do we have to store live rock in water!!!?

Question

do we have to store live rock in water!!!
and what is the purpus of cycling a tank after we will chang all the water,will the bactira die?

Answer 1

It is best to keep the live rock in water if possible. The organisms that live on it (including the bacteria, which is what makes it "live") are all aquatic, so if they're exposed to air and dry out, they die andd will add ammonia to your tank when you put the rock in. And ammonia is toxic to the other life in your tank if the concentration is high enough.

Live rock is often shipped in wet newspaper to cut down on weight (and therefore, the shipping cost), but some organisms on it will die during the shipping process. That's why it's reccomended that you run it for a while in a tank with no fish while it "cures". Curing here is the same as cycling - you're building up bacteria to convert the ammonia produced to nitrite (which is still toxic), then to nitrate (which is harmless in moderate amounts). During the curing process, the ammonia is produced by dying organisms. When you cycle your tank, you can get ammonia from fish wastes, fish food, a small piece of raw shrimp, or by adding 100% ammonia to the tank.

The bacteria will live in the substrate and your filter media, not the water, so it's impossible to remove them all with a water change. And you should only change part of your water at any given time - no more than 25% unless there's an emergency situation. If you're using live rock, live sand isn't necessary. All the "live" refers to is the bacteria, and as the bacteria from the rock multiply, they'll colonize the sand. This shouldn't be actual "sand" but a crushed shell or coral material to help keep the pH elevated. I don't like the "packaged" live sand, because the bacteria you want needs oxygen to live - there may not be much "alive" if the bag sits on the shelf for very long. Plus I've seen "red slime algae" growing in more than a few bags, and this isn't something you want to add to your tank.

You can see more info about live rock and sand in the website below - this site has lots of good info on setting up a marie tank.

Answer 2

It's no 100% necessary to store it completely in water, but it is the best option. you can take a towel soaked it salt water and drape it over the top for periods less than 72 hours if indoors for longer take a power head and allow the water to "shoot" over the top of the towel to keep everything wet. the longer you do this the more matter will die causing a longer cycle.

the reason of cycling the tank is that when you introduce the live rock all the dead matter will rot causing ammonia to develop in your tank. ammonia is toxic to all aquarium life, and if you introduce anything living it will stress or kill it.

to set up a saltwater tank my advice would be to add the gravel (preferable live sand) then the live rock. pre-mix you salt water in a separate container till you get the correct specific gravity (1.020-1.025) then add it to the tank. turn on all you filtration and lights and let it run for 2-6 weeks. don't change all the water it's best not to change more than 20% a week this will kill off most of the bacteria you have causing you tank to become unstable again and you will have to cycle all over again. you will see brown algae bloom (diatoms) then go away. be sure to test your tanks levels (ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate) daily or every other day, you will see the ammonia go up then fall then the nitrite will rise and fall the the nitrate. when they all have settled out. add fish at 1" per 10 gallons of tank per week till you are where you want to be. I.E. if you have a 55 gallon tank after the cycle is complete don't add more than 5 1" fish or 1 5" fish. remember to take it slow and do all your research first salt water is an expensive hobby and it's not fun to loose hundreds of dollars of livestock due to being impatient.

Answer 3

Yes store live rock in water or newspaper soaked in water. You need to cycle your tank and not change the water or else what was the purpose of cycling it?