Dead live rock and coral?

[longt]

I cant see anything wrong with it, but would love to have some input, the wife is agrivated at how long it take for rock to kick off. and wants to put a few anonomes in my 55 for my clowns and some corals. Will it be OK (I have well established sand and water, the tank has been running for a year, and just recently put in the dead live rock(that whole cash things a pain)). so please help.

[Sinalie]

If the tank has been running for a year you should be ok to add stuff. Just test your water to make sure everything is A ok.
If you have coral in the tank now or plan to you might want to know that anemones like to travel until they find a "happy" spot and then might move just because they can. Alsp you said a "few anemones" make sure they are the same species. At the LRS here one anemone ate another of a different species, so be careful. Also don't add stuff too fast, little by little and test your water to note any changes. I hope this helped!! Good Luck!!

[isotope21]

No.

Time to put the impatience in check - I know that it's hard w/ respect to the wife - but remember that you are creating a captive ecosystem that acclimates to changes GRADUALLY over time. A tank of year old saltwater subjected to a sudden infusion of dead rock will not turn into a suitable climate for anemones overnight. Live animals that take longer to arrive beat dead animals, right? And there is no beating on your wallet worse than the continuous replacement of dead livestock.

Before you add any anemones, or any autotrophic (photosynthetic) inverterbrates, you should carefully evaluate your lighting and your water quality. Anemones are primitive animals that are high demand. You should read the anemone and clown FAQ here at Reefcentral thoroughly before proceeding.

I would monitor your tank parameters for at least month, and if at the end of the month NH4/NO3/NO2 levels were all at zero AND I had sufficient lighting to keep captive anemones, I would consider the addition of a BTA. My tank was 7 years old before my first anemone....

Hope this helps,
Pete

[luceneck]

Iongt,

When you ask a question on boards it is a good practice to ask if anyone has ever done this, because a lot of people will theorize on what may or may not happen. Lacking the actual experience it is nothing more than an educated guess, with mine being an idiots theory.

That being said I have not added dead rock to my tank but would like some info from you and a GUESS on my end to what could occur.

Is the live rock recently dry? Has it been dry for a while and is there any old material left on it?

I think Pete's statement above should almost be a clause people sign before adding anemones but may be a bit too much for your situation. To me adding dead rock to a tank is the same as adding a heater, flower pot, piece of tile, or even a powerhead. If there is nothing on the rock then there is nothing to add or fowl the tank. Again, this is only true if your rock is free of any organic matter.

So I really don't see any problems with it if the rock is free of life. But make sure your meet the requirements that Pete touches on for the rest of your system. Without the 7 year part

[longt]

the rocks already in, and yes it was free of organic material, and i have about 9.5 watts per gallon. As you can tell i have pretty much agressive fish, and wanted something soothing. So it is pretty much my first time with anonomes(other than feeding a friends for a while). I am also currently at zero peremeters on everything, so I am ok on that.

[Atticus]

Originally posted by longt
the rocks already in, and yes it was free of organic material, and i have about 9.5 watts per gallon. As you can tell i have pretty much agressive fish, and wanted something soothing. So it is pretty much my first time with anonomes(other than feeding a friends for a while). I am also currently at zero peremeters on everything, so I am ok on that.

WHat do you mean by agressive fish??? Are they anemone and coral compatable? The watts per gallon rule really means nothing, what do you have for lighting? VHO, PC, or MH?