too early for coral?

[aquapod]

i've had my tank up with just water and bacteria assisted sand up for 3 days now. I have 35 pounds of Live rock coming from tampa bay saltawter which will be teeming with life and coral. Is this too early to where the coral will just die off and kill everything?

 

[Fusch13]

So the tanks only been up and running for 3 days? If so, yes thats way too early!

 

[aquapod]

crud i already ordered the live rock.

 

[Fusch13]

ordering live rock is ok.....the tank will cycle faster with it....but as in ordering coral...wait a bit on that! Do you check the wate peramiters? Might want to get a kit....the first few weeks, they are all over the place...i dont have a nano, but i know when i set my 92 gallon reef up it cycled for a month or so before i added a fish....coral was about two months...i tend to take my time on adding things...less troubles that way..PATEINCE....thats a key word in this hobby ive learned! That and knowledge...and this site will help you with that.

 

[jcm1229]

You'll be fine adding live rock. I'd wait before adding any fish or corals since you MAY/MAY not experience any die off from the rock. I've setup tanks with out any problems and had a few tanks where I had a full blown cycle.

 

[aquapod]

yeah the problem I see is tampa bay saltwater live rock is compeltely covered in corals hard and soft. So its basically like picking up 40 pounds of coral at the LFS.

 

[Fusch13]

Is there anyway to stop the order?

 

[theop]

Don't worry about it. The best way to cycle is to buy LR and let it cycle/cure. Even though your TBS rock may have a good bit of life/corals on it, this is no reason to not use it for your tank setup. You'll probably have some die-off, but most if not all of it will grow back.

Just remember to remove/scrub off anything obviously dead and rinse the rock with fresh SW before you put it in your tank.

 

[Steven0000]

i usually wait about two weeks, take a water sample to the LFS, have them test it and tell me if im good for fish and corals
and usually im pretty ok after a week but i only buy if the water is ok
but i wouldnt worry about the LR
if you want to take less of a chance on the corals and stuff dieing then just acclamate it for and hour or so putting a little of your water in the bag a few times

the drip method is best