Purchased a used tank with rock that was live but now dry

[FLREEFER86]

I just purchased a used waterbox 65.4 AIO. Getting back in the hobby I loved after being out of it for 10 years. Setting it all up this weekend. With the purchase of the tank I acquired about 50 pounds of dry rock that was once live when the tank was broken down about 8 weeks ago. Should I use the same rock or should I use all new live rock from my lfs or buy dry rock? This will be a reef aquarium with a few fish.

 

[Fish Fan]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Are the rocks you have now dried out? You can reuse your rocks, but it's a very good idea to thoroughly clean all the dead and decomposing organics that are undoubtably still on them. Look into "bleach curing" the rock, which will oxidize organic material, and make the rock look white and new again. If you don't clean all that material off the rocks and you try to reuse them, it will all start to decay in your tank and I think it would cause problems with your tank.

You could also put all the rock in some kind of container like a Brute trash can with saltwater, a circ pump, and some starter bacteria or live rock, and then let this "cook" until the bacteria breakdown all the organics, but this can take weeks to months to complete, whereas the bleach method is much, much faster.

If you don't want to bother cleaning your rock, you can start with all new dry base rock.

Arguably better would be to use some to all real live rock that you get from a good Local Fish Store (LFS) or get the maricultured stuff from Tampa Bay Saltwater, which comes right out of the ocean before it goes in your tank; very cool and beneficial stuff. But by using some live rock you would be introducing beneficial microorganisms to your system. There's bottled bacteria products available, but many reefers here say they are just "snake oil", meaning they do not work, and most would agree that live rock brings the most life to your system right from the start.

Good luck with your tank!