Chase31's 50 starfire aquascape reef

[Chase31]

So this tank is a long time in the making, due to taking on a new job I have been really busy and on the road a lot. Now that I think I have time to get back into it. First I have a few questions that will help me in making this work better.

Okay so here's the deal I had live rock in an old tank circulating. I moved it into this new one and the fish died. I moved to a new place, filled it up with fresh salt water then put the rocks in and its been circulating with no skimmer for 3-4 months now. From what I can tell all the rock is dead, and I haven't checked for ammonia yet, I will do a test tommrow. But what is the best way to tell if I have live or dead rock?