Liverock out of water for a couple days

[Junmity]

There was a guy selling some live rock that has been out of water for a couple days.

does that mean it will have to go through the full curing process and take 6-8 weeks before its ready??

[fishytime]

you would be correct.....just like a LFS store with a fresh shipment.....if its a large amount then your gonna want to cure it before adding it to your tank.....if its just a few pounds then I wouldnt worry too much about it....Im assuming of course that you have a running tank that you want to add it to.....if not then dump it in and let the cycle begin...

[Junmity]

the fact that its been out of water for several days doesnt mean its totally dead?

would there still be enough organisms alive?

[Aquattro]

If it's dry, then it will be mostly dead. While it may take less than 6 or 8 weeks to be NH3 free, it will likely take a lot longer before it functions properly as live rock (denitrifying bacteria in the pores need to build up).

Another concern is much of the organics have died, dried up and are phosphates caches now. Adding water could result in elevated PO4 with the associated problems.

Old dried up LR is often not the deal it first appears to be..

[gobytron]

plus, it should be wayyyyy cheaper if its not "live".

like 2$/lb or so IME.