Rock arrived gross :(

wonderland

wonderland

Member
So I am setting up a 150 gallon tank. New sand, old biologicals in refugium and sump. Hubby arrives home last night with 90 pounds of live rock purchased from Craigslist. Open the buckets and the smell nearly knocked me over!!
I immediately filled my 2 kitchen sinks with saltwater. Put the rock in one side ( 1 piece at a time ) and gently scrubbed it off with a soft brush. Then I transferred the rock into the other sink and swished it around really good to rinse it. After that I put the rock in the tank.....
I did find some (dead?) corals in the buckets ( one looked like it might be salvageable so I saved it). Is that where the smell was coming from? Apparently the guy did not have the water circulating in the buckets, I know they were not lit. So it's like a bad curing job right??
I have put an extra powerhead into the tank, so the water is really pumping. Leaving the lights turned off ( I saw some some hair algae I scrubbed off ) and waiting to see what happens with the rock.....
Since I have an established refugium and good live rock in the sump, will the dead matter in the rock merely act like a piece of shrimp and help to cycle the tank? Or should I remove the rock and do something else with it?
This is really disappointing. I was sooooo excited to get my new rock last night........ It can be salvaged right?? If I just let the tank run it should eventually put itself to rights I hope??
Could the piece of coral I saved possibly be alive after being trapped in a dark bucket full of rock with no water flow?? It's a pretty purple bubbly/nubby looking thing. How do I tell if it's dead??
 
xandrew245x

xandrew245x

Member
The reason your live rock smelled so bad is due to die off. Putting this live rock into your tank will kick off the cycle. There is nothing wrong with your live rock. I bought an entire set up off of craigslist and he had his live rock in buckets with no circulation or heat. I put them in my tank, along with some new live rock I ordered off line, and all of my rock is doing great now, has all kinds of growth on it. Don't worry, it will be fine!
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
YIKES....too bad you scrubbed it.....with nothing in your tank, it would have been fine....and as the above said...it would have started your cycle
Just let the tank run....and start testing the water
 
fixpc

fixpc

Member
I hate when people say this is my opinion but I will say it anyhow. This is my opinion Taking rocks out of someone else's tank is suicide to yours. All the problems they had are in those rocks if they had a phosphorus problem it in those rocks if they put copper in the tank it in those rocks if they had a parasite problem it's in their Bristol worm eggs could be in and who else knows what else is lurking in those rocks. The little piece of coral you have you can just throw in your tank may be put under a plastic cup and see if it survives. The rocks I would scrub them as hard as I can get everything off of them and put them in the oven at 350° for two hours LOL to kill everything that's in there. To be honest I liked the method of using base rock,sometimes people call it live rock with no life in a new saltwater tank and then use some pieces of rubble rock to seed the base rock. I know that defeats the purpose of why you bought it. I know some people will disagree with me but you are buying the problems of the persons tank that had those rocks. In the past I had a friend who wanted to break down his tank he gave me his rock for free I know he had some major problems in his tank that is one the reasons why he was breaking. I took those rocks put them in bleach for a week. Then left them in a 35 gallon bucket in fresh water in my garage for another week change the water left in for another week then dry them out and used the months later maybe I'm crazy but I did want his problems I didn't want the rocks to go to waste.
 
wonderland

wonderland

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///t/390386/rock-arrived-gross#post_3456764
YIKES....too bad you scrubbed it.....with nothing in your tank, it would have been fine....and as the above said...it would have started your cycle
Just let the tank run....and start testing the water
I scrubbed it mostly to get the hair algae off of it. That was a headache I didn't want to start a new tank with :)
Good to hear that it should help to cycle the tank though, thanks.....
Any opinion on the little purple coral? Could it have survived?
 
wonderland

wonderland

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by fixpc http:///t/390386/rock-arrived-gross#post_3456765
I hate when people say this is my opinion but I will say it anyhow. This is my opinion Taking rocks out of someone else's tank is suicide to yours. All the problems they had are in those rocks if they had a phosphorus problem it in those rocks if they put copper in the tank it in those rocks if they had a parasite problem it's in their Bristol worm eggs could be in and who else knows what else is lurking in those rocks. The little piece of coral you have you can just throw in your tank may be put under a plastic cup and see if it survives. The rocks I would scrub them as hard as I can get everything off of them and put them in the oven at 350° for two hours LOL to kill everything that's in there. To be honest I liked the method of using base rock,sometimes people call it live rock with no life in a new saltwater tank and then use some pieces of rubble rock to seed the base rock. I know that defeats the purpose of why you bought it. I know some people will disagree with me but you are buying the problems of the persons tank that had those rocks. In the past I had a friend who wanted to break down his tank he gave me his rock for free I know he had some major problems in his tank that is one the reasons why he was breaking. I took those rocks put them in bleach for a week. Then left them in a 35 gallon bucket in fresh water in my garage for another week change the water left in for another week then dry them out and used the months later maybe I'm crazy but I did want his problems I didn't want the rocks to go to waste.
I TOTALLY see where you are coming from....... I won't put any fish in the tank for a while and will test like crazy. Why the cup for the little coral? I put it in my refugium which still has the light on. Is that okay??
 
