Moving Live Rock From One Tank To Another

[smokinjoe2122]

Ok guys, a question that hopefully someone will be able to answer... We have a 55 gallon tank set up that after a lot of hardships of losing fish and not being able to control cynobacteria blooms we are dismantling it and using it for fresh water or something else..We have about 60 +/- lbs of live rock in the tank, and I want to move some of them to my smaller 29 gallon tank. I only have about 15lbs +/-in that tank and I know I need more...There should really be no chance of an ammonia spike because this live rock in the 55 gallon has been cured for years, right??? I'm afraid that the 29 gallon wouldn't handle any spikes very well... Stocked in the 29 gallon, I have 2 false percs, CC star, Purple reef lobster, and snails / red leg hermits.... I am not moving any animals to the 29 gallon...I plan to take live rock, put in bucket of salt water, clean any algea or sponges growing on it before I put into the 29 gallon tank... Any help or advise on doing this would be great... Thanks guys...

 

[Colin_T]

Basically what you plan on doing is fine. Clean the old rock in a bucket of tank water before you move it. Then away you go. There shouldn’t be any problems with ammonia spikes as long as the old rock is cured, which it should be after several years in a tank.
The only thing I would suggest is to remove some water (and keep it in a spare container during the move) from the 29g tank before you add the rock so you don't flood the room. Outside of that just swap the rock

 

[smokinjoe2122]

Basically what you plan on doing is fine. Clean the old rock in a bucket of tank water before you move it. Then away you go. There shouldn’t be any problems with ammonia spikes as long as the old rock is cured, which it should be after several years in a tank.
The only thing I would suggest is to remove some water (and keep it in a spare container during the move) from the 29g tank before you add the rock so you don't flood the room. Outside of that just swap the rock

Well thats good to hear that this isn't going to be that difficult, considering dismantling a whole 55 gallon salt water tank is not really that easy of a task.... How much live rock would be considered good in a 29 gallon? isn't 1 or 1.5 lbs / gallon? It's a hexagon tank, so much taller than longer...I was planning on mounding it up in the center or creating a wall on one side of the tank...

 

[Colin_T]

I have no idea on how much rock per litre ratio is.
If you are using the rock for a filter then use as much as possible. Otherwise just put in as much rock as you like, to create the look you want. However, the more rock you have, the less water will be in the tank and the more water changes you will have to do to keep it good for the inhabitants.

 

[smokinjoe2122]

I have no idea on how much rock per litre ratio is.
If you are using the rock for a filter then use as much as possible. Otherwise just put in as much rock as you like, to create the look you want. However, the more rock you have, the less water will be in the tank and the more water changes you will have to do to keep it good for the inhabitants.

Yeah I am using a biowheel and a strong powerhead along with the live rock as filtration and circulation. I do 33% water changes every 2 weeks so I hope I should be good if there's a little water displacement... Thanks...

 

[seffieuk]

Oh dear, I'm going to disagree with Colin here

You must be just as careful not to use too much lr as you are not to use too little - if you use too much then you will create dead spots and have poor water flow

The rule you mentioned is a good one, 1.5 lbs will see you right, try not to go more than 1.75 lbs a gallon - sounds like you will have some left over to sell - excellent for someone

I also wouldn't scrub the rock if it is going straight from a mature tank to another mature tank - that's whats great about this forum, different ideas and mixes and then you take your choice

Sure there will be other people along who will also give their opinons

Seffie x

 

[smokinjoe2122]

Oh dear, I'm going to disagree with Colin here

You must be just as careful not to use too much lr as you are not to use too little - if you use too much then you will create dead spots and have poor water flow

The rule you mentioned is a good one, 1.5 lbs will see you right, try not to go more than 1.75 lbs a gallon - sounds like you will have some left over to sell - excellent for someone

I also wouldn't scrub the rock if it is going straight from a mature tank to another mature tank - that's whats great about this forum, different ideas and mixes and then you take your choice

Sure there will be other people along who will also give their opinons

Seffie x




Thanks for the info, unfortunitally we don't have a descent scale, so I will just have to guestimate or approximate with the scale we have... But the real question here is going from this mature tank...There is a lot of growth on these live rocks, BUT there is also a lot of wierd algae and a lot of cynobacteria....Wouldn't it be safer to get some of this algea off of the rocks??? Or will it die under my smaller tanks settings?...Also on the 55 gallon, we have compact fluorescent lights strong enough to grow low light corals, which also has made for a lot more growth on these live rocks than the ones in my smaller tank. That has just a fluorsecent light on the top since I don't have $300+ to try to retrofit another light on such an oddly shapped tank.... Someday!

 

[Colin_T]

If there is blue green algae (Cyanobacter) living on the rock, then you want to remove it before putting the rock in the other tank. Otherwise it will probably keep growing in the new tank. Often there is a lot of sediment attached to the rock under the Cyanobacter and this can contribute to its growth. Shaking the rock in a bucket of old tank water will usually remove most of this. However, sometimes it needs to be hosed off. If you have to hose the rock down, then I would put it back in the original tank for a couple of weeks to recover, then move it to the new tank.
Cyanobacter is often associated with uneaten food (especially dry food) decomposing on the rocks or substrate. Feeding less dry food and removing any uneaten food will usually help reduce the problem.
It can also be caused by old lights and lack of water movement.

 

[seffieuk]

If there is blue green algae (Cyanobacter) living on the rock, then you want to remove it before putting the rock in the other tank. Otherwise it will probably keep growing in the new tank. Often there is a lot of sediment attached to the rock under the Cyanobacter and this can contribute to its growth. Shaking the rock in a bucket of old tank water will usually remove most of this. However, sometimes it needs to be hosed off. If you have to hose the rock down, then I would put it back in the original tank for a couple of weeks to recover, then move it to the new tank.
Cyanobacter is often associated with uneaten food (especially dry food) decomposing on the rocks or substrate. Feeding less dry food and removing any uneaten food will usually help reduce the problem.
It can also be caused by old lights and lack of water movement.

Will remember that tip when the day comes for an upgrade - thanks Colin

Seffie x