Smelly Live Rock!!!!!

[rebels23]

Hi Everyone,
I just went to my LFS and the guy talked me into buying some Tonga Live Rock. He told me it is better than Fiji Base Live Rock. It absolutely STINKS!!!!!! I asked him if it was cured and he said it is cured, and he is just curing it again. He told me to put it in my tank and it will help cycle the tank. Is this safe? He charged me $7.99 lb. and I bought about 5 pounds. Did I get ripped off? Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks.
Rebels23

 

[birdy]

It probably was not completely cured. Have you cycled your tank yet, if not, put it in and it will help cycle the the tank. If your tank has cycled you will want to cure the rock in a seperate container.

 

[rebels23]

Thanks. That's what I thought. MY tank is new and needs to be cycled. So I just put it in there. It stinks like there is no tomorrow tho. Do I have to do water changes? I'm worried about the water quality even though there is no fish in there. Since it stinks so much, I guess it is safe to assume there is no life on it?
Rebels23

 

[jackdp]

Don't worry about the stink. Even thought it smells there is still plenty of life in your rock. Water changes will only slow down the cycling process. Put the rock in the tank with whatever powerheads, filters etc. Test the water every few days for ammonia, nitrites and nitrites. The ammonia will rise and fall, then the nitrites will rise and fall and you should be left with some nitrates. After all this, you can do a water change and then wait some more test some more and finally when you're sure things are running smoothly and a fish or some cleaners. But after awhile you should see life crawling out of your live rock.

 

[birdy]

I thought I would add, you can get better deals online, 7.99 isn't horrible, the LFS here charge $10.00lb, but you can buy 25lbs of figi here for $109.00 with shipping, that comes out to $4.36 a pound. 25 lbs added to the 5 you already have would be a good amount for your 29 gal.

 

[rebels23]

Thanks all. I feel a bit better now. I just need to get a protein skimmer to skim the crap outta the water. I can only imagine the crap in there. By the way, I just took a PH and ammonia test.
Ammonia has spiked up to almost 2 and the PH has steadily dropped from 8.3 to almost 7.8 now. Is that normal? Thanks.
Rebels23

 

[birdy]

to answer your test kit question, I don't even check Ph when I am cycling a tank because it will get real low then it will go back up. I just test Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. Sounds like you are on your way. By the way some people think running a skimmer during the cycle will actually slow it down. I didn't run mine and never had a problem. but it is up to you.

 

[rebels23]

I am about to test my water for the ammonia level. I am a bit afraid as last nights reading has already shot up to 1.5 ppm. I am afraid it will be more than two today. I see alot of this weird looking white stuff on my rock. Is that die off? And if so, what happens if my whole rock turns white? Will life ever grow on it again?
Also, if the ammonia is too much, would it be safe to put a bag of carbon in the tank to reduce the ammonia? Thanks.
Rebels23

 

[birdy]

the ammonia cannot be too much, just let the cycle run it's course, No matter how high all the levels get they will drop back down eventually. My LR got this white junk all over it too during the cycle. All kinds of strange things will happen right now, try not to be too worried it is all part of the process. Are you running any type of filter right now. I don't think carbon will hurt but it won't do anything to reduce ammonia it just polishes the water, but it only works if it is in some type of filter. It is just a waiting game right now.

 

[rebels23]

Ok Guys,
I took my reading last night, and this is what I got :
Temp - 80 F
Salinity - 1.024
PH ~ 8.1
Ammonia ~ 1.9
Nitrite ~ 1.5
Nitrate ~ 10 ppm
I was very surprised to see a reading for nitrites already! I only put in the live rock last Saturday (2/22). I did have a piece of raw shrimp in the tank for 12 hours before Saturday. Also very surprised to see the nitrates up to 10 ppm. Any comments on this guys? Thanks
Rebels23