria after 5 months?
Click to expand...
it most likely did retain bacteria, so use kent marine rock prep with a steel bristle brush and scrub the rock. make sure you use salt water. helps with the die off to make sure all bad bacteria is gone. let it cycle for three weeks before adding any livestock. almost like recuring new live rock all over again. my rocks are coming along nice now after about 2 months. starting to see birdsnest coral formations and have two live rock flowers (tubeworms that look like an anemone) and lots of deep maroon and purple and green. even have some sponges starting to grow back. keep doing two water changes weekly . and in between water changes rescrub the rock avoiding any live rock or organisms you may see. good luck
 
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