So here are my parameters after a week ! Ammonia is way high... So far I've topped off with 5 gallons of salt water then 5 gallons of rodi. Still curing rock is this normal? Curing in Rubbermaid container with a power head absolutely no light.
My parameters after a help please!
- Thread starter Sfwg
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You don't have a high enough concentration of bacteria yet to break down the ammonia, right now your rock is having a die off that's rotting and in turn creating ammonia. I cured my rock at 1.024 specific gravity if that's any consolation.
Idoc
Getting lazier and lazier with upkeep!
So here are my parameters after a week ! Ammonia is way high... So far I've topped off with 5 gallons of salt water then 5 gallons of rodi. Still curing rock is this normal? Curing in Rubbermaid container with a power head absolutely no light.
Are you attempting to cycle your rock at the same time you cure the rock? Cycle and curing are 2 different functions, but some people attempt to do both at the same time. The type of rock you are using makes a difference.
If you are attempting to cycle at the same time, keep the ammonia below 5ppm or you could possibly stall your cycle... and definitely use saltwater.
I cured my dry Pukani rock for 6 weeks to get the organics out of the rock. Now that my tank is cycling, I wish that i had cured it longer since my nitrates and phosphates are really high during my cycle! But, when curing my rock, i did at least 50% water changes every few days to reduce my ammonia and organics. Pukani releases a lot of junk! I cured in freshwater...dechlorinated tap water, actually... Since I knew i was going to do a lot of water changes and didn't want to waste the salt..and because I wasn't trying to cycle the rock at that time. I didn't care about creating a denitrifying bacterial population during my cure. Another trick to break down the organics a little quicker during the cure is put a heater in the Rubbermaid and get that temp up around 84-85 degrees... the heat will help break down the organics faster.