wonderland

wonderland

Member
I also gently scrubbed the rock because that is what the Live Aquaria website says to do after curing and die-off before putting the rock into your tank..... Lightly scrub and rinse it.....
 
mr. limpid

mr. limpid

Active Member
If you are concerned about LR carrying ick it can, any thing wet will. If you leave your tank fish less for 6-8 weeks all ick will die off. Also good time to add your CUC this would make sure they didn't bring in any ick. They will also help clean up your new rock. Since you have an established sump you will get a mini cycle from this new rock if your tank stabilizes B4 the 6-8 weeks you'll need to ghost feed your tank to keep the bacteria going. Also your clean up crew will be happy to help you turn your food into waste.
 
wonderland

wonderland

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Limpid http:///t/390386/rock-arrived-gross#post_3456787
If you are concerned about LR carrying ick it can, any thing wet will. If you leave your tank fish less for 6-8 weeks all ick will die off. Also good time to add your CUC this would make sure they didn't bring in any ick. They will also help clean up your new rock. Since you have an established sump you will get a mini cycle from this new rock if your tank stabilizes B4 the 6-8 weeks you'll need to ghost feed your tank to keep the bacteria going. Also your clean up crew will be happy to help you turn your food into waste.
Thank You.
Any ideas for the best ratio of a clean up crew? Should I turn the lights back on to grow algae for snails? Can I order my pods now too??
I was going to go ahead and order more plants for the refuge, the cualerpa (sp?) it had in it doesn't look too good. Any ideas for the best algae and plants for it? Something that will provide plankton for the corals and can be cultivated for my future Tang?
 
mr. limpid

mr. limpid

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wonderland http:///t/390386/rock-arrived-gross#post_3456792
Thank You.
Any ideas for the best ratio of a clean up crew? Snails or hermits but not both one or the other, hermits will eat your snails. Depends on your likes My thoughts are hermits for FO tanks, they eat anything. Snails for Reef & mixed tanks, they eat mostly algae, will leave corals alone. Should I turn the lights back on to grow algae for snails? Yes if you go with snails. Can I order my pods now too?? Yes, they don't carry ick do to the way they are raised. This way they can get a foot hold B4 fish come. I would put them in your sump.
I was going to go ahead and order more plants for the refuge, the cualerpa (sp?) it had in it doesn't look too good. Any ideas for the best algae and plants for it? Go to reefkeeping.com there are great article about algae. Something that will provide plankton for the corals and can be cultivated for my future Tang?
 
xcali1985

xcali1985

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wonderland http:///t/390386/rock-arrived-gross#post_3456805
Thank You!
Question.... Why do reef cleaner packs come with snails and crabs?
They both have their own purpose. Crabs will eat meaty material and some algaes. Snails are pretty much the opposite, most eat various algaes while some will prefer the meaty type. The best way to run your tank it to simulate the conditions out in the wild. In the wild all of these creatures assist in controlling nuisances.
Stocking only one kind of anything will likely leave areas unattended. Snail don't live very long in our tanks, crabs will eat their dead flesh. Along with dead fish you can't find/get to. You will constantly be adding to your CUC the entire time you have your tank!
 
xandrew245x

xandrew245x

Member

 
I hate when people say this is my opinion but I will say it anyhow. This is my opinion Taking rocks out of someone else's tank is suicide to yours. All the problems they had are in those rocks if they had a phosphorus problem it in those rocks if they put copper in the tank it in those rocks if they had a parasite problem it's in their Bristol worm eggs could be in and who else knows what else is lurking in those rocks. The little piece of coral you have you can just throw in your tank may be put under a plastic cup and see if it survives. The rocks I would scrub them as hard as I can get everything off of them and put them in the oven at 350° for two hours LOL to kill everything that's in there. To be honest I liked the method of using base rock,sometimes people call it live rock with no life in a new saltwater tank and then use some pieces of rubble rock to seed the base rock. I know that defeats the purpose of why you bought it. I know some people will disagree with me but you are buying the problems of the persons tank that had those rocks. In the past I had a friend who wanted to break down his tank he gave me his rock for free I know he had some major problems in his tank that is one the reasons why he was breaking. I took those rocks put them in bleach for a week. Then left them in a 35 gallon bucket in fresh water in my garage for another week change the water left in for another week then dry them out and used the months later maybe I'm crazy but I did want his problems I didn't want the rocks to go to waste.
I left mine sit in fresh water for a good 2 weeks before I put it in the tank, I had live rock I ordered on the internet, and used that to populate my tank. Its been about a month now, and everything has a lot of growth on it, and my water peramters are right on track!
 
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