Storing Live Rock

[megs_clark]

I let mine dry out and stored it in a rubbermaid in the attic. When I recently restarted my tank it was nice to have dry rock to aquascape with, pest free. Had to wait a bit longer to cycle, but bonus I didnt have a big algae outbreak for starting out. If your storing it for a long period of time it might be worth doing.

[Myka]

I would sell it and buy again later. If you dry it out you're not any further ahead as the rock isn't live anymore. It takes a long time to leech all the dead stuff out of the rocks when you get them wet again, and takes even longer to re-establish the anaerobic bacteria needed for denitrification (different than the aerobic bacteria needed for nitrification that colonize quickly). Besides, the rock is worth something while it is still live...probably $4/lb. Once you dry it out its value is only about $1.50/lb which is easily replaceable, so I say sell it while it still has some value.

[hummer]

Thanks for the replies.

Myka: What kind of time frame are we looking at when you say "long time"?

[Myka]

For leeching? Probably 8-12 weeks.

[megs_clark]

I think it might depend on your rock when you dry it. Mine didnt seem to leach anything. I through my "dead rock" in the tank, Put a few pieces of liverock from my other tank into my sump, It wasnt much just a couple pounds and waited it out a few weeks. I liked that after the expences of getting a new tank set up It was a bonus not having to part with a big chunk of money in rock also. If your tank is clean right now I wouldnt worry about your rock leaching. But like previously said, you can totaly get $4 a pound live, Dead to someone else its not worth much. For personal use, I prefer it dead. It seems like everytime I buy rock off someone it comes with some hidden pest.