Curing LR

[New_Reefer_1]

Hi All,

I bought some base rock and Live rick last week, the rock has been curing and was kept wet all the way until I got home. I placed it in my tank along with the live sand.

Some invertibrates have been crawling out (which I would assume is a good sign) However, I have noticed that some of the corraline has been turning white - which means its dead. Do I need to scrub these white parts of my LR off? or should I just leave it as it is in the tank to cycle?


Thanks for the help!!

 

[NewSchool04]

leave it in the tank for the cycle, don't scrub the rocks. The corraline will come back, no worries. If you see any noticible sponges, dead macro algae, anything that looks like it's dead, try to remove it.
Good flow, water changes and good skimming, you'll be good to go.

 

[New_Reefer_1]

Thanks NewSchool! I appreciate your response. I checked the water parameters and it looks like:

Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 10
pH: 8.2

Last time I checked, I had a little ammonia in there (0.25ppm), 0 nitrites and 10 nitrates.

Does that mean that my tank has cycled? Or should I wait a little longer to add some fish in there?

 

[NewSchool04]

Looks like the cycle is done but I would still wait and see what happens for a week. I know it's tough but take this time to inspect your rock, make sure you don't have any unwanted hitch hikers, do some more tests and let the rock and tank marinate for a bit. The more stable the tank is, the better chances of success with both your fish and corals.

What type of filter system are you using and what sized tank?

 

[New_Reefer_1]

Alright, thanks NewSchool. What should I look for while im inspecting the rocks? (You mentioned some unwanted hitch hikers) - how do they look like?

I am using a 54 Gallon corner tank with a wet/dry (sump) filter and skimmer. I just added some LS and LR last Sunday, and I have been running the tank ever since.

 

[Pufferpunk]

I just purchased a big rock. I was told it had been cured but it had just come in, so watch my nitrites. Boy, am I glad I put it in a seperate tank & not my my main one! Nitrites went off the chart & there is all sorts of dying, rotting things I've been scrubbing off. Yesterday (after doing a 100% water change a couple of days ago), the nitrites were at around 1 & nitrates around 25, so things are looking better. Just did another 100% WC today & scrubbed off another slimy thing. My main tank thanks me for all the WC!

 

[NewSchool04]

Just like Pufferpunk said, slimey things that don't look like they belong . . . looks like dead lettuce or rotten vegetables . . . does not belong! You can also depending on where you get your LR from (Pacific or Carribean) have hitch hiker crabs or mantis shrimp.

Is your skimmer producing skimmate? What brand of skimmer are you running?

 

[New_Reefer_1]

Wow. So are you going to let your new rock cure in the separate tank, and then introduce its home tank? Do you have lighting and a heater in your curing tank?

 

[New_Reefer_1]

I am not sure what brand skimmer it is, I bought it used along with the wet/dry. I noticed that it produced skimmate the first few days, and for the past 4 days, it has not been producing anything - is that a good sign?

 

[NewSchool04]

no, that's a bad sign. Your skimmer should be crushing it right now, pulling out a lot of real smelly, dark, nasty skimmate. You should figure out what type of skimmer you have and also start think about getting a better one.

 

[New_Reefer_1]

Ok, what suggestions do you have for a good skimmer? And approx. what price range am I looking at?

 

[NewSchool04]

That would really depend on your sump and what type of room you have. Do you know how big your sump is, how many gallons?

 

[New_Reefer_1]

I have an Amiracle sump, approx 10 gallons - ths skimmer is a hang on skimmer (with a Maxi-jet 1200 pump) it seems to be good size - not sure what brand to be honest, it just says "Keep Water Level Cu-75"

 

[Pufferpunk]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8773310#post8773310 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by New_Reefer_1
Wow. So are you going to let your new rock cure in the separate tank, and then introduce its home tank? Do you have lighting and a heater in your curing tank?

I have a 15g tank, I had origionally set up as an anemone frag tank but the anemone will have to wait. I have a single PC 50/50 bulb, heater & Aquaclear filter w/cheato in it. I'm hoping the good nitrifying bacteria will grow onto the cheato, so the tank will be able to support anemones when the rock is done.

 

[New_Reefer_1]

It looks like you've got it all setup and going puffer.

If you read the previous posts, Newschool suggests that I get a new skimmer. The one that I got is not doing a really good job skimming. I only have LR and LS in my tank, and I have not seen the black, slimy, smelly skimmate. Any suggestions on a good skimmer?

 

[Pufferpunk]

What size tank?

 

[New_Reefer_1]

Its a 54 gallon

 

[Pufferpunk]

Cool! I have the perfect skimmer for ya. I just took it off my 55g to upgrade to a 90g. It's a Coralife Super Skimmer, rated for a 125g tank. Brand new impeller (dog ate the other one). Only $100. You can't beat that for a skimmer that works so well. It can be used HOB or in a sump.

 

[lovereefs1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8773511#post8773511 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by New_Reefer_1
I have an Amiracle sump, approx 10 gallons - ths skimmer is a hang on skimmer (with a Maxi-jet 1200 pump) it seems to be good size - not sure what brand to be honest, it just says "Keep Water Level Cu-75"

Does your skimmer resemble this one?
http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_protein_skimmers_aquac_remora_pro.asp?CartId=

If it is an AquaC Remora, the collection cup may need to be cleaned every 3 days or so to keep it producing skinmate. Gunk forms on the riser tube and knocks down performance. When I ran ours on the MJ1200, it would skim great for 3 days then just stop until we cleaned it.

 

[New_Reefer_1]

Thank you guys for your input. lovereefs, I checked out your link above, however that is not my skimmer. I will try to take some pics and post them, because I tried to look for a skimmer that resembles mine on any website, but had not luck

The good news is, I disassembled my skimmer and found that the air-intake valve was clogged with some salt, so there was no air being mixed with the water. I cleaned that out and started the skimmer, and I can see some foam dripping in the collection cup.