How long for live rock that sat outside?

[bprewit]

I set about 30lbs of rock from my tank outside almost a week ago. I want to put it into the new tank and for now have it sitting in a tub of saltwater with a powerhead. There were no corals, sponges, or anything else on this rock that would still be in a state of decay so how long should I let it cure so to speak before I put it in the tank?

[GaryP]

Test for ammonia. When its 0 its OK to put back in the tank. You may also want to take a tooth brush and scrub the dead stuff off of it while its curing. That stuff is called "Liver".

You might want to go to the GARF website and order some "Grunge" when it goes back into the tank. It will help re-seed your LR.

If you are starting over from scratch, just cure the rock in the tank. Did you salvage any critters?

[NaCl_H2O]

Sitting outside - as in "Drying out"? Die off in LR happens even at the microscopic level. If it sat drying and you just now put it back into water ... I would give it 1-2 weeks with circulation and temp around 76-80. A skimmer wouldn't hurt if you have a spare.

[matt]

I set about 30lbs of rock from my tank outside almost a week ago. I want to put it into the new tank and for now have it sitting in a tub of saltwater with a powerhead. There were no corals, sponges, or anything else on this rock that would still be in a state of decay so how long should I let it cure so to speak before I put it in the tank?

Just out of curiosity, why did you do this? You must have known that EVERYTHING on the rock would die, leaving you with dead rock. Is it coated with white (dead) coralline algae? Did it stink for awhile? Does it still? You'll have to cure this again; I would suggest getting some light on your tub and do several water changes on it; Gary's right on the ammonia, except I'd wait until nitrites are gone as well, then change all the water it's in, let it sit a few more days, and see if there are high nitrates. If not, you're good to go. Ths is assuming there's stuff in your tank you don't want to kill with another nitrogen cycle. You'd be amazed at how long dead live rock (how's that for a contradiction) can leach low levels of ammonia into a healthy system.

[Andrew]

I would cure it for longer, maybe even a month, especially if there are any good sized pieces. Gunk deep inside the rock may leach out slowly for weeks. I'd keep the powerhead on it, do water changes 2X a week, and test ammonia/nitrite/nitrate to make sure it's good to go.

Andrew

[bprewit]

Alright I will leave it soaking in the tub for a couple of weeks to a month or until ammonia and nitrite levels are at 0. I left it outside sitting in the sun because I had nowhere to put it after the tank disaster. I put as much as I could fit in my sump but the rest I just had to set outside as had no time to do anything but leave for work trip. Thanks for the info!

[bprewit]

Whew I am glad I asked this question here as I would have had a major disaster if I hadnt. I picked the rock up from outside when setting up the new tank and gave it a quick sniff and no smell so I honestly figured it was ok to put into the tank. It has been sitting in a tub of saltwater for 3 days now and holy crap that stuff had alot of die off still even after baking in the sun for a week! The water turned nasty brown cloudy in the first 24hrs and started to smell pretty bad. Thanks again for everyone that posted and told me to cure it for a couple of weeks!