Re-doing rock work

[theyangman]

I have grown bored of my current aquascape, and considering I don't have any corals to speak of, I figured this would be a good time to re-do the rockwork in my tank. Are there any tips on making this process go easier? Or is it going to be as huge of a pain in the ass as i think it is going to be?

 

[theyangman]

Also can the rocks be laid out on a table without crap dying immediately? Or do I have to keep it submerged in salty water at all times?

 

[benzzz]

I have taken LR out a done rearranging. Depending on how much life is on the rock. Be careful with exposing sponge as it has low tolerant to air in most cases.

 

[unibob]

Most liverock is shipped here in no water and just wrapped in soaked newspaper. You are going to have die off and a cycle regardless....quicker you do it less will die. Even just rearranging in tank you will most likely get a bloom of some sort.


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[reeffreak]

The second bacteria on the rock is exposed it starts to die off, I just had my rock out of the tank today for 15 min or so, I doubt it would be anything major for a cycle. I don't see a problem with it.

 

[pulpfiction1]

myself i would use prime as this is being done to neutralize the ammonia's created from any die off

 

[bart84]

get a Rubbermaid bin and lay them in there. Then take some old towels and soak them in tank water, Then drap them over the rocks to keep them nice and wet. you should be ok. I did that when I did my tank swap and didn`t have much die off.

 

[Duke]

i've done it a bunch while rearanging.. as long as you dont bake it in the sun or a window your good to take as long as you need to rearrange stuff, if you get a bloom or anything itll be from the junk you stir up in the sand.. not from rock die off. like jerry said they ship the stuff dry with just wet newspaper on top and it comes live still. 30 minutes to an hour is nothing at all to worry about. do the wet towel thing and youd probably be good for hours and hours.

 

[AdInfinitum]

i've done it a bunch while rearanging.. as long as you dont bake it in the sun or a window your good to take as long as you need to rearrange stuff, if you get a bloom or anything itll be from the junk you stir up in the sand.. not from rock die off. like jerry said they ship the stuff dry with just wet newspaper on top and it comes live still. 30 minutes to an hour is nothing at all to worry about. do the wet towel thing and youd probably be good for hours and hours.

+1  you will likely get a diatom bloom on any freshly exposed rock surfaces but it will die off quickly.

I have been re-scaping my tank as well, no issues so far but and I have also been replacing established rock with other pieces from my archives (the buckets of dry rock in the basement).  In that case I have been careful to do a section at a time waiting for the new pieces to populate with life before doing the next piece so I don't upset the balance too much.