Rock B4 Sand, help!

[drose]

My LS, ordered one month ago, got lost in the mail.

LR, ordered last week, arrived today. Can I put the LR in the tank and add sand later (need to order more), or must I rush out and buy sand from LFS? (they charge nearly 3 times as much as internet companies. ) If I put in my LR now without sand, must it all be removed in order to add sand? :help:

 

[jdragunas]

Actually, it's preferred to put the LR in first. This way, the LR is guaranteed stable because it's sitting on the tank, and not the unstable sand. This is the best way to go about it, as some digging snails and fish can knock over LR that's sitting on the sand itself.
Also, when you set up the LR, make sure you push at it hard from all angles to make sure it's stable and not at risk of falling over.
Hope i've been helpful!
Jenn

 

[drose]

Okay, I have just put 80 lbs of beeauutiful rock in my tank (44 gal).

The water is very cloudy. The only thing I have running is the heater. Should I wait til the water clears before I turn on the Biowheel and powerheads? :notsure:

 

[hot883]

Originally Posted by DRose
Okay, I have just put 80 lbs of beeauutiful rock in my tank (44 gal).

The water is very cloudy. The only thing I have running is the heater. Should I wait til the water clears before I turn on the Biowheel and powerheads? :notsure:
I think I replied to your other thread. Run the filters and ph now. Again, why is it cloudy?

 

[drose]

Answered on other thread about cloudiness. Thanks, I will turn on the rest now.

 

[1journeyman]

You'll get two opinions on this... mine is definitely in the minority (so listen to it with a grain a salt).
I would cycle your tank with the live rock WHILE running powerheads, lights, skimmer.. etc. I would do water changes to keep the ammonia low.
Here's why: You have a lot of critters on your rock right now. If you let it sit fallow your tank will cycle, but your ammonia is going to reach such a toxic level that many of your critters will die in the process. If you run skimmer, and do water changes you still will have ammonia, but not as high. This will allow your tank to cycle but won't kill so much in your rock.
Now, most will disagree with me, (about running a skimmer and doing water changes) but until someone can logically explain why you want your tank to build up sky high ammonia I'm going to stick with my theory. Bacteria grows based on having ammonia to feed on... having a huge amount of ammonia doesn't make the bacteria grow faster, just keep growing.... until it runs out of food and begins to starve..

 

[drose]

Hmmm, yes, I have heard mostly the opposite and had, in fact, detached my skimmer in the expectation that I would not use it during the cycle. How soon might I see any critters? They hide out for a while don't they?

 

[1journeyman]

Well... you'll see evidence of them probably before you actually see them. Worms and stuff will start leaving tiny piles of waste around their holes in the rocks. Bristleworms will crawl out foraging for food, crabs and other hitchikers can be very shy at first. Watch closely at night. Sponges, tube worms and other filter feeders will start to appear as the water quality settles in.
I suspect that you will see surprised at how soon you see some live appear.
Did you follow Mudplayer's (sp?) guide to live rock curing? (search the forum for it... great guide.. even if he isn't quite enlightened enough to believe me and my high ammonia theory yet

)

 

[jdragunas]

I think the only reason people suggest not using your filter during cycling is that it cloggs up the filter media... I ran my filter during cycling and it was fine, helped the cloudiness go away quickly, but my ammonia, trates & trites still spiked waaayyy high.
I've always heard that it's a necessity to do water changes during the cycle... otherwise, how do you get rid of the nitrates???
jenn