Cycling live rock and cleaning live sand

[kingtoad]

I recently purchased a reef setup.

I took the fish to the fish store so they can babysit them until I have my tank cleaned and ready to go again.

Well, after setting up the tank, I couldn't get a proper flow going through the sump so I left the water sitting overnight. When I came home the next morning from work my home smelled very bad. I picked up some of the live rock and there are worms hanging out of it and it wasn't slimey like it was the day before. I had come to the conclusion that my live rock is dead or dying.

I put the liverock in a trashcan with water and turned on a couple powerheads.

I have a couple questions here. I took out the sand and put it into a bucket. The sand is really dirty. It has a lot of crap in it, tons of bubble algae mixed in and a variety of other things. The sand is tinted a different color then it originally was.

What would be the best way to clean the sand? Would it be better just to buy new live sand?

I was told because of the current state of the live rock to NOT put any fish into the tank because the live rock was curing. If I have liverock in my tank along with the sand, how long does it usually take until it is OK to put fish back into the tank?

 

[SW1TCH]

If the sand has alot of bubble algae in it i personaly would not use it and would buy new sand. I would clean the tank out put new sand in it and cure the rock in the tank. That can take as long as a month. Than put some crabs and some snails in for a week or two if all goes well and you have no spikes than add a fish.

 

[kingtoad]

Thanks, Harley Dude.

I'll do that. I'll just need to find a new place to put the fish. I don't think the owner wants to hold them for longer than two weeks.

 

[kingtoad]

Also, there was a lot of bubble algae on the rock. Should I scrub it off before I put them back into the tank?

 

[Pandora]

king--

I think you're lucky that your LFS even offered to take them for that long... that was pretty nice of them! Most would not do that. Then again, you are starting up a new tank, I'm sure they're seeing some $$ signs from that

2 weeks should be enough time for you to get the tank at least partly cycled. Unfortunately, there was a lot of die off on the LR that didn't get circulation... hindsight is 20/20, but for the future, don't ever store that stuff in dead water, makes a huge mess, and you lose a lot of valuable life. Circulation is extremely important to the SW environment.

Yes, scrub off the rock, get off as much of the bubble algae as possible (pulling it off is better than popping it, to keep it from spreading). And you can buy sand to replace a lot of that other sand, but don't throw it all out. You will need at least some to seed and kick start the cycle in your tank, since you are rebuilding it after the move.

 

[kingtoad]

Thanks Pandora. It's a 60 gallon tank. How much of the old sand do you think I should put in with the new sand to start the cycle?

Do you think one bag would be enough?

 

[Pandora]

NP, king. I would go with half and half (depends on your finances, too... if you can't find cheap aragonite like Southdown, that stuff is $$ at the LFS). Bury most of the dirty old sand under the bags of new dry sand (after you rinse it, if that's what you decide to do... remember you will get cloudiness for a while regardless)... most of the older sand will end up being the anaerobic layer. Some of the aerobic dentrivores will be able to climb to the top, but hopefully any bubble algae will die that way. Leave a few cups to add to the top aerobic layer.

There is a sandbed calculator on the front page of RC on the bottom left, if you have a depth in mind. Most people recommend 4-6" for a good DSB (deep sand bed) that is fully functional. This sometimes comes out to around 1lb/gal.

 

[Pandora]

Oh, and if you decide to go with all the old sand, that would be ok too. People usually don't like to deal with the mess of it, as it can cause a tank crash if you have animals in there. In your case, your LFS is holding them, so it won't really matter as much. You could try to get most of the bubble algae out, but beyond that, don't worry about cleaning it to immaculate condition, you won't be able to, you can just stir it in a bucket a few times and call it a day. You are trying to keep at least some of the bacteria and dentrivores anyway, so it's no perfect science. Even if you just put it as is in the tank, it would eventually be ok.

 

[kingtoad]

Thanks again, Pandra.

I will probably go with your first suggestion and use half of the old sand and put it underneath the new sand.

I may have to purchase two bags. I priced aragonite at $33.00 for 30lbs at a store down here. I might be able to get away with one bag if I plan on utilizing some of the old sand.

Sounds like a great plan, really. I'm just worried about my fish. The fish store has had them since Sunday and I'm afraid of putting them into the tank during the cycle (too much ammonia?). He says he'll give me a call in two weeks to tell me to come pick up my fish. I sort of got the hint he doesn't want them there for that long though.

Do you have any recommendations on how I should handle this fish situation? I don't know anyone else with an aquarium to help me out.

 

[Pandora]

Your tank may be more settled by then... 2 weeks should be enough to at least get it up and running and partway through the process. I'm sure he doesn't really want them in there that long, but if he gave you his word, then I'd just count yourself lucky I'm sure he is thinking also of having a potential future customer, too.

If for some reason, he does put pressure to boot those fish; here's an idea. Where is Harbor City? Go to the main RC forums page, and scroll to the bottom. There's a blue section there with buy/sell forums, and also has local clubs. I highly recommend those to most newbies, it's a great way of connecting with fellow hobbyists. When I had a power outage disaster, I had people offering all sorts of generous things, and one of them was to house all my livestock until I could get back on my feet. Not that there's a guarantee everyone's so generous, but I think in general it's great to know local people... for advice (both general reef advice and also local-specific stuff like where the best/cheapest LFS are)... and for trading/getting cheap goods.