Can you add cured rock to an existing tank w/no worries?

fcatch76

fcatch76

Member
As the topic states, I want to add more rock (cured) is there any concern I need to worry about. Will the new rock start a cycle? Tank is 7-8 months old.
I'm already battling high Nitrates with chaeto, dsb, shaving brushes, clams and weekly water changes, next is CPR refuguim. Can't get a hold of NO3.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Theoretically no problem. Now that said it really depends on if the rock is truly cured. Taking the word of the LFS may get you in trouble here. Transporting the rock may get you in trouble here. Placing the rock and if you move the sand around at all may get you in trouble here.
If you want to add rock to lower your nitrates probably not gonna have much impact if at all. Need to look at why they are high in the first place, over feeding, too much bio load etc.
 
mr_x

mr_x

Active Member
if it's truly cured, the answer is yes.
when you purchase it, transport it fully submerged in buckets.
i was alittle slow on the draw.....
 
fcatch76

fcatch76

Member
Yes you were Mr. X...
, I'll give you another chance!
The live rock was filling in some areas on top of my current LR, so no sand bed disruption and I did not get more to lower nitrates rapidly, rather to fill the tank a little more.
After doing some reading I come to the conclusion to feed once a day rather than twice. For more help I will list my specs:
Biocube 29 w/4.36 nanotuner upgrade
43 lbs. of LR -Bioballs removed in sump for some LR
Purigen and Chemipure in sump with Chaeto
Lights- Actinic- 11hrs
10k with 10k/ Act- 8hrs
Fish:
2 True Perc Clowns
1 Royal Gramma
1 LM Blenny
1 Red Scooter
1 Mandarin Dragonet
Inverts:
2 Emerald Crabs
1 Fire Shrimp
4 Sm Nars
3 Lg Nars
3 Marg.
Coral:
Mushrooms
Ricordea
Toadstool
Star Polyps
Clove Polyps
Plants:
Shaving Brushes
Sand bed ranges from 2 1/2 inches th 4 inches.
and one Lettuce Nudibranch, almost forgot about my three clams.
Water Parameters:
pH: 8.1
temp: 79.5- 81.4
SG: 1.024-1.025
Calcuim: 460- 480
Phos: 0
Ammonia: .50 (done at my LFS)
Nitrites: trace (done at my LFS)
Nitrates: 20
Water changes of 10% every week on Friday
Just ordered the CPR refuguim w/skimmer
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
You removed your bio balls and replaced them with some live rock rubble. IMO this is probably your high nitrate problem. You see when you do this in an AIO like the 29 biocube the amount of rubble you have added is insignificant, especially in your tank where you already have about 1.5 lbs. per gallon. Also the rubble is small and does not add any anaerobic zones for the bio bacteria that reduces nitrate into nitrogen gas. Now what you have is an area with die off - detritus - from the rock falling to the bottom of the chamber #2 and no way to remove it. I have thought about this long and have gone a different route with my back chambers. Here is a pic.

Feeding once per day will help, probably could go to every other day without harm to your fish.
HTH
 
subielover

subielover

Active Member
Also since no one mentioned this yet, a scooter, a lawnmower blenny and a mandarin are probably not very good choices for a 29 gallon tank. IMO I would return them to the lfs for store credit.
 
fcatch76

fcatch76

Member
thx Spanko, and because of your ideas and setup, I went with a HOB refugium. Also, you gave me the idea for the purigen and chemipure
. The small amount of rock back there has been rinsed off and I siphoned the entire area to remove any waste. I planned on using the smaller pieces in the refugium...good idea?? Figured the dsb, rock and chaeto would do the trick.
thx again!
 
fcatch76

fcatch76

Member
Originally Posted by subielover
http:///forum/post/2743682
Also since no one mentioned this yet, a scooter, a lawnmower blenny and a mandarin are probably not very good choices for a 29 gallon tank. IMO I would return them to the lfs for store credit.

Opinion understood but the LM has been with me from the beginning and is very plump and happy (king of the tank), the scooter has been trained and now accepts mysis and brine shrimp and yesterday he took my spectrum pellets soaked in garlic (amazing)
. Now its time to work on the mandarin.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Yeah probably okay in the fuge, are you gonna have some sand in there also? The rubble can serve as and area for pods to grow if you break them into smaller pcs. and make a nice little pile of them. Good luck here and please post some pics of the fuge when you get it set up.
 
fcatch76

fcatch76

Member
sand, yes, thats where the dsb comes in. How deep though do you think, 4 inches? I guess it depends on size of fuge. Its the CPR small fuge w/skimmer
 
mr_x

mr_x

Active Member
atleast 4 inches.
btw- i don't see anything wrong with keeping an algae blenny in your tank. the others will need alot of pods to survive, but algae blennies will learn to eat off a clip, flake, meaty foods....pretty much anything.
i have one in a 30 breeder that is doing just fine.
 
don1234

don1234

Member
I have a 8lb live rock that I just purchased from LFS....they said it was already cured. I have it in a tank with light, heat, sand basically a aquarium that has already been cycled. No live stock. A few snails. Lots of live rock rubble I even see a zoo colony popping up.
But my question is that before I place it in my DT I want to do a fresh water dip to kill of any parasites or worms that my hitching.
What is the best way of doing this. Will this start a cycle on my DT if I dipp the rock and then place it?
 
mr_x

mr_x

Active Member
well, if you ard dipping the rock to kill things, then you are going to have dead creatures in and on the rock that will end up rotting and causing an issue. if your existing system can't handle the amount of die off that you create by dipping it, you'll have a problem. what size tank do you have and how much rock is in it now?
 
don1234

don1234

Member
75 Gal about....60-80 lbs live rock...one more thing I have a 55 gal that I would like to set up as a sump...in your diagram is that the only thing you use as a filtration system. So I could get rid of my cascade. Can you provide any tips or direction
 
mr_x

mr_x

Active Member
i don't think an 8 pound rock is going to hurt your system, unless it stinks like hell from the start(indicating that there is alot of dead stuff rotting on and in it).
who's diagram?
i use a sump with a refugium loaded with macroalgae, plus a protein skimmer.
 
mr_x

mr_x

Active Member
i would use the 55. get an in-sump skimmer and make an area for a refugium...like a small version of what i did. partition it off with some plastic or glass panels caulked in with aquarium sealant ot GE type 1 silicone.
 
don1234

don1234

Member
Okay... so the intake sucks from the DT and then overfills into the refugium which then overfills into the intake which is then pumped back into the DT? But at which point does the water get filtered or cleaned and what goes in each compartment?
 
mr_x

mr_x

Active Member
in my sump- the water comes from the display to the first section which has a large, easy to clean, filter sock, and a good protein skimmer. the filter sock removes large particles and the protein skimmer removes the smaller particles. then it goes to the refugium where even more nutrients are removed from it by the macroalgae. then to the return.
the whole filtering process really starts in the display, with the live rock though.
 
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