Adding Live Rock

[The_Macs]

Hello,

I have a fairly new system with some clown in it. It is already cycled and has a pair of clown fish in it. I was wondering if it would hurt the clownfish if I added in more live rock. I think I read somewhere that adding more live rock to the system will cause it to cycle again, at least a mini-cycle, but I'm not sure if that is correct. Or, would I be better off adding in more dead/dried out rock? Thank you all in advanced

[leebca]

Live rock, even if you buy it 'cured' still goes through some die-off when added to a tank. It could cause another small to large cycle or a total wipe out of the tank -- depending on the quantity of die off.

You can buy more, and put it in used tank water (the water you throw away) with an airstone to re-cure it before adding into the display, make water changes daily until water remains crystal clear. This will lessen the die off impact in the display. Still, I recommend just starting off with the right quantity.

More info on live rock: What is Live Rock, Anyway?

[The_Macs]

It's not always easy to start off with the right quantity. After doing a lot of research and reading your stickies, leebca, I would have loved to have started the tank with 2-3lbs of live rock per gallon, but its not something I knew to be so important from the start. I started the tank thinking I could always add more rock as time went on, but now I know that adding more rock can harm the fish. Still I want to add more live rock, or add rock that can one day be considered

I guess what I was trying to ask in the beginning is: since I wasn't able to start with the right quantity of live rock, what is the best way of adding more rock to the system? Dead porous rock, or more live rock, the goal being to increase the surface area for nitrifying bacteria to grow.

If anyone has some advice on how they added more rock to their system and what time of rock they added I would be very appreciative. Thanks again for all the great advice on this website.

[Parrothead]

Lee,

If he set up a qt tank now, and moved the clowns to it, and added the additional rock and let it do it's thing, would that work?

Tanks
Robert

[leebca]

If all you're interested in is creating more surface area for the bacteria, then dead rock is fine. It needs no or very little curing, can be scrubbed (hard) without affecting its performance, and is very inexpensive.

Robert,

There are still other lifeforms to consider. Some established invertebrates can't handle the poisons that are created during the die off, thus dieing, and thus adding to the pollution. It could escalate until most things in the tank die. Not worth the risk, in my opinion.