Can Live rock live without heat?

[SteveNMegz]

We just set up a quarantine tank and wanted to through some live rock rubble in it currently there is no heat, no lights no nothing just saltwater.(for now) but can we through the live rock in now?

[Konadog]

They will, but is there a reason you are using LR in a quarantine tank? If you need to medicate a fish, the LR will absorb the meds and may cause problems with your next resident. They will be junk if you want to reuse them in your main tank.

[Deb91]

You should use some small pvc pipe and or joints for your tank so your guests can hide and play in them instead of ruining your live rock.

[Norward]

Konadog makes a good point! I recently tried to QT two fish and used a couple of lbs of LR from my DT to help it cycle along (along with water from the DT and a biowheel). One fish showed ich and wasn't doing well enough to wait for hypo, so I pulled out the LR and treated with copper (lost the fish anyway). Now I have to QT the other fish and the LR separately before both are clear to put in the DT. If you can get your QT reday without LR I would recommend this. The remaining fish is doing fine with a few PVC elbows and T's that I bought at the local Home Depot.

[snorvich]

If you are able, having a quarantine tank and hospital tank separate is a good idea. The hospital tank must not have live rock in it as it will absorb many medications used in treatment. If you are combining the function, do not use live rock as it will absorb copper and other medications which may damage the biological filter in the rock.

[bertoni]

A lot of the animals on the live rock might die, depending on how low the temperature gets. I'd leave the live rock out, both because of the temperature issue and the various medication issues.