live rock to set up aquarium

[Price]

I have a FO tank with no live rock that I have had for just over a year. I have no knowledge about live rock myself. I have a wet/dry sump and a skimmer. All appears to be going fine with the parameters so far. I have 1 inch of live sand and just some decorations. The only media I have is a carbon pad in the wetdry.

After reading thru many posts I'm beggining to think I'd be much safer going with live rock in the long run. My question is can I add cured live rock in small amounts to a set up /stocked tank? The tank is a 120 gallon tank so I assume I would need 120+ pounds. Could I add say 10-20 pounds a month or so w/o taking to much risk to the fish I have (yellow tang, marron clown, hippo tang, and a lion fish)? or would adding rock now do more harm than good?

[BigAl07]

Adding live rock is a HUGE plus to your current system. The beneficial bacteria colonized inside the rock would GREATLY benefit your tank.

Now if it's FULLY cured Live Rock and you don't have to transport it long distances (which means you minimize any die-off) there wont be MUCH of a cycle on your tank. But keep in mind when you read on a web-site about Fully Cured or Pre-Cured Live rock that very well could be more of a "Sales gimmick" than actual truth. Even transport time from one county to another out of water will cause SOME die-off.

Here is how I would do it if I woke up in your shoes today and HAD the room. I would pick out some good quality Live Rock (preferably from one of our Sponsors) and have it shipped to me. Then set up some type of "Curing Vat/Tub" and finish the curing process myself at home. With careful handling and care you can get cured Live rock, do a short cure in your tank and in a few weeks you have FULLY cured Live Rock which should cause little to NO cycle in your existing tank. It just takes some time, patience and testing of the water. It will tell you when it's ready for your tank.

Good luck and HAPPY Reefing

[Price]

Thanks for the quick reply I'll check out the "sponsors" is there any price range you feel is resonable for the cured live rock? Just trying to cover all the basis to do whats best for the fish in the tank ahead of time.

[Wooden Harpoon]

This is just my opinion, but I would agree that you could do that. If you wanted to switch over to live rock, I would suggest possibly relocating the fish in your tank. My LFS sometimes allows me to hold fish there in an empty tank. If you can do that, you would have more freedom in being able to "aquascape your aquarium."

Arranging your live rock can be challenging when trying to figure out which piece goes where. Also, you want to create some stability in your tank. If you can, arrange your live rock all at once. Or... over the course of a week till you get the desired effect. This will keep you from disturbing the harmony of the tank every other week or so with adding new rock and changing the aquarium's appearence. Stability is the key! Once everything is in place, you can slowly re-introduce the tank's original inhaitants back into your aquarium. You may even find that you may want to leave some of them out.

Check out some of Walt Smith's Premium Fiji Live Rock. This is what I will be adding to my new tank.

[Wooden Harpoon]

BigAL08 is the man!

[CAVINCA]

Originally Posted by Wooden Harpoon

BigAL08 is the man!

What did BigAL07 get upgraded?

Anyways... Listen to BigAL he knows his stuff. And moving your fish is a good idea to.. just in case.