Changing Aquascape Need advice please

I need to add more rock to my tank so ill be moving things around and i need to know how long my rock and coral can be out of the water without complete disaster. Do i need to keep it submerged or can i just keep a wet papertowel on it? Also i am adding more dry sand that i remove awhile back and have decided to put back in to have a deeper sand bed, are there any precautions i should take? I want to keep losses to a minimum so any suggestions would help greatly!;D;D;D;D;D

 

well, you dont want to risk anything, its just not worth it. what I would do is make up a 5 gallon bucket and put your LR in there and maybe a smaller one for your corals (depending on how many you have) most corals can infact be out of water for a bit but even if they are a hardy coral its still damaging to them. and if you want to add the sand with the water still in your tank, take a one or two liter bottle and put the sand in it, place the bottle up right in your tank so the water flows down into it and the water will settle through the sand and the air will come out. as soon as the water has filled the bottle tip it over and poor the sand out! works wonderfully!

 

during low tide in the ocean corals can spend up to 2 hours out of water and be fine. i would not suggest keeping them out quite that long but you could probably be fine 30 minutes to an hour im thinking. depends on the coral. no sponges out of water.

 

I always put my rock in tank water when I am arranging things. I also do the same for any corals.(in a seprate container from the rock) if your rock is out of water to long it will cause die off.
Why risk it when you have the wayer right there. Buckets are cheap.

 

+1
totally agree

 

Looks like you are taking on a lot at one time - The sand even though it's dry was used at one point. I would very seriously consider rinsing it out really well before adding it to your tank.

The other question I'd have is about the rock and if it's fully cured. Even cured rock can cause a small cycle if it's out of the water for too long.

If this was one of my tanks I'd wash the sand pretty well and add that to a rubbermaid tub along with the new rock with a heater and power head. I'd leave it in there for a couple of weeks and watch for a cycle... if it does cycle - no problem. Let it cycle in the tub and transfer it to your tank once it's done. It's better than dealing with that in your tank.

At the very least have some extra mixed salt water on hand if you add the stuff directly to your tank... you may have to soft cycle the tank and be ready to do water changes at a moments notice to keep the ammonia down.

I'm not a huge fan of recycling sand. You can get some cheap non-live sand that you know is clean and add that. Your LR and existing sand will make it live in no time.

I like the 2 litter bottle idea - I'll have to try that some time. What I've seen people do is use a funnel and some PVC pipe to add the sand and make sure it gets where they want it and not all over the rocks or whatever.

Good Luck