introducing liverock

[pottsburg]

I'm about to put my tank together. If I get my water properly mixed with salt, what process do I need to follow for putting live rock in the system? It's a 55gallon setup, would putting 50lbs of rock in at once be a bad idea? Thanks ahead of time.

 

[boxfishpooalot]

Depends if its cured rock or uncured. If its uncured the delicate organisms living on it may die and raise ammonia, nitrite, nitrates and phosphates. Then you will see an algal bloom.

If the rock is cured you may still see minor die off. I would mix your water and let it sit areated for about 24 hours. Make sure the SG level is 1.026 and then put the rock in. Monitor ammonia and make sure that you dont add any life untill the nitrogen cycle is completed.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If there is nothing else living in the tank, then adding it all at once is the way to go.

 

[cammy]

and then what? if you are using it to cycle your tank do you do water changes and when?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If the water seems to have a lot of nitrate in it after cycling, then you could do a water change for that reason. I never did, but many folks do. It may depend on the severity of the die off and cycling.