old tank syndrome

[shaun11423]

hey guys and gyals, im getting some used live rock and sand from some members on here. I am really worried about getting old tank syndrome to soon by using old sand and live rock. I want to completely start fresh so i was thinking i will wash out all of the sand/live rock with fresh water and let it soak in fresh water for some time. Just to get ride of any algae or problems that i will later run into. My question is, is this a good path to follow?

 

[kenconnect]

If u do that u will have ur ammonia levels threw the roof.

 

[TRIGGERMAN]

Ummm Honestly I couldn't THINK of a WORSE idea. Why would you buy LIVE rock to KILL it? Putting it in fresh water will kill any life that's on it. IF you want to start fresh then just get dry rock. It's cheaper and you don't have to worry about any of that.

 

[TRIGGERMAN]

If u do that u will have ur ammonia levels threw the roof.

What does amonia levels when soaking in FRESH water have to do with anything?

 

[shaun11423]

If u do that u will have ur ammonia levels threw the roof.

sorry if i didnt say this before, this is a 180 gallon tank and im starting it from scratch, so i dont care if it cycles or has a huge spike in ammonia. i just dont want old tank syndrome and need a way to start fresh with old sand and live rock, thanks kenconnect

 

[shaun11423]

Ummm Honestly I couldn't THINK of a WORSE idea. Why would you buy LIVE rock to KILL it? Putting it in fresh water will kill any life that's on it. IF you want to start fresh then just get dry rock. It's cheaper and you don't have to worry about any of that.

thanks for the quick reply, but honestly i got a good deal on the live sand/live rock, I dont care if i kill everything on the live sand/rock thats the point. I would buy dry rock but i dont want to see plain dry rock and have it cycle in my tank and take years for it to grow Coraline algae on it. Also the benficail bacteria will eventually grow back on the rock, i assume.
On the other hand i completely agree starting with dry rock is safer and cheaper great advice.

 

[ming]

Old tank syndrome is usually from a length of time of neglect. Some people have very high nitrates/phosphates and never do water change, the rocks and sand get saturated and your corals usually suffer.

 

[TRIGGERMAN]

If you have rock that has coraline algae on it and put it in fresh water it's going to die and fall off. You will also have to cycle it again because it will have no life or bacteria on it. If you want I'll trade you some dry rock for the live rock I have a bunch of dry. That would make more sense lol

 

[shaun11423]

Old tank syndrome is usually from a length of time of neglect. Some people have very high nitrates/phosphates and never do water change, the rocks and sand get saturated and your corals usually suffer.

correct, since i dont know the full history of the live sand and rock i rather take a safer path and start from scratch, by drowning all the live sand and live rock with fresh water. I was thinking of washing the live sand and live rock with tap water and then let the items air dry and then soak them in ro/di water. The only thing i dont like about that plan is that i will be washin the live sand and live rock with tap water. Im not sure how i can get around that since i really want to get ride of all of the debris in the live sand and live rock and that takes allot of water and water pressure, thanks ming

 

[shaun11423]

If you have rock that has coraline algae on it and put it in fresh water it's going to die and fall off. You will also have to cycle it again because it will have no life or bacteria on it. If you want I'll trade you some dry rock for the live rock I have a bunch of dry. That would make more sense lol

thanks TRIGGERMAN, for the options but if i do clean and soak the sand and rocks i was hopping it will save some of the corline algea and i wont have to start from scratch. Man let me tell you i seen dry rock and its phases and i hate it, i hate to see it in my tank and wait a whole year just to get some color not to mention some signs of Coraline algea. thanks TRIGGERMAN

 

[TRIGGERMAN]

well believe me coraline algae is alive..just like the bacteria. If you put it in freshwater its going to die no matter what. So there's no point in doing this. Either use the live rock as is or use dry rock.

 

[shaun11423]

well believe me coraline algae is alive..just like the bacteria. If you put it in freshwater its going to die no matter what. So there's no point in doing this. Either use the live rock as is or use dry rock.

i hear you...

 

[howze01]

thanks TRIGGERMAN, for the options but if i do clean and soak the sand and rocks i was hopping it will save some of the corline algea and i wont have to start from scratch. Man let me tell you i seen dry rock and its phases and i hate it, i hate to see it in my tank and wait a whole year just to get some color not to mention some signs of Coraline algea. thanks TRIGGERMAN

Triggerman is right. If you soak the rock in fresh water, there is no way that you will be saving any coralline algae. I can see rinsing the sand but not the rock. You shouldn't have any problem growing coralline anyway. I set up a frag tank less than 3 weeks ago and it's already growing it like crazy. If you can't wait, just reseed it with some coralline scrapings from someone else's tank.

 

[Arati]

just rinse it all in saltwater then drop the rock ina big brute pail with a powerhead and keep shaking it out every few days. get it as cleaned up as possible.

you dont want to kill anything , just remove dirt.

 

[kenconnect]

What does amonia levels when soaking in FRESH water have to do with anything?

I had gotten rock for some 1 that was live b4 and they cleaned the rock and let it dry out, then I put it in a tank it shot the level way up

 

[daisy]

If the ammonia levels shot way up then there was something dead in that rock that didn't get washed out before you put it back in the tank.

If you want a head start on the coraline, all you have to do is seed the tank with live coraline from a friend's tank (or a pet shop). It will grow fast enough if you are dosing and lighting the tank.

What lots of folks do is use brand new sand and just take a cup or so of live sand from someone else's tank - preferably someone with really good maintenance habits and very few undesirables (flat worms, etc).

Another option is to get base rock for the structure of your rockwork, and live rock for the part of your rockwork that shows. The coraline from the LR should spread onto the base rock pretty quickly. This is less expensive than buying a ton of LR.

 

[ming]

freshwater will contain a lot of other nasties you probably don't want the rock absorbing. If you truely want to "cook" the rock, then its better being soaked in RO water with a powerhead and add some phosban/carbon reactor to the mix.

But why not just start with new dry rock?

 

[shaun11423]

ok i hear you guys loud and clear thanks for the quick response

 

[TRIGGERMAN]

If the ammonia levels shot way up then there was something dead in that rock that didn't get washed out before you put it back in the tank.

If you want a head start on the coraline, all you have to do is seed the tank with live coraline from a friend's tank (or a pet shop). It will grow fast enough if you are dosing and lighting the tank.

What lots of folks do is use brand new sand and just take a cup or so of live sand from someone else's tank - preferably someone with really good maintenance habits and very few undesirables (flat worms, etc).

Another option is to get base rock for the structure of your rockwork, and live rock for the part of your rockwork that shows. The coraline from the LR should spread onto the base rock pretty quickly. This is less expensive than buying a ton of LR.

exactly she is 100% right there was probably something dead dried on the rock which made the levels go up..scrub and scrape rinse thoroughly is the best way to ensure getting the cleanest rock possible. There is other methods for dry rock as well such as bleach or acid.

 

[JavyJaverson]

if you're going to kill the rock you might as well soak it in bleach water over night and leave it out in the sun to dry for about a week. I did this and didn't get any type of ammonia spike. Some people take it further and soak it in acid (muriatic, vinegar, etc), but i feel the bleach really melts off a lot of the organics and leaves the rock nice and pristine all in itself.