[rypoole]

Im still new to this and I have a friend of mine who use to have a salt water tank set up. He has what once was live sand and a bunch of live rock that was sitting in about a half empty tank for about a year. Is this ok to use in my tank? It would save me alot of money but Im not sure if i can use it because it has been sitting in a half full tank of water for the past year.

[DJ_drew]

IMO the rock is fine but get yoursefl some new sand and go for it
beware though because the rock has been out of water it needs to cycle again
so do not put any living things in ur tank for at least a month let the water cycle the rock and the new sand, it will save you money and your fish in the future.

i just put some LR in my tank from a friend that hadnt been used in over 2 years
i set it up in a smaller seperate tank first with water from my DT at one of my water changes, let it run for 2 weeks and all is well

[Tinyfish]

Both the sand and rock would be fine if you wash them. My sand and rock sat over a year until recently. Just make sure to wash them out good.

The tank will need to cycle. There is not getting around that, but it will save you money. Besides it is fun to aquascape with the rocks. And of course there is always plumbing to play with.

[jimw369]

I would "cook" the LR in a rubbermaid tub for a few months and let it cycle there. I would also get a light over it and get the coraline started. Actinic lighting seems to work best for me when doing this. Without knowing how the previous owner took care of his tank (doesnt sound very good) I would be cautious about throwing the LR in the DT and letting it cycle there. There are things that take time to build up in the LR if not properly cared for and at certain times can be released backed into your tank harming what you already have started. Go slow and be patient. Its nice to save a few bucks and I think it can be done here but once again be patient and make sure the LR is in decent shape before using it.

[WhatReef]

Yes i agree with Jim he knows whats going on, also some people give there rock an acid bath to "super clean it" (BennyZ) and rinse thuroughly with R/O water than start the curing process but either way i would cure in a rubbermaid tub seperate from your tank for atleast a month and make sure you have flow,heat and light on it, you don't have to have light but it would be better, I have used sunlight to cure rock before if a light isn't in your budget for curing rocks. Something to keep in mind.
So if you cure in your display tank you will most likely have algae out breaks, but also if the rock you got has been "dead" for a while, after two weeks of curing i usually through in a piece or two of good cured rock just to seed the new rock and help in become live quicker but thats just me im not sure how others do it but its all a learning experience just read up on it you'll do fine.

Cheers!

[talofalava]

I have seen some nice ceramic live rock substitutes lately. You might look at that alternative to the lv rock. It doesnt need to be cured only seeded fora couple of weeks

[WhatReef]

yeah that stuff is ok but nothing beats the real deal : )