Quick question about my Rock.

Jnickles85 · Jan 12, 2016

So a little background info first. I have a 24 gallon fluval reef tank. It is the M60. I let a bubble algae problem go for to long with out intervention. My plan was to let the rock dry out over two days then just try and scrub off all the nastys on the ouside, rinse them, and then do an RO soak. A guy at my local fish store said to just do an acid bath and it would be quicker and easier. After doing some research on that I really don't think I want to venture in to that method. It seems dangerous and risky. So I am leaning more towards just buying 10 pounds of rock and just using it. So getting to my question, I know this is going to cause another cycle in the tank but would I be able to try and clean up one of my older smaller rocks one the outside and use that piece to try and speed up the cycle? I know there is going to be a ton of dead organics on the inside of it by now.

Any other input would be awesome as well.

Oh and P.S. yes I am cleaning everything else in the tank as well. All my power heads and skimmer are going through a vinegar bath as we speak. My 2 clowns and couple of coral pieces are in another tank.

brandon429 · Jan 12, 2016

http://reef2reef.com/threads/new-ta...ive-rock-no-shrimp.214618/page-2#post-2667133

the first portion of your mention about the new added rock and it causing a cycle can be mitigated, the other portion you mentioned is a blended cycle approach from the thread.

brandon429 · Jan 12, 2016

from what I can tell about your plans, the tie-in to that reference thread is that these events are about to occur within a tank full of life...corals and fish and clean up crews likely. we need to address ammonia sources because of that.

Tahoe61 · Jan 12, 2016

Welcome.

Another option might be to cycle the dry rock in a separate container for a couple weeks prior to removal of the current rock.

Remember an over enthusiastic cleaning can result in a reduction in