Live rock curing cycle question

[dmschiff]

Ok, I have a 60 gal tank with about 35# lr that has been running for about 11 months and basically doing fine.
ABout 8 days ago I bought an additional 50# of fully cured LR. don't ask why, but instead of putting it in my tank, I put it in some freshly mixed saltwater in a rubbermaid container without a heater. So, basically that water is starting to cycle and the ammonia is starting to spike.
Can I now put the rock in my DT or do I have to wait until the water it's in cycles? (I definitely will try to shake off as much water as posssible so as to not transfer it to the DT)
Your help is most appreciated!

 

[earlybird]

For some reason you're getting a dieoff from the cured LR. Could have to do with no heater but depends on the temp. Put a heater in just to be safe and continue to monitor. Transfer when ammonia and nitrite = zero.

 

[dmschiff]

Temp is about 70. I will add a heater. Oh, I forgot to mention that there was no water movement. I just placed an air pump last night until I'm able to free up/add a water pump. Does this have anythng to do with the ammonia spike?

 

[m0nk]

Originally Posted by dmschiff
Temp is about 70. I will add a heater. Oh, I forgot to mention that there was no water movement. I just placed an air pump last night until I'm able to free up/add a water pump. Does this have anythng to do with the ammonia spike?
I don't know if the temp has much to do with it, or the water flow. Chances are that the rock really isn't fully cured. Many places actually sell LR labeled as cured but it really isn't, or they have too much "uncured" that needs somewhere else to hang out, so it ends up in the cured bin or something along those lines. That's why I always cure any live rock I get, whether it was cured previously, according to the LFS.

 

[garnet13aj]

water movement might not have that much to do w/it..but it is really important, otherwise the water will get really gross and dieoff won't get sluffed off the rocks.

 

[dmschiff]

Isn't the ammonia spike natural even with completely cured lr? Again, the water that I placed the lr in was newly mixed water that never went through a cycle. If you add LR (that you know is cured) to your DT, it causes a "mini-cycle" right?
What exactly is a Mini-cycle? How high do the ammonia levels get?
Thanks for the help!

 

[earlybird]

Ammonia is natural and should not come as a result of fully cured LR. If you are 100% sure that the rock was fully cured when you bought it and you kept it in water from LFS to your home and only had it out long enough to put in your bucket of salt water then there should be no spike. If it was out of the water for longer than 5 minutes you'll experience some die off. The amount is really hard to calculate but if ammonia is higher than 0.5 you would want to perform some water changes to reduce it in order to save some of your critters and microfauna. I would consider 0.5 to be a pretty major spike. Ammonia can kill a lot of things. The beneficial bacteria in our tanks can die at levels above 1.0.
Because you had already established nitrifying bacteria in your DT you can expect to see a mini cycle when "uncured" LR is added. This really depends on the amount of LR that is in your tank and the amount that you add. A mini cycle is indicative of a small and short ammonia spike which is converted to nitrite sooner and then to nitrate.

 

[sepulatian]

You do not need to wait for the nitrite to reach zero, but you do have to wait for the ammonia to reach a steady zero, that is a week or so without another spike. An air pump is not sufficent. You have to have a strong powerhead going or you will get more dead spots from lack of circulation. A heater is needed as well.

 

[dogstar]

Originally Posted by dmschiff
Can I now put the rock in my DT or do I have to wait until the water it's in cycles?
IMO, Wait...., you have turned your cured rock ( if it was cured ) into uncured rock and now should recure it completly...you should provide an enviroment that can help substain any life that may still be in it..( other wise, all life will continue to die off in that container and you will end up with dead rock)....provide proper temps, water circulation for oxygen, maintain low toxic levels with water changes, light for photosynthesis, ect. ( equal to the display tank because thats the enviroment your prepareing it for ) and allow it to go thru the complete cycle befor placeing it an established system.
If you place the rock in the DT now, the dead and decaying organisums that are in it now will continue to produce ammonia and cause levels to rise in the display, possibly causeing more death.

 

[dmschiff]

Thanks for the help everyone! The ammonia is now 0. I'll wait a few days to or more to be safe.
mOnk,
I used to live in Camp Hill.