Storing live rock (How would you handle this?)

So here's my deal. I have a 22 gallon nano at home and a 29 gallon with a 20 gallon sump at work. I've had them both running for a few years and my main intention was to consolidate into a single large aquarium at home when I moved.
I moved in December and between having a pool and pond and countless other things to do around the house, I've decided I have no time or money to upgrade to a roughly 75 gallon tank, although I do have one at home in storage which isn't very pretty. If I do it, I'm doing it right the first time and getting a NICE new 75 gallon.
So I currently want to take down my 29 gallon that I have running at work. It has around 30 pounds of live rock with some soft corals on it. No algae at all and lots of nice coraline. It's a real shame to take apart, but I honestly don't have the time or energy to spend on it any longer. So I'd like to store the live rock for use sometime in the future. Should I simply remove the rocks, chisel off the corals and let the rocks air dry? I plan on bringing the corals to the LFS and maybe getting some credit. I could use a few fish for my nano at home. I just hate to take these rocks and let them dry, they're real NICE.

 

You could always keep the rock wet. Put it in a "sealable" container and drop a small circulating pump into it, or drill a 3/16" hole in the lid and drop a rigid airline into it for circulation. We keep excess rock this way quite often. Every so often you can check to see if it needs a top-up. Your rock won't completely die this way so it's easy to "kick start" when you're ready to use it.

 

Wow, I did not know that was an option. You don't need to "feed" the live bacteria on the rock?

 

that's a great idea - how long do you think you can keep rock like this?
and to chumslickjon question, do you need to "feed" the rock at any point?

 

When you cycle a tank the bacteria needs ammonia to start the nitrogen process. The point of keeping the rock "live" is to keep that bacteria in good health. I would assume that rock being stored without an ammonia source for many months would starve and kill the good bacteria that I would want to keep. If this is the case, the rock might as well be dried for storage. But I honestly don't know for sure, which is why I ask the questions hahaha.

 

+1 to this. I'd keep it wet especially since you feel like it's really good rock.

 

I would dry it out and store it.