LR im new in reef discussion

[whipitboy]

1) i have old LR ITS BEEN DRIED OUT TURNED WHITE SAT AND SAT. A FRIEND USED IT IN A FRESH WATER TANK FOR 3 MONTHS(sorry caps)then sat out again 2 months. its white dry . can i use it? will it hurt aquarium ?think its 20-30 lbs.
2)tank 150 gal 12-14 weeks 2 of those with fish. 2 inch sand bed. 4 96 watt PC 2 actinic 2 10k .can i buy 100 lbs from SWF.COM for 400$?just put it in?advice please? <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" /> <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" /> <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" />

 

[whipitboy]

will this help cycle n filtration and what will need to be added to tank chemically and how often?

 

[ren]

yuo can put what ya have in but its nor LR its just rock. You could then order some LR and seed it. or just order LR and put it in. Guess I'mm lucky cause I got a guy local that cures and sells LR so I buy from him - no dieoff. I'm pretty sure that LR purchases from the net need to cure some. All depends on the shipping and packaging

 

[whipitboy]

curing? whats this?

 

[ren]

Curing LR is like the rock going through a cycle. When it gets shipped or moved - things die - this will through off a ammonia spike and minicycle the tank. Now with excellent quality LR you won't even see it the dieoff will have been minimal. With poor quality, you will smell it. This is why ya place your LR first when starting and cycling the tank.

 

[fshhub]

curing is basically letting the die off die and startt o regrow before adding to your tank, because the die off will cause ammonia(which can kill fish and inverts), BUT, you can use lr to cycle with, curing at the same time, it may take a lil longer(or less depending on the amount of die off), but MO'ed rock is normally cheaper, and kills 2 birds with one stone, if you are putting this rock in a new tank with out any fish or inverts
if you want to add it directly to an established tank, you need to buy localy cured, or cure it yourself b4 adding it to the tank, an i would only add small amounts at a time(if you have fish in it already), IF NOT(established), IT REALLY DOESN'T MATTER MUCH
HTH

 

[whipitboy]

well could i just put the rock in my tank or is there something i need to do ? tank is new still.sorry to be so stupid

 

[whipitboy]

is is all your fault fshhub i wasnt even thinking about LR until you talked me into it so let me ask''''' if i buy 100 pounds from swf it gets here over night miami to maryland can i put it straight into my tank?

 

[ren]

NP ya are at the right place to learn. Check out my local guys page he covers LR and curing in depth at aquariumarts.com.
Since ya already have fish first thing i'd do is build up bed to 4" with bagged LS. not at once add like 20lbs every other week. get it from your LFS. Add lr a lil at a time too. Shop around and get the best quality and FASTEST SHIPPING to minimize dieoff. SWF has free shipping which is a boost costwise however 2nd day. I think this might lead to dieoff. Which will lead to bad conditions in the tank. Do you have a quarentine tank to place the fish in? If so ya could move the fish and get the LS and LR up to par faster that way

 

[whipitboy]

sigh no quarantine tank.i guess i may have to scratch the idea .i dont have a LFS and small orders willl kill me shipping wise.oh well the excitment was good while it lasted

 

[ren]

Well back up to the first option - add the 'dead' Rock and seed it with a small LR purchase. As long as the tank parameters are good the coarline will spread. 20-25lbs is a good amount of LR (for seeding). Take 1 of the 'new' pieces that has alot of coarline and smash it up and throw that into the tank to get the coarline goin.
Just another option for ya

 

[ren]

Shoulda said take 1 of the small pieces lol

 

[whipitboy]

ok yea . thats an idea. put the 20-30 pounds of 'rock' and buy 30-50 pounds and crush n spread a heavy coralline piece around . that would be half my rock i would want. what do i have to add to a reef tank weekly chemical wise?

 

[superman]

Chemically I use two things...Kent Marine Strontium&Molybdenum and Kent Marine Tech-1. It's kind of like coral and invert vitamins

 

[broomer5]

Hi whipitboy,
One thing worth mentioning.
This 20-30 lbs of old now dead "live rock" that you have. You said your friend used it in a freshwater tank. I would ask your friend if he or she ever used any medications in the freshwater tank. If so, I would ditch it, and not risk using it in a saltwater tank.
If the answer is no medications - I would still be somewhat hesitant on using it.
If it was me in your situation - and my budget allowed - I would buy all new live rock and not mess with the 20-30 lbs of dead stuff. Too many variables - too many things unknown for me to feel comfortable using it IMO

 

[whipitboy]

yea i could stay away from the deatuff . its ugly and prolly take years to mke it look good. well how much LR can i add at a time?

 

[fshhub]

if youare not going reef, you can use any amount you want, but if youare going reef, i would have 200 llbs(in the long run), but htis can be done in stages,
and for your current dilemma, i dont' remember if i mentioned this b4, but you could get an empty container, like a plastic garbage can, and cure the rock in there, and add 2o to 30 lbs every week or 2 (and you could add more, as you have more in the tank)after yyou are sure you won't have any die off, all you need to do this is: a cheap plastic containe, a heat source, and a powerrhead, does not have to be agood one, just something for movement, if there was no meds used b4 on the fw tank, then i can't say that it would hurt to use that, but i woudl if i could go 4 the lr

 

[whipitboy]

ok.swf offers 50 pounds for 200. so 100 pounds for 400 is what i want. so buy the 100 pounds put it in a garbage can (plastic)with heat and movement.let it sit for how long?thanks

 

[k.lee]

W/O reading any of the above replies, you need to check for nitrite/ammonia peaks, if it is cycled. Ammonia kills everything. Nitrite will kill fishes, but not hardier corals, particularly soft corals, AFAIK.
Watch your nitrite levels with inverts and fish that aren't maybe leathers or shrooms (those with low water requirements and lots of zooxanthelae). I could be wrong, its happened.

 

[k.lee]

Oh, and tho you'll lose some life, almost all the mollusks and some worms for sure, the porous structure of LR is quite durable. The LR ion my 70 gallon has been greatly tortured (now a fish only tank --harlequin tusk, bicolor parrot, mated fiji devils, mated tomatoes, and a passer angel), I still get copious amounts of coraline algae and other sponges, et cetera.
Lee