How do I know if my newly purchased live rock is CURED???

[dnorton1978]

Just added 10lbs new rock to my existing tank that has been running for about 8 months. Chnged water today and added the rock, now i am picking up nitrite... The rock did not smell bad, but i dont know what to look for. ANy input on how to identify cured vs uncured would be great. If more information is needed from me let me know.. thanks

 

[Anonymous]

You can't really see if rock is cured per say, unless it's got dead or dying guck all over it. Only sure way is to watch the water parameters and if ammonia/nitrite/nitrate begin to spike, the rock isn't fully cured.

 

[dnorton1978]

Lawdawg
Okay if that starts to spike, what do i do. Apparently the damage is done. How long does the spike last, and what is the fastest way to fix it. Prior to adding the new rock today i moved all my existing rocks to clean under them. It stirred up a lot of stuff in the tank. The water I removed was the dirtiest water I ever had. Could that be the cause of the spike. That is stirring up all that stuff that was under the rocks? Please say yes.......... I need your guidance please..Thank you

 

[Anonymous]

No, as I indicated in your other thead, stirring up debris or detritus will not cause the spike you're experiencing. Adding new live rock on the other hand will. You have few choices going forward...add less and/or better quality live rock, or cure it further in another tank yourself before adding it to your display.

 

[Anonymous]

Lawdawg
.......... I need your guidance please..Thank you

YG PM...and as they say in the Galaxy

Give us some hard numbers to work with in terms of your test readings, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

 

[Mike612]

This is the way I tell the difference between cured live rock and uncured: uncured will smell horrible beyond your wildest dreams and cured will not smell at all.

 

[Anonymous]

This is the way I tell the difference between cured live rock and uncured: uncured will smell horrible beyond your wildest dreams and cured will not smell at all.

Not necessarily true Mike, "uncured" rock may not have dying guck all over it so it stinks, but still will be putting off ammonia as some types of bacteria in/on it dies. At the same time the beneficial bacterial populations have not build up to the point where the rock won't cause a spike in an established tank.

 

[dnorton1978]

Okay as of this morning here are some concrete numbers for you guys.
Ammonia 0
Nitrite is 0 today
Ph is 8.2
Nitrate is 20

I am going to do another water change today in hopes to lower the nitrate. Good news is the nitrite spike is alredy over, but now nitrate has popped up.. Hope this information is useful.

 

[Anonymous]

Okay as of this morning here are some concrete numbers for you guys.
Ammonia 0
Nitrite is 0 today
Ph is 8.2
Nitrate is 20

I am going to do another water change today in hopes to lower the nitrate. Good news is the nitrite spike is alredy over, but now nitrate has popped up.. Hope this information is useful.

It is useful, and since nitRATE isn't nearly so toxic as nitRITE so should be able to keep on top of it with lessening feedings, increased skimming (if you can) and water changes. But I am wondering if you didn't have a problem prior to adding the new rock. Usually an ammonia spike won't peak and diminish in a day, and it does take time for 'trite to go to 'trate-a couple of days at least.

 

[dnorton1978]

Hmmm.. Good point. When I made the initial post the nitrite was the only problem. The amonia was and is fine. Perhaps when i checked nitrate before an extra drop fell in or i was one short?????? In your opinion the nitrate i currently have is Not fatal? I am going to change about 10 gallons today out of 55. Any other advice or guidance would be appreciated. thanks lawdawg

 

[Anonymous]

Not fatal, no, but not good. 10% water changes will not do much of anything to dilute the nitrate, you need to do larger changes, 50-75% as I PM'd you eariler to even begin to impact that level.

I'd do a massive water change and then test the level 12 or so hours later to see how its going, and use that info to plan more water changes.

 

[dnorton1978]

Hey lawdawg..
here is what i think is a safer idea, let me know what you think..
Tdoay change about 15 gallons of water which is around 25%. Tomorrow morning re- test. Obviously still going to have nitrates, then do another change of about 15 gallons. To me, and this is just a newbie's opinion, it seems safer to do some smaller, but still good amount of water changes. Just day after day. The result should be the same, but at least i am not changing such a large portion that, if a certain chemical is off it wont shock them. I am a mortgage broker, so i have my own schedule. So time for me is not an issue. What do you think about my idea???? :?

 

[Anonymous]

Good questions. If you mix the water to the same temp, SG and ph there won't be any shock to the tank or it's inhabitants that's the key. Really you should be doing that with any water change anyway, it's just a good practice. There are those who do 100% water changes with no ill effects, myself included.

Smaller water changes simply will not change your water parameters all that much. Here's a good, although a bit technical article on how much water you need to change the tank's parameters.

http://www.reefs.org/library/article/t_ ... ll_wc.html

The bottom line is on this graph:

At 20 mg/l nitrate doing 10% water changes you'd need to do 22 changes to drop it to zero. 50% changes drop the level in 8 changes.

Making sense?

 

[dnorton1978]

Man that is good stuff. When i do my water changes i use a 30 gallon bin. I mix my salt, and check my SG, and PH. I put a thermometer and a powerhead in the bin, and let it mix and set up for several hours. I do a final check before adding to the tank. That inforamtion sounds good and makes a lot of sense. I always thought large water changes affect the overall health of your tank in a negative way. By that I mean almost starting your tank from scratch. Thus, beginning the cycle process over again. But from what your saying, it seems incorrect. thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

Man that is good stuff. When i do my water changes i use a 30 gallon bin. I mix my salt, and check my SG, and PH. I put a thermometer and a powerhead in the bin, and let it mix and set up for several hours. I do a final check before adding to the tank. ...

You're welcome, but ALWAYS age your salt water at LEAST 24 hours before you use it! That gives the chemicals time to dissolve and the oxygen to balance. More aeritation makes for a higher Ph (which is good, right?) and a more stable mix so I aeriate my R/O water (using an airstone and airpump for that container) before I mix it with salt.

Using fresh-mixed saltwater before it has had a chance to age can be very bad for the tank so planning ahead can avoid that whole problem.

What I have done is to have a 55 (or more) gallon plastic garbage can of saltwater mixed up at all times, kept at the proper temp by using a heater with a powerhead for circulation. When I did water changes, I tested the water in the can to make sure it was okay, used it for my changes. Then I added more R/O and salt to the can for next time.

That way if something happened and I need water in a hurry there is always some on hand.

 

[dnorton1978]

well, unfortunetly i did not read your last post until after i did ny change today. However, i did just set up another bin with about 25 gallons of fresh water treated with amquel. I believe you said to add the salt 24 hours later? Well i just want to fully prepare it for tomorrow. What is the major issue with not aging your water?? i am sure there is a few. 8O . Again thanks for everything MAnny you came and you saw..lol. thank you

 

[dnorton1978]

well, unfortunetly i did not read your last post until after i did ny change today. However, i did just set up another bin with about 25 gallons of fresh water treated with amquel. I believe you said to add the salt 24 hours later? Well i just want to fully prepare it for tomorrow. What is the major issue with not aging your water?? i am sure there is a few. 8O . Again thanks for everything MAnny you came and you saw..lol. thank you

 

[stubbsz]

There are those who do 100% water changes with no ill effects, myself included
...
Making sense?

Don't you find the fish get upset flapping around on dry rocks waiting for the replacement water. 8O

But seriously, how does one do a full 100% water change. I've never had to do that.

-Adrian

 

[dnorton1978]

LOL!! That is funny when put that way. Personally i would never do that much. The max i feel comfortable doing is 50%. Personally speaking, and i have never quite gone that high. Today was probably the highest evreat about 25%, and i will follow up tomorrow with about 25 - 30%. I do take everybody's feedback into consideration before making my final decision. Thanks everbody for all feedback...

 

[dnorton1978]

Would an additional H.O.T. filter benefit my current situation????? For those who do not know my system it is as follows.

I have a fluval 404
A seaclone 100
an over the back 30 - 60 gallon (would like to replace with HOT)
that is my basic filtration other than the 55 -60 lbs of LR

I am asking do to the nitrate issue that i am all of a sudden having. I am also considering getting rid of my fox face.. Being i have 7 fish..2 of which are small damsels. 2 others are small dwarf angels. Sailfin, and watchman goby.. I am thinking of going to buy a bunch more crabs too. I am in panic mode right now, so anyone feel free to chime in and let me know if I am over reacting, and should just stick to water changes, or WHAT???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????