Adding new rock into a running tank?
- Thread starter Baykes
- Start date
WrightReef
Guest
I just did this, here is what I did...
New dry pukani rock and one tonga branch to hold the roof over a cave-
First I soaked the rocks in RODI for a week, after a few days the TDS went way up probably just the salt, and as it leached everything off. Then changed the RODI, after the end of the week the TDS was low. Water likes to be dirty, pulled all the nutrients out of the rock. Then I placed the rock into my sump for a few weeks for all the good bacteria & bugs to make a new home. Just today I worked the rocks into my display, still stands out being new but not white like the aggregate. The tonga branch help make a great big cave, very happy how that worked.
New dry pukani rock and one tonga branch to hold the roof over a cave-
First I soaked the rocks in RODI for a week, after a few days the TDS went way up probably just the salt, and as it leached everything off. Then changed the RODI, after the end of the week the TDS was low. Water likes to be dirty, pulled all the nutrients out of the rock. Then I placed the rock into my sump for a few weeks for all the good bacteria & bugs to make a new home. Just today I worked the rocks into my display, still stands out being new but not white like the aggregate. The tonga branch help make a great big cave, very happy how that worked.
MolaMola
Supporting Member
What is your purpose of adding rock? Structure? Certain shape? Filtration? Recharge your existing system with bacteria and inverts? The last reason is why I used to love adding a new piece of live rock to my tank when I had my first tank for a long time. Unlike many, I like the idea of biodiversity and a fresh dose of LIFE. I also used to swap cups of live sand with people, which probably makes many reefers cringe. : ) I think it depends on your objective and risk tolerance.
Baykes
Supporting Member
Thank you all for the replies!
@MolaMola , the goal of this would be to add shape and structure.
It looks like dry rock is the way to go then. Do I need to treat it any more than an RODI soak? The main reason I was concerned with this is because somewhere I read a thread where this guy added some rock (I thought it was dry rock, but it must have been dead rock) to his established reef and it nuked the tank overnight
. So is this not a problem with dry rock? Any suggestions on where and what kind to get? Thanks in advance!
@MolaMola , the goal of this would be to add shape and structure.
It looks like dry rock is the way to go then. Do I need to treat it any more than an RODI soak? The main reason I was concerned with this is because somewhere I read a thread where this guy added some rock (I thought it was dry rock, but it must have been dead rock) to his established reef and it nuked the tank overnight
. So is this not a problem with dry rock? Any suggestions on where and what kind to get? Thanks in advance!
Vhuang168
Guest
Buy rock from a shop that knows where it came from. Neptune has Real Reef (brand name not that it's from a real reef), I think CRC has Marco n AC has Real Reef as well.
Or if you can find someone you know and trust that is breaking down his/her tank.
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Or if you can find someone you know and trust that is breaking down his/her tank.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Flagg37
Guest
I got the real reef rock from Neptune and really liked it. I started with only about 10 lbs then added another 13 lbs about 2 months later (I only have a 30 gallon tank). I didn't notice any change in chemistry. I simply rinsed the rock under tap water. The only thing not to like about the real reef rock is how much it costs.
