Live Rock / Sand question?

[Pandicorn]

Hello everyone!
I have recently purchased a 55 gallon with stand used, for what I think was quite a steal (175, it came with live rock and live sand).

My question is, I left some of the live sand exposed and dry-ish (not fully submerged) for maybe a couple of hours, but the rest of it was mostly underwater/wet. The tank is currently NOT filled as I'm picking up some more salt later today. The live rock has sat in 2 5 gallon buckets overnight, no heat or circulation. Will the live rock/sand be OK? I've seen a few reddish brown worms in the sand which I assume are bristle worms, and a few that are definitely alive, and a few that are probably? dead (haven't moved in ~18 hours). Should I keep the sand? Remove the dead worms? Thanks so much!

 

[sfin52]

You will have some die off but should be ok for the most part. I would add some bacteria to the tank to help with die off. You’ll be fine.

That’s a great find.

 

[sfin52]

Welcome to reef2reef. The bacteria I use is dr Tim’s or seachem stability. I liked both.

 

[Pandicorn]

You will have some die off but should be ok for the most part. I would add some bacteria to the tank to help with die off. You’ll be fine.

That’s a great find.

Haha thanks! I'm assuming I should wait a bit to add livestock, to allow my tank to cycle fully? I'm somewhat familiar with how cycling works (freshwater), but I'd imagine the dieoff will provide enough ammonia to get a solid cycle working? Thanks!

 

[Pandicorn]

Welcome to reef2reef. The bacteria I use is dr Tim’s or seachem stability. I liked both.

I'm not super sure about saltwater (fairly new) but I know in freshwater cycling bacteria that is sold is usually pretty hit or miss. Is it the same case here? Will there be enough bacteria on the live rock to seed a cycle themselves? Thanks!

 

[Schreiber]

As far as your cycle goes, I'd be cautious assuming that the bacteria is still alive after letting it stagnate & go cold. What I would do in your position is fill the tank, get it up to temperature, & dose it with 1/4 tsp of pure ammonia (with no surfactants, Ace Hardware has some that works great). Test it after letting it circulate for a minute to see what your ammonia level is at, get it up to about .75-1ppm. Then monitor the tank over the next day or 2. If your bacteria is still alive, you should see the ammonia drop to 0, Nitrites drop to 0, or nearly 0, & a rise in Nitrates. If you've got that, you should be good to go.

 

[rockstarta78]

Since you are new to Saltwater, I think it would be very beneficial to you to read up on tank cycling. Look at the below link when you get a chance, it's nicely written.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/cycling-an-aquarium.306554/

 

[sfin52]

The great thing about live sand and rock is that they start cycling right away. They have the established bacteria to cycle a tank. Dr. Tim’s is a great bacteria additive. Check your ammonia, and nitrites add bacteria and if numbers are good you could add fish.

 

[sfin52]

Cycling is the same for salt and fresh.

 

[sfin52]

Anything dead in the sand I would remove. If it were me I would start with new sand.

Was the buckets that kept the rock saltwater or fresh? If it was fresh you’ll have to cure the rocks.

 

[Murica]

I went bare bottom and couldn't be happier, imo bare bottom is well worth the lack of aesthetics. Just a thought

 

[Pandicorn]

The buckets that held the rock were saltwater from the tank which it came from. I actually am getting another large package deal for a killer price later next Thursday. It'll have more live rock, corals, fish, sand, tank etc (60gal) all for 150. It will also have salt and I'd imagine a hydrometer. Judging from these responses, the "live" aspect of the coral sand is pretty negligible (or easily replaced at least). So, is it possible for me to just place a heater and powerhead in each saltwater bucket, and just wait until then to proceed? Not sure which tank I'm going to end up keeping, but would like to preserve the live rock if at all possible.

 

[sfin52]

To preserve the rocks heater and power head are ideal. Once you get everything you should be able to drop the water and rocks sand end you should be able to add fish since it came from established tank. All bacteria is established.

 

[sfin52]

Just make sure the fish are compatible. What are you doing with the fish till you get the tank up. Power head and heater should keep the bacteria and other creatures alive.

 

[Zero Nitrates]

Congrats on the new tank!

The heater and flow will help keep the fish, invertebrates, and algae alive. The bacteria will be fine at room temperature. The bottle of bacteria you buy at the LFS is at room temperature.

You should probably throw out the old sand. It’s most likely full of detritus. New live sand would be preferable, if you like sand. I prefer bare bottom.

 

[sfin52]

@Zero Nitrates great advice on sand. Never considered that.

 

[Pandicorn]

Congrats on the new tank!

The heater and flow will help keep the fish, invertebrates, and algae alive. The bacteria will be fine at room temperature. The bottle of bacteria you buy at the LFS is at room temperature.

You should probably throw out the old sand. It’s most likely full of detritus. New live sand would be preferable, if you like sand. I prefer bare bottom.

Thank you! As I am on the classic student budget, money is a bit tight. Do you think I could give it a solid rinsing and just clean it out?

I have since transferred the live rock from the 2 5 gal buckets to a 10 gal I had lying around and cleaned out. They're fully covered in saltwater, and now have a 250 powerhead in the corner, and are being heated to 76f, but when I put the power head in I saw maybe a dozen of what appeared to be dead bristleworms floating around. Are they really dead, or did I just blow them out of their homes? I don't have any fish yet, but do you think that I could just put them in the tank with the other live rock I'll be getting? Will I have to cure the new live rock if I am careful to keep their exposure to air at a minimum, and just put them in the tank with the fish? The tank I am getting is currently running, just overrun with kenyan tree coral.

 

[sfin52]

you could. Not ideal but doable.

I've kept live rock covered in towel for two hours before. And half an hour in plastic bag till I got home. Some die off not bad. Just blow rocks off have some salt water in buckets for the rock your getting. Blow of rock really well and get dead stuff out of tank via water change.

 

[djwasimani]

Once you start cycling you should be fine.

 

[ChaosAquaculture]

Unless you were extremely familiar with the aquarium before you bought it, I wouldn’t trust the sand. Better to be safe then sorry as the initial set up is critical to long term success.