adding small amount of uncured live rock?

[criswallace]

i have a 65 gallon with about 50 pounds of well established live rock wondering i adding a 5 pound piece of "uncured" liverock well really mess up the tank that much?

[lost_at_sea]

it depends on how 'uncured' it is... obviously the more dead organics on the rock the more ammonia build up you'll have. 5lbs isn't that much but you only have 50lbs to begin with.

I'd say if it's only 5lbs cure it by it's self in a small container with waste water.

if you do decide to 'go for it' make sure you have lots of saltwater ready made incase you get an ammonia spike.

have you thought about adding totally dead rock? and just letting it populate over time to become live?

[redbelly]

It also depends what is in the tank.

If the tank is empty then it doesnt matter so much whereas a it can be a very big deal in a fully established reef.

[Hookup]

Any particular reason you want to keep it as "live rock"... you could just kill everything, rinse in hot water, bleach it, repeat... then add it as dead rock.. within a few days it'll become live again... 0 risk, 100% results... man, i should charge for this stuff.

[jimskoi]

5lbs is fine.Your tank(aslong as its aged) will not see a change.Just make sure there isnt any algae that you dont want in your tank on it.
If there is"Cook it" first.

[Cheebs]

I agree, I think it would be fine, I'd definitely give it a good scrubbing first, and if in doubt, cook it or cure it in separate water in a bucket, maybe with a powerhead if you want to get fancy.

[Hookup]

I'm suprised with ppl saying it's fine without knowing details...

In a general sense, sure... why not...

But w/o understanding more details you could easily be tipping the scales...

best of luck.

[Cheebs]

Well it's sort of all at the owner's discretion. Most replies are implying that if there is any doubt or if the rock does have significant matter on it that it should be cooked or cured elsewhere. I definitely wouldn't just toss it in the tank without thought.

[JD]

If your tank has inhabitants that you like why take a chance?