Dry rock

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FloatinBy

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I posted awhile ago my tank I purchased. My rock is nothing but mushrooms. I mean mushrooms are everywhere. I Have a 100gal DT with a 30gal sump. I recently took out half the live rock and traded in for new dry rock. I had roughly 110lbs of rock and took out just shy of 55lbs. My LFS states I can put the rock right into my tank. They stated it is rock mined from the ground not the ocean and has been cleaned and has no pest etc. I got 63lbs of dry rock in exchange and bought 40lbs of sand (dry not wet). I figured only swapping out half at a time should prevent my tank from crashing and should in theory help maintain my bio-filtration. Hopefully this is the right way of thinking? So question is, should I cure this rock or just add straight to my tank? I hated the mushrooms as I found them ugly, but I didn't want to destroy them as someone else may want them (clearly the LFS did) The old rock still left in tank I moved over to the other half of tank. So half the tank has a ton of rock and other half is completely empty. I added the 40lbs of sand to the empty side of the tank as well as I had maybe 1/2in or less of crushed coral only. I only have 1 blue-green chromie and 1 blenny currently. they are both eating fine and I really don't have any other issues. Had a bad algae bloom not to long ago and have just gotten my nitrates almost under control. Nitrates have been reading over 160 since I got tank, Finally after 7 30gal water changes, its down to 40ppm and slowly dropping. I think I was an idiot because I also got so of there rock that was "cured" or "curing" in there system. I.e. some came out of their tanks bc I really liked the lock of some of the stuff that was in the tank, but all the rocks are the same bleached white so I couldn't really tell you which ones were the dry vs. the ones that came out of the tank. So some was truly dry rock and other part was rock that had been in system from 1-4wks possibly. (they state the add it as its bought but that it is a fairly high turn over in the tank.

Suggestions?
Comments?
Tips?
I wanted to be able to put nice corals in without worrying about shrooms killing them. Was it the right thing to only remove half of my rock at a time? tank has been running for 7 years prior to me buying it per the seller.

TL/DR Established tank. 110lbs live rock in tank covered with shrooms. Removed half for dry rock. LFS says ok to put straight into tank. Can I or should I cure?
 
Avast
Get a big tub, fill it with RO/DI, measure everything (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phos). It should all be 0. Then put all the rock in it. Wait 24 hours, and measure again. If you're reading 0 across the board, then I'd say go for it. If you're seeing ammonia, or phosphates, then you'll need to cure.
 
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As can see...nothing but shrooms
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
was it a good idea to only remove half at a time? and is it going to be "safe to add the new rock into tank? Like are the mushrooms going to spread or if I keep shroom rock away from clean rock, should I be ok? I've had the new rock "curing" in 2 trashcans with saltwater and flow. I'll check parameters, if good go ahead and add then?
 
also, should I add some bacteria in a bottle to "seed" it or should there be enough bacteria in my tank to seed it just fine? Any tips are greatly helpful. I really want to get real nice corals and beautiful fish going, but also understand I need to be patient.
 
ReefBot Lab, Automated Water Tester
All dry rock will need time to cure and depending on the type will leach stuff into the water for anything from a few days to a few weeks.

Another big issue is that it does not have a biofilm, so you may end up with an algae and cyano bacteria problem until it does.

The mushrooms can spread, so keep an eye on it. What state are you in?
 
Tidal Gardens
Alright so i just saw this big thing in one of the new rocks curing. What was stinking out was at least 2in amd tappered (wide coming out of rock amd tappered down to the tip farther hanging out) i didnt see bristles but it was 2in long at least amd 1in or so wide (at least what was sticking out. I attempted to grab with tweezers but it went back into hiding....should i worry?
 
Avast
Alright so i just saw this big thing in one of the new rocks curing. What was stinking out was at least 2in amd tappered (wide coming out of rock amd tappered down to the tip farther hanging out) i didnt see bristles but it was 2in long at least amd 1in or so wide (at least what was sticking out. I attempted to grab with tweezers but it went back into hiding....should i worry?


Any ideas? Sorry app wouldnt let me just quote it i guess
 
Deltec
FloatinBy said:
also, should I add some bacteria in a bottle to "seed" it or should there be enough bacteria in my tank to seed it just fine? Any tips are greatly helpful. I really want to get real nice corals and beautiful fish going, but also understand I need to be patient.
Click to expand...
There is enough good bacteria to seed your new rock. Watch your parameters cause you may do a mini cycle, but I doubt it.

If you don't want the mushrooms to spread to the new rock, keep a physical separation between them. After a few months, if you want to get rid of the other mushroom rock, trade it too! Do the same thing you did with this new rock when adding to your tank. Your LFS should have had enough time to get rid of the stuff you just recently traded and some people would be happy to have a second opportunity to grab up some of the mushroom rock.

Are you planning on replacing the entire sand bed eventually? If you continue doing large water changes and vacuuming your substrate during those wc's, I think your nitrate levels will continue to drop. You could also take your substrate out a little at a time and rinse it till all the detritus is out of it then just put it back.

You are on a great path to get some really nice corals! In fact, get some that are forgiving now while your nitrates are a bit elevated. Euphillia (frogspawns, hammer & torch corals) love their water a little "dirty". A lot of zoas are forgiving also, but over time they tend to spread too, but not too fast. Make sure you are using RODI!
Best of luck! Keep us updated!
 
Thank you for the help. Yes i usr RODI water. And should i worry about that rather large critter i seen in the rock or just let him be? I wish i got a pic of him
 
WWC
Was it dumb of me to just put new sand over the tiny bit of crushed coral? should I mix it up by had or just let it be? I vacuumed the crushed coral but IDK. Like I said only added new sand to half the tank at this point
 
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