got lr from swf

[peg]

received my lr yesterday with no email telling me when it was shipped. of course friday is the only day i work so husband is home and has no clue what i am going to do with it. have it in a container of sw. should i scrubb it? does have lots of white color on it. thanks

 

[thewolfman777]

no i wouldnt scrub it, just leave it in the sw. does it smell funky?

 

[peg]

yes it does smell funky. how long do you think i should keep it in a seperate container?

 

[thewolfman777]

dont quote me on this but i think until the rock is fresh smelling. i stink is due to die off and indicates your rock is not fully cured which i am sure you already know. i am also not sure if you should do water changes during this curing process.

 

[jastim]

It would be a good idea to do water changes to keep the ammonia low. Also put a power head in the water to increase circulation. Keep this up until the smell goes away and the ammonia is down near 0. You need to keep O2 in the water which the power head should help with. You might put a bubble stone in there too.

 

[jastim]

One more thing: Also these things will be easier to do in a larger volume of water. Ammonia levels will be more dilute in a larger volume.

 

[peg]

k... i have the rock in an 18 gal rubbermaid with an airstone and powerhead. i should do water changes, everyday? thanks

 

[jastim]

Peg, sounds like you are doing the right things with the power head and air stone. Just do water changes every couple of days or so to minimize the ammonia levels. Put the rock in the tank after the smell is gone and the ammonia levels are near 0.

 

[broomer5]

Hey Peg -
Just to add to what others are saying - Remember that live rock always smells. Even if fully cured it will have an odor - just won't make ya want to gag. Some say cured live rock smells like the ocean, ya know, sort of like anything else in our tanks.
Rock that has die off and is not cured will smell really nasty - some say like rotten eggs, but I've not smelled any that bad yet.
When the ammonia and nitrites are no longer present - then you're safe to add it to your tank, and you can assume it's mostly cured.
Smell it then - and you'll see the difference

 

[peg]

75 gal,cc,emperer 400, 2 ph's. (2 more ph 2 come)
50 lbs of lr to be added. i will order another 25 lbs of lr after my cruise. also have no fish. ammonia at 0, trites maybe 2, trates 10, ph 7.8. i thought i would worry about the ph after cruise also seeing as i have no fish. the lr did smell, not so bad now. i have been doing water changes on the rock everyday. any suggestions? thanks for all the help!!

 

[peg]

ps started cyclin 1-18. is it ok to clean the diatoms?