saltwater4me
Member
Hi, I have a 55 gallon tank, the nitrites were perfect, untill I added a piece of live rock in there. Can an uncured piece of live rock higher your nitrites?
Can uncured Live Rock......
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saltwater4me
Member
anyone???
fender
Active Member
Uncured live rock can cause a mini cycle of your tank. The curing process is essentially the dying off and rotting of damaged organisms in the shipping process. As the rotting occurs ammonia is generated and then nitrites and finally nitrates.
This is why you should be very careful when adding LR to an established tank. Especially if you add alot for your tank volume.
How long has your tank been up? How much rock did you add and how much was already there? How old is your tank?
If you already had alot of cured rock and the tank has been up for awhile (already cycled) then the nitrites should disappear soon.
This is why you should be very careful when adding LR to an established tank. Especially if you add alot for your tank volume.
How long has your tank been up? How much rock did you add and how much was already there? How old is your tank?
If you already had alot of cured rock and the tank has been up for awhile (already cycled) then the nitrites should disappear soon.
saltwater4me
Member
My tank is a 55 gallon f/o tank, it has been set up for 6 months, and it's only a little tiny piece, like a 1 pounder. Should I take it out?
fender
Active Member
You could take it out and keep it in another container intil the trites drop. Are your fish looking ok? How high are the trites? How long have they been above 0?
if it was me, and the numbers aren't very high, I would leave it in. But thats just me.
I have a 90g and added 5lbs of uncured and everything turned out ok, but I did have a couple of days with an ammonia spike and then the nitrites. At the time I only had damsels and hermits tho. Pretty tough critters.
if it was me, and the numbers aren't very high, I would leave it in. But thats just me.
I have a 90g and added 5lbs of uncured and everything turned out ok, but I did have a couple of days with an ammonia spike and then the nitrites. At the time I only had damsels and hermits tho. Pretty tough critters.
saltwater4me
Member
It's extremely high. But the wierd thing is that all of my fish are acting perfect. They haven't got disease, and still eating A OK. But, I want the nitrites to get down so I don't hafe to worry. So should I take it out, and if I would, would the nitrites go down a lot?
fender
Active Member
They should go down if you take the rock out, but it won't happen immediately. the bacteria in the tank will have to do the conversion to nitrates. How quickly depends on how good your bio filter is. One of the reasons to put LR in a FO tank is to increase the bio filter of a tank. And it looks cool too.
If they are not going down, I would take the rock out and put it in another container with a power head until the rock has cured completely. If you have a spare heater that would also be good. Keep the rock out of direct light, bacteria thriv in low light conditions.
If they are not going down, I would take the rock out and put it in another container with a power head until the rock has cured completely. If you have a spare heater that would also be good. Keep the rock out of direct light, bacteria thriv in low light conditions.
b_ball12_99
Member
You did cause a cycle. I would just wait it out now and take it slow afterwards.
saltwater4me
Member
I took it out today, so hopefully the nitrites will go down.
fugu
Member
i allways quarantine my live rock if it is suspect. if the rock smells bad and i have been told that it should really stink! then it is uncured if it does not then it maybe partially cured and maybe ok to add as long as you have very hardy livestock in your tank. the nitrates shouldnt be affected so much but that depends on your rock. i would buy cured rock rather than uncured it is worth the extra bucks.generally not a good idea to add lr after the tank is running. anyway keep us posted as to your tanks progress.
i3luedragon
Member
I got LR from the LFS and my levels spiked up like crazy. Then I got some from here and in two hours everything went down to zero. So it really depends on the rock that you buy. If you are not sure, you should recure it, check the levels, or just add the rock slowly. 
blueyedcop911
New Member
What is the best way to cure live rock?
jimi
Active Member
I have cured it in a rubbermaid garbage can with a large powerhead, heater, and 1 strip light. Do a small water change after 2 or 3 days if the ammonia is very high to preserve as much life as possible. The same there after until the ammonia goes down. Run the lights 6 to 8 hrs a day. Works like a charm.