live rock

[ttran]

I have some live rock thats been sitting in a plastic bin for about 3-4 weeks. Is it still "live"? Can I add it to my tank without starting another cycle? I didn't put a heater or powerhead in the bin. I was told to just keep it in water and it"ll be good.

 

[tank a holic]

with no power head i'm going to say it'll start a cycle, add a powerhead to the bin, wait a week, add 1 piece to the DT and repeat till you have it all in......
test the water in the DT to make sure your amm doesn't spike

 

[trouble93]

Yes it will start a cycle...I would do a w/c t in the ben that it's in add a heater and powerhead and wait it out then it will ready to go.

 

[florida joe]

what do you mean by starting a cycle

 

[ttran]

Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/2977528
what do you mean by starting a cycle
If I add the live rocks, will it start another cycle in my dt.

 

[spanko]

I would say that if there was no heat in the tub and the temperature went too low that you have die-off on the rocks. This die-off will add material to your tank that will need to be consumed by your biofilter as it converts to ammonia. If your biofilter in the display is not enough to consume the ammonia as it is generated you will see a rise in ammonia in the display that will be detrimental until the bacteia colony can catch up. This is an ammonia spike and will not be a good condition for the life in the display.

 

[florida joe]

You DT is already in a condition where the nitrification cycle is established. Adding a bio load that your system cannot handle will cause a spike in ammonia as Henry stated BUT you will not we causing a NEW cycle. What you will be doing is adding more food for your existing nitrifying bacteria to expand. IMO what you are doing is adding to the existing cycle

 

[ttran]

So it is safe to add the live rock the way it is or add a powerhead, heater , and doing w/c in the bin for about a week??