Adding live rock

[reefsurfer1]

I just bought 70lbs of lr from someone. I wanted to know what is the best way to go about adding it to my tank. My tank is 85g and I have 45lbs of rock in it right now. I have one clown fish, one long tentacle anemone, and a cuc. The lr that I bought doesnt smell at all and doesnt have any weird growths on it. Any help is appreciated.

[Parrothead]

Did the live rock come out of an existing tank, or was it dried out rock??????????

[reefsurfer1]

It was an existing tank. It wasnt dried out. I asked and he took the rock straight from a tank to a tub with salt water in it.

[reefsurfer1]

I also transported it in 5 gal buckets of salt water. Thats where it is right now.

[rluix]

I also transported it in 5 gal buckets of salt water. Thats where it is right now.

Adding 70lb's of liverock with fish inside the tank wont be easy, and it will probably make the tank cloudy.

[Parrothead]

if it came from an established system, and you feel comfortable about who you bought it from, you should be alright adding it straight to the tank, I wouldn't wait too long to do that as the longer it sits in those buckets the more die-off you are gonna have, I would mix up some saltwater and rinse each piece really good before adding it to your tank. And then watch your water parameters for a few days to a week real close.

[reefsurfer1]

I will do that when I get home. Thx

[Ninong]

I agree that you should be okay just adding it all at once since it came from an existing tank. You should have very little die-off. Did you get a good look at the tank that it was in? Did you see any "pests" in the tank?

There are so many things to look for when you buy live rock from an existing tank. You also need to ask a lot of questions. The very first thing you want to look for is the overall appearance of the existing tank. Do all of the animals look healthy? That's extremely important.

Next you want to look very carefully to see if you see any Aiptasia or Majano anemones or flatworms. You also want to look very carefully at any SPS to see if they have any of those little red AEFW (Acropora-Eating Flatworms). If there are any Montipora corals in the tank, you want to look closely at them for any Montipora-eating nudibranchs.

If everything in the tank looks to be in good health, then you can assume that the owner has never dosed copper-based medications in the tank. Unfortunately, some unethical people will offer live rock for sale because they dosed copper in the tank without knowing that it destroys the live rock and makes it totally unsuitable for use in an aquarium with any invertebrates. On another very large board, I have seen people post a thread asking for help because everything was dying in their reeftank after they dosed copper in the tank to treat for marine ich. They, a few weeks later, you see the same person listing "live rock for sale."

Even after you have purchased live rock from another hobbyist, always examine each piece very carefully as you put it in your reef tank to see if there is anything that you see that should be removed.

Good luck!

[reefsurfer1]

Thanks for your advice. The couple I bought the rock from were downsizing to a smaller tank. I did see the tank and it looked fine, but they said they were going from a 150g tank to a 50g tank because it was so much work. The rock smelled and looked good as well. It has been in my tank for two days now and I did see what I think were flat worms. They were well flat, red, and about an inch long. They only come out at night and they look similar to centipedes. Are they harmful to my tank? If so, how do I get rid of them?

[reefsurfer1]

When I say the rock smelled I mean it didnt smell. :eek3:

[Ninong]

I did see what I think were flat worms. They were well flat, red, and about an inch long. They only come out at night and they look similar to centipedes. Are they harmful to my tank? If so, how do I get rid of them?

Those are not flat worms, at least not the ones I'm talking about.

When we talk about nuisance flatworms, we're talking about Planaria that are only about 1/4" long and look like this:


If you do have red flatworms (Planaria) that look like that and are only about 1/4" long, then you have a serious problem. However, I doubt that that is what you have, so we can forget about flatworms.

You probably have what we commonly call a bristleworm. Hopefully it is one of the good guys and not one of the bad guys.

Here's a picture of a 7" Eurythoe complanata bristleworm from my tank. They are good guys.



Here's a picture of Hermodice carunculata, a bad guy.


"Bristleworms" come in a lot of different sizes but most of them are harmless beneficial scavengers. There are some exceptions. There are literally thousands of different species of polychaete worms and all of them can be called bristleworms.

[reefsurfer1]

They look like the "good" guys. Just not that big. That is a relief, thanks. Other than those worms and some sponge algae I think the lr is good.

[Parrothead]

Sounds like you got a good deal, just keep an eye on water parameters for a few days just to make sure everything is settling in nicely

[reefsurfer1]

I tested last night and everything is really good. I will continue to test weekly. Thanks guys.

[Parrothead]

any time, thats why we're here to help and learn