HELP!!!! Pre-cured rock--NOT

[cbarnes]

i added 90 lbs of fiji. and yes unfotunately the tank was cycled b/f adding the live rock----my husband and i had much different ideas on what we wanted---i wanted friendly reef tank w/ fish---he wanted triggers, puffers, and lionfish---i won----but not since all the headaches. and as far as the RO water i am mixing salt nite b/f putting in tank

[hr]
plike I said before---going to another LFD who has been highly recommended today. Getting some Marine TLC bacteria nad another bag of Purigen and also getting someone else to service tank.
As far as my salinity goes now---it is 1.024--0-but keep in mind we did a 100% water change last night.
ANyway thanks again for any input. Also---ophi.----thanks to you for keeping up w/ all my posts and giving so many suggestions. :yes:

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by Network13
Look, you need to sit down and do some serious reading on the nitrogen cycle.

The cycle has started...
You missed the point of the thread, unfortunately. It was an established tank, with livestock present. The nitrogen cycle was fine until a HUGE amount of decaying matter from the live rock threw everything off.
Ammonia fixing bacteria aren't mythical heroes. They live and die according to the supply of food. When a tank spikes your bacteria slowly "spike" to deal with the problem. Then they die off. Unless you plan on running a really dirty aquarium full of decaying matter you don't need/can't support the bacteria present after a spike.
Taking the rock out, cleaning it, water changes etc. were all neccessary to deal with the problem to try to save the fish.
Cbarnes, good luck with the tank! Keep reading and asking questions. Your own knowledge will be your best friend in the hobby.

 

[ophiura]

cbarnes -
We're all here for ya I will ask a question I often ask people in this position. What is it that makes you think you need a person to care for the tank? It does tend to be costly, and in some cases it is definitely worth it. But what are you looking to get out of that person? If it is water changes, it may not be worth the money. So much of this has been streamlined that with a few minutes a day, and perhaps a couple hours every other week, the tank can run pretty smoothly. You've had a very rough start for sure, but it should level out. I just would prefer you not spend more money than is necessary

 

[saltn00b]

hi all
nice thread going here. i had done some research for a while trying to get a lot of this information together for my lil predicament. I basically bought 50 lbs LR off somebody here on SWF classified ads, and i got pretty much screwed cause he sent it UPS ground (4 - business day) over the weekend. so i got it a week later. anyway i put it all in a rubbermaid tub with 15 gallons of SW and a rio 600 pump. the guy claimed he would send it with wet newspaper or whatever, but there was nothing and the stuff was B O N E D R Y. it also did not smell or have any white or black stuff on it. It did have a lot of dark greens which is where the bacteria was. today is about 4 days submerged. I read about adding Iodine and Kalkwasser to help the stuff grow. So i bought the additives from the LFS. I dont own a protein skimmer (YET) and im just watching the water levels. ammonia was initially up a little bit and i noticed nitrites up a little bit too. i thought that was a good sign b/c it meant some life was there converting ammonia. the levels still havent changed much from that though. the kH, though was at 9 drops. that seemed low to me, and strange being that i added kalkwasser the night before.
:help:
do i need to be addding kalkwasser and what should the hardness, kH, be at? the LFS said in a SW tank it should be around 14-15, yet the tester kit says 10-12.
also any other advice offered will be appreciated.
thanks,
the n00b

 

[cbarnes]

noob---i feel for u man---at least once we got the crap scrubbed off my rock it actually has some neat stuff on it

[hr]
but oh lord---smells like something dying n my tank and around it. My skimmer is working overtime----empty it out 3x daily. Went to LFS today---not the one I was using before of course---and got something called TLC. It is a bacteria that is supposed to help w/ the junk I am going through. Also changing out my Matrix carbon and Purigen. On a good note--i put a few small pieces of mysis shrimp in my tabk and the bi-color ate---so, maybe things will turn around soon in my tank.
Noob--if I were you I would post a new thread you will probably get more hits and more advice. Just a sugg. Good luck w/ everything. :thinking:

 

[cbarnes]

noob--i would post a new thread for ur situation. you may have better luck since we have differant sit. in a sense.
Also orph----i am planning on doing the job myself--just tryed to start it up rite---The problem is I have a 16 month old son which makes it more difficult---but I am going to let the grands take care of him every other week for a couple hours so I can take care of the tank. I def. think it will save me time and heartache and lots of $$ in the long run. It is just outragous what I get charged for a simple h2o change--couple hundred a month--I have a Koi pond that I have 1 spring clenaing done a year that costs less---and let me tell you---the do a heck of a lot more w/ that

Anyway, thanks for everones help---if anymore input or advice please feel free to give it.
:yes:

 

[mudplayerx]

Do yourself a favor and just get rid of the bioballs, they are the tool of the devil!
Just my opinion.
You are much better off just filling that space with live rock, or aragonite sand in nylon stockings.

 

[cbarnes]

well, i have a differant guy coming on Friday to look at my set up and rock. He has pretty much said the same as some of you reagrding---let the cycle take it's coarse---my old fish guy said that after we did the h2o change and cleaned the rock the perameters would be normal w/in 24-48 hours.----NOTTTTT.

Live and learn I guess. So i will be getting a second opinion on Friday regarding what I need to do and or change in the future---CRAZY. I feel like I have cancer or something and need to keep getting second opinions. Oh well---learned a valuable and expensive lesson. Thanks for everyones input--and if there is any more input please feel free to post it. Thanks again.
CMB

 

[cbarnes]

Well---looks like the cycle is almost complete----checked all my perameters this am and nitrite at .25ppm, ammonia 0ppm and Nitrates at 20ppm, ph at 8.2, spec. grav. a little high so topped off w/ some RO water. Bi-color is happy and red tip happy. haven't seen other inverts yet. Going to take Ophia advise from another thread and use a turkey baster to get some of the debris and dust off LR. Thanks for everones help. Hoope to post some pictures soon of some things that are starting to grow for ID. Also have better lighting coming in today and a mac daddy testing kit that tests for 10 things instead of just basic like I have now. Also, if anyone has advise on when I should change my floss and Purigen again? I have these critters on my blue floss that are the size of a flea---unsure what they are---trued looking under microscope but they were to big under 10X and can't figure out zoom on camera to get a good focus on them. Thanks again for averyones help.
CMB