Are you going to remove all the live rock or just some of it? I would have to take a wild shot at this and say it would have some effect, as to how much I couldn't say. An answer to that has to be on a search engine somewhere. As reefers we add the rock for primarily the bio filtering process, secondly a place for our corals to grow and third cause we like the natural effects and looks real purdy when coaline, sponge, and mini dusters are growing on it.