new live rock

[beefcake]

I just bought 25 lbs. of fiji from the doctors. I have a 90 gallon with about 90 lbs of rock right now. I'm worried that if I add the new rock to my tank I will go through a mini cycle which I want to avoid. Would it be best to put it in my 15gallon and slowly add a piece once or twice a week or so ? Should I just chuck it in ?

[Rock Anemone]

If the tank is set-up with corals/fish/inverts etc, I would add it in a small 15 gallon with power head and heater, then slowly add it IMO.

Rock Anemone:D

[lllosingit]

If I were in you position I would get a 30 to 50 gallon trash can and cure it in there, You could also put a handfull of sand out of your establised tank in with it to help jump start the bacteria.
The 15 will work but with so little water volume you could end up with a stinking pile of dead rock.
Walmart has 30 gallon Rubbermaid tubs for about $10 that would also work good too.

[Rock Anemone]

I agree with lllosingit, you can get Rubber Maid containers for pretty cheap and it would work out much better then the 15 gallon.

Rock Anemone:D

[Vixyswillie]

Is curing it in a separate container really necessary, given the fact that he's only adding another 25#? I would think if he received his rock the next day - and it was shipped well - his risk for any kind of significant cycling would be minimal.

:confused:

[LauraBay]

I may not be neccesary to cure in a separate tank but by the time he would be able to tell it was causing a problem it would most likely be too late to avoid the negative effects of an ammonia spike. Why take chances with established tank when curing it in a separate container is pretty simple.

I always try to go by the "better safe than sorry" mentality with this expensive hobby.

[kmk2307]

Do you have an extra hang-on skimmer available? Perhaps if the rock looks good and doesn't smell bad you could take one or two pieces, shake them around in clean saltwater to get debris off, and then put them in your display tank so you have less rock crammed in a small body of water. You might want to look into something like AmQuel or Ammolock for the new LR while you are curing it.

HTH,
Kevin

[beefcake]

Thanks for the ideas guys. This is supposed to be cured rock but who knows after shipping time what has happened. I've decided to place the rock in a seperate tank. When it arrives I'll only add one or two rocks and the rest go I'll cure seperately. I bet i find some cool hitchikers in a seperate tank with no sand. :D

[Vixyswillie]

Originally posted by beefcake
I bet i find some cool hitchikers in a seperate tank with no sand. :D

Be sure to post some pics! :D