Fish odor

[kiddiedoc]

I received my first order from saltwaterfish. I introduced into my 55 gal tank a reef package (crabs, snails, starfish, etc) and 25# LR <24 hours ago. Before the new inhabitants I had only 2 stars and 2 fish witha bunch of diatom and red slime algae (which I have been trying to eliminate with suggestions from here). Testing before: ph 8.2 SpG 1.024 temp 80 trites 0, trates 0, ammonia 0. The tank has been up 6-8 weeks.
My testing today is pH 8.2 trites 0.5, trates 10 and ammonia 0 with a strong fish odor. Everyone appears happy and active.
I have a Fuval 300 series with carbon filter and traditional inserts.
What to do? will this pass? do I need a water change? Did I introduce too much at a time?
:help:

 

[elfdoctors]

Originally posted by kiddiedoc
I received my first order from saltwaterfish. I introduced into my 55 gal tank a reef package (crabs, snails, starfish, etc) and 25# LR <24 hours ago. Before the new inhabitants I had only 2 stars and 2 fish What to do? will this pass? do I need a water change? Did I introduce too much at a time?
:help:
Hopefully the live rock was fully cured. If it was shipped, there will be a die off of some of the life on it. Be careful about a large spike in ammonia in a few days. Usually non-cured live rock should only be added gradually into an established tank. The smell may be the early signs of such a die-off.

 

[kiddiedoc]

It was fugi LR pre-cured from this site.

 

[elfdoctors]

They sell high quality live rock from this site. You will be happy with it. However, whenever aquatic life is shipped, there will be die off as much of the life cannot survive with prolonged exposure to air.
The live rock will have to be cured again. This curing process can take place in a rubbermaid container. After 3-4 weeks (similar to your initial cycle) you can add it to your tank safely.
Your fish and stars may be in jeopardy. You have two choices now. You could do frequent water changes and perhaps use a product like Amquel. Alternatively, you could remove the live rock and cure it as I described above and add it to your tank later.

 

[kiddiedoc]

OUCH thanks for the info

 

[zeromus-x]

So it's the length of time out of the aquarium that causes it to have to be re-cured. If I pick up precured LR (fiji) from my LFS, which is fifteen minutes away, would I have to again cure it, or should it be pretty much safe?

 

[elfdoctors]

Originally posted by Zeromus-X
If I pick up precured LR (fiji) from my LFS, which is fifteen minutes away, would I have to again cure it, or should it be pretty much safe?
As long as the LFS has had the live rock for several weeks it should be fine to add into your tank. I would still only recommend adding limited amounts at a time as there are some lifeforms (e.g. sponges) which will die after ANY exposure to air.

 

[zeromus-x]

Last time I got rock from them, they picked it up and tossed it in a bag. I wonder if I could convince them to put it in the bag while still submerged? You know... grab one bag, fill it with four pounds of water... put the LR into that bag... weigh it, subtract the water weight, done deal. I mean, it'd be worth a few bucks extra just for that anyway. I guess it's still touching air for a few seconds, though.

 

[barry cuda]

I don't think a few seconds will hurt most LR hitchhiking creatures, with the exception of sponges. It's hours or days that I'd worry about...

 

[misty927]

Have your LFS cover the rock with wet newspaper...I find this always help when trying to prevent die-off. I think it might be kinda unlikely that they would send you home with four pounds of water, but you never know! As for the red slime algae and diatoms: this is pretty common to experience towards the end of your cycle. I find that if I just leave it alone and continue to do normal water changes, it slowly disappears. I don't think you'll have a major issue with the cyanobacteria (red slime) and diatoms in the future...yeah, it's ugly, but at least you're nearing the end of your cycle! Yay!