Scrubbing Live Rock in a nearly-cycled aqaurium

[Mandy_R]

Hi Guys,
this is my first post!! I set up a 48wx18dx24h FOWRL about 4 weeks ago, ammonia has spiked and is now zero, and nitrite has recently spiked and is on the way down. My live rock has some debris and stuff on it that i would like to scrub off, but I'm worried about interrupting the cycling process. Will taking live rock out to clean it cause any major issues with the nitrogen cycle?
Sorry if this is a silly question but I'm very much a newbie!!
Thanks

 

[Mandy_R]

oh yeah my live rock was pre-cured

 

[Anonymous]

Mandy_R,

:welcome:

You don't need to "scrub" the rock, in fact that would not be a good idea. Just "storm" the tank, i.e. take a powerhead and blow the debris off the rock and into the water column for the filters to pick up.

 

[mr_X]

i wouldn't pull the rock out of the water anymore. just like lawdawg said...just blow the junk off and siphon it out or let the overflow get it.

the rock being precured really doesn't matter much. when you pull it out of the water, things die off again, and the rock needs to be re-cured. that's why you got the ammonia spike.
good luck!

 

[ChrisRD]

It's not necessary to take it out - as mentioned just blow the crud off with a powerhead and syphon it out of the tank.

That said, it's fine to remove rock to pick/clean stuff off provided you put it right back in the tank - just don't leave it out for long periods of time. You can also swish the rock around in a bucket of tank water to help clean off detritus. I've done this plenty of times and never experienced any significant dieoff or ammonia spike afterwards...

 

[Mandy_R]

Thanks heaps guys that helped alot!

 

[lwflyrod]

Dont take the rock out of the tank, if you have some green algae growing buy a new vegetable brush, I found a little one about 2.5" in diameter that works well and just brush off what you dont want, let the filter pick it up.

My tank has been going on 1 year now, This pic was taken after 4 months have good bit of coraline algae growing now. every now and then when I see accumulation of something I dont like, just take the brush to it.

Good luck

 

[Anonymous]

I dont mean to hijack, but to add to the question... What about water changes during cycling? Are you still supposed to do normal water changes or wait until the cycling period is over? My water is starting to get some light green tint to it after a week and a half. Looks like maybe algae is starting to creep ?
Is that normal during the process?

Thanks

 

[lwflyrod]

Yes, thats normal, you will get a all kinds of stuff growing dont panic.
Hopefully you dont have your normal lights on for extended periods of time. Sun light also adds to the extended growth of algae, Cut down on the sunlight too. Should only be on a couple of hours a day, that will reduce some of the green algae. Check your skimmer pads, depending on your setup rinse them out and return them, after a couple of weeks when your cycling is over, you might want to add a cleaner pak, contains some turbos, and other types of snails and crabs that will eat most of your green.
Use the vegetable brush to brush off the unwanted green if it gets too bad.
Your probably getting close to being cycled.
As far as water changes, well after its cycled then do a change, I have a 37 gallon Red Sea tank, and I use the premix salt water, because I dont have room for a big RO setup. Works well, a little more costly but due to room its easier. I change once a month like clock work. Havent had a problem yet. but dont forget to test your water and make sure your tanks ph and salinity are right. if its growing on the glass get one of those magnetic brush things (not sure the name) to run on the glass.

 

[ChrisRD]

I'm assuming the green is algae growth on your glass which is normal. Typically you wouldn't see a green tint in your water unless you're having some sort of phyto bloom or serious DOC build up. Anyway, it's fine to do the water change. It won't hurt and can only help IME...

...to elaborate a bit (OK, a lot... :wink: ) - IMO the idea that we need to hold off on water changes or add stuff to the tank to force a "cycle" is leftover from the days when most of us had to contend with getting bacterial colonies developed in an inert biofilter (ie. wet/drys, canisters, undergravel setups, etc.) when starting up a saltwater tank, and is not very applicable to fowlr/reef tanks that are being set up with live rock.

Live rock is already colonized with loads of nitrifying/denitrifying bacteria. It's also colonized with a lot of delicate life, so IMO the last thing you want to do is purposely allow wastes to build up in the system and let it sit in a soup of toxins. Even a relatively small rise in ammonia can potentially kill off some of the life you're trying to preserve which sorta defeats the purpose of paying the high price to get rock that is live.

Personally, when I start a tank with live rock, my intent is to keep the water as clean as possible - especially in the initial stages. I do that with a good skimmer, activated carbon, siphoning detritus, removing any necrotic stuff from the rock and, if needed, some water changes. IME this will minimize the build up of toxic wastes/metabolites in the system and leave you with better rock down the road.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks.
I scrubbed the glass with my algae scrubber and used the power head to blow some of the junk off of the rocks. I'll let the skimmer grab what it can and keep waiting it out. (Oh, I also did a water change last night)