Replace LR

[Tokyoyankee]

I replaced all my LR this weekend with new cured Tonga branches from my LFS. My previous rock was never properly cured and was always covered with algae no matter how much carbon or gfo I ran.

Do you there would be an ammonia spike?

 

[Dkuhlmann]

You need an ammonia spike to start the cycle of your tank. Also the algae stages you went through before with the other rock you will go more than likely go through again with this new rock or any other rock you get. It's all a part of the process of letting your tank mature and evolve. They algae eventually does go away but it has to mature first.

UNLESS you were to start with fully mature rock several years old and put it directly into the new tank. Depending on how far you need to move it and how long it's not in circulating SW will depend on how much of the bacteria dies This is what creates the ammonia spike. Ammonia feeds the bacteria which helps them to grow,and then the cycle continues to nitrites and finally nitrates...

I think if you read up on the nitrogen cycle of a saltwater tank you will get a better understanding of what your tank is going through and why.

 

[Tokyoyankee]

The new rock has been curing at the LFS for a while so I'm hoping there will be no cycle or limited cycling in my tank. I've got 8 fish and several corals in the tank.

 

[Entacmaea]

Just adding to the good advice Dkuhlmann is giving - I wouldn't necessarily expect the new LR to produce a cycle, but entering a new tank with that many fish and essentially swapping out your entire biological filter is potentially a risk (though I don't know the tank size or how many pounds of rock) If you don't have ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate test kits - I would grab some and monitor the water just in case. You may not get any ammonia spike, but given the risk to the 8 fish, a test kit is small insurance. Be ready with some pre-mixed salt water for a water change in case you read any ammonia or nitrite.

Also, while some algae is common in new tanks, prolonged nuisance algae is likely a sign of other problems in the tank, with the source water, or insufficient nutrient export. You might share some other info about your tank and filtration, so we can perhaps avoid another nuisance algae outbreak (which is possible even with the best cycled LR) which I know is incredibly frustrating and demoralizing!

 

[reef thief]

Don't sweat it. I used to do it all of the time. You have the bacteria in your tank. There is a difference between throwing dead or partially dead live rock into your tank and what you did. You moved "good to go" rock from one system to another. It's likely that your old rock was fully cured but not fully seeded with coraline growth which will prevent GHA from establishing. Put your old rocks outside in the sun for a week and let them die completely. Scrub them with a wire brush and get as much death off as you can. You can start over with those dead dry rocks by recycling them in a separate system or container and throw some coraline shavings in with it. When you fully seed them with purple it will make it hard for GHA to ever gain a foothold. As for your parameters...any change will cause a change but you did it the easy way.

 

[Tokyoyankee]

Thank you all for your input. I haven't tested ammonia in years, therefore no ammonia test kit. My nitrates are at zero and po4 2ppb.

I had persistent issues with the previous rock bc I never properly cured it and was leaching. Tank looks great right now. It's roughly 90gallons with 45 lbs of new well cured Tonga branches.

Sorry I should have phrased my question better

Do you think there will be any spikes in water parameter as I'm replacing old improperly cured rock with well cured rock?

 

[Denbf58]

being that you already swaped the rock i would go to lfs and get a test kit or at least a ammonia badge
and some detoxifer in case of aspike

 

[ReefEco]

Two schools of thought on this one - neither is really right or wrong. The "you'll be fine camp" or "Don't sweat it camp" - who are probably right in the end. Then there is the more cautious "be prepared" camp that is advocating testing and preparing for the worst, just in case (probably because the worst has happened to us). You just have to decide your comfort level with either - one costs a little more time and money, the other probably gets to say I told you so : ) It all depends on how you are wired, and how much you worry about your tank.