[tribal21]

Ok guys I have found my live rock and it is locally that someone has for sale..This rock has been in his tank for over a year and I am wondering if I buy it and pick it up if it is going to cause an ammonia spike in my tank because I have to get rid of the damsels because I don't want to kill them.. Or is the rock ok since it has been curing in another tank for over a year...The guy is breaking down the tank to go to college...

[CyberJester]

From what the little I know, anytime you take LR out of water there is going to be a certain amount of die off. The longer the time period the worse the die off will be. If it is still in his tank and you can get it home and in yours in a reasonable amount of time while keeping it very wet the die off should be minimal.

However, your best bet is to put it in buckets at home with water identical to that of your tank and good water movement and a heater and keep an eye on it for a week by testing everyday. If there is no ammonia spikes after a week to 10 days I would think you would be safe to put it in your tank. If there is a spike keep it in buckets until the cycle has finished.

[tribal21]

I was planning on getting a big tub and taking the water from his tank and using it then put the lr in the tub and bring it home...That way it would not be exposed to the air ...It also has an anenome onit I am going to try to save..
The rock is less than 20 min away from home...

[Salt-lick]

How many lbs is your rock how much LR do you have now? Are your water params the same as his? Temps? and such? The more info you can give RB the more they can help you.

[tribal21]

I don't have any lr now and that is why I am buing this...I don't know what his tank paremeters are..

[Salt-lick]

Do you hav a QT?

[tribal21]

What is theQT for the rock or the fish...I wash going to use a friends tank for the fish and a plastic tub for the rock...Use it as a qt pretty much, powerhead,heater,saltwate r.

[CyberJester]

If you can get a QT to use for the fish, then you can put the LR right into your tank and leave the fish in QT for week or so while you watch the ammonia in the tank and/or wait to cycle.

[henwayrob]

placing the live rock in a tub with his water should work fine, make sure you can lift it. Youll still have somewhat of a spike because of all the crap youll stir up, but even that should be alright. ive moved a 75g reef twice this way no losses. but if you can put your fish in a seperate tank do so and give your reef a couple of days to make sure it is stable.

[tribal21]

Sounds good that is what i will do then

Thanks guys

[lynnvangsnes]

Yeah, a 20 minute drive won't have a lot of die-off. You may not have any spiking at all; depending on the differences between the two tank's water parameters. You certainly could put it in a bucket with your water in it to ease the die-off possibility. The anenome; I would suggest you QT that if you put your LR in your tank...just in case. Do you have any other specimens in your tank besides damsels? The damels are very hardy and probably would be ok with the addition of the LR.