Live Rock advice

Ok so I've been curing some live rock and base rock in a 10 gallon tank for the past month. All levels are good. Ph 8.2, nitrate 0, Nitrites 0, ect 0. So here my question... Would it be ok to move these pieces of live rock/base rock into my already established 30 gallon tank? Or would all hell break lose and I'd get a recycle? I've never done this before and after long thought I'd like my rock higher and bolder for my coral. Thanks ahead of time everybody :)

If it were me I'd add the rock gradually and keep testing, but I'm pretty risk adverse LOL

Thanks everyone.

Well it was once live rock, it sat out for over a month, so I re cycled it just in case. I didn't know if I had to or not... But today I might be adding it into my larger tank.

It was in my mother in laws tank. She sold her tank and gave me her rock. I scrubbed it and completely washed it first. Than put it in my 10 gallon nano with 2 small pieces of live rock.

Builder, I'm curious why you wouldn't use this rock.  It's previous live rock that has been dried, cleaned and cured.  I can think of no reason not to use it and have done similar with rock myself several times.  Am I missing something?

Personally I think this is being extra cautious, there can't be anything alive on it now except bacteria from the curing process.

Builder, no need to apologize, I was simply wondering what your thoughts were.  I was definitely not saying your advice was wrong, everyone has their own opinions and in this hobby there are MANY ways of doing things successfully.

I agree that there could be dead stuff deep inside the rock, but my perception is that after curing for a month that stuff should be breaking down and once the cycle is truly in place it is no longer a problem.  I believe that the same is probably true for dead base rock, there is likely dead stuff deep inside it that we can't clean out manually.

As to how much to put in a tank at once I think that depends on the size of the tank and the status of the tank.  Putting 30-40 lbs in my well established, 10 years, 180 gallon tank has not been a problem.  Putting that in a 30 gallon tank that has fish and corals, but not much rock yet could be a whole different story.  In a small tank like that maybe go a bit at a time over 5 or 6 months.  (I must admit I don't have that kind of patience and would probably drop it all in at once and hope the curing process had done it's job, but this might not be the best way to go.)  In a brand new 30 gallon tank with no other significant life in it, yea, build your reef, seed it with small bits of live rock and let it do it's thing.  Then start adding life a little at a time.

I was able to use live rock that died off in a tank.. it took over a month to fully cure again but it is now in a 10 gallon tank that's home to a few life forms and coral. I'd say you could use it if all your params are correct... maybe try adding some inexpensive coral to that tank or some inverts to see how those hold up first... Also, before you switch it over, do it during a water change and give it a few dips to help wash anything off... but be sure it's clean water and not full of stuff you vacuumed up.. After you put it in, watch the params for a few days to a few weeks to make sure nothing is going wrong..

Edited by phys - October 25 2012 at 1:54pm

Ok so today I added a single, 4lbs piece... I'll keep you all updated to see what happens.