Live Rock

clownguy38

clownguy38

Member
I have a 24g nano I have some live rock I got this tuesday and I started the on monday with live sand and ro water. I notice today that the rock I got tuesday is turning brown alittle... I also picked up 2 more live rocks on friday and they are fine. Can You Help Me???
 
toughguy80

toughguy80

Member
You are cycling, this will happen, completely normal. Your tank will do this for AT LEAST 3 weeks and can last over a month. During this time, any live stock you add will likely die. After "x" amount of weeks your water levels will clear up and it will be safe to add things. If you don't have a test kit, you should definatly pick one up and test every 3 days or so. The test kit will tell you what are good levels and when your water level gets there, start adding live stock
 
J

jcrim

Guest
You'll want to test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph to start. The ammonia will rise then fall then the nitrite will rise then fall. When the ammonia and nitrite are at zero, the cycle is over. Also, you may want to put some fish food or a cocktail shrimp in the tank to help the cycle start by adding an ammonia source.
 
clownguy38

clownguy38

Member
kool thanks I have a clown and snail in there the guy at the fish store said wait till the water clears and add them so I did. Will that effect anything???
 
J

jcrim

Guest
They will probably die... the snail definitely, the clown is iffy depending on the species. The lfs was suggesting you cycle your tank with fish (which many do) but even if you were to do this, damsels are the hardiest and cheapest fish to use. What kind of clown?
 
psusocr1

psusocr1

Active Member
little off subject, but im gunna kind of miss all the crazy creatures that are coming out of my live rock,,i have a bunch of crabs snails, slugs etc, that are new to me evryday..i have stuff that i havent the slightest clue what they are but there cool looking,,,,and veryday more and more crazy things surface!! :jumping:
 
J

jcrim

Guest
To cycle, you need an ammonia source to start growing the necessary bacteria. Fish waste can produce the ammonia. Though, ammonia and nitrite are toxic to fish. Most fish cannot survive the ammonia and nitrite peaks that occur during the cycle.
 
J

jcrim

Guest
Originally Posted by psusocr1
little off subject, but im gunna kind of miss all the crazy creatures that are coming out of my live rock,,i have a bunch of crabs snails, slugs etc, that are new to me evryday..i have stuff that i havent the slightest clue what they are but there cool looking,,,,and veryday more and more crazy things surface!! :jumping:
A little off topic? For some strange reason, I find this comment in this thread hilarious.
 
clownguy38

clownguy38

Member
not sure Its the nemo clown. Do I still go through the cycle if I used all the live rock and live sand and ro water??? How do I get the brown off the rock???
 
J

jcrim

Guest
Originally Posted by ClownGuy38
not sure Its the nemo clown. Do I still go through the cycle if I used all the live rock and live sand and ro water??? How do I get the brown off the rock???
Don't worry about the algae. As your water chemistry changes, you will have different types of algae growth. It's ok on the rocks. You can cycle with liverock and live sand but you should either feed fish food to the tank or drop in 1 cocktail shrimp to start the cycle.
A percula clown PROBABLY will not survive the cycle. Just a heads up.
 
james983

james983

Member
Crim is correct, the brown algae will dissapear as the tank settles down. Wait till cycle is complete before adding any more live stock. After you have cycled, stock tank SLOWLY. Good luck!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top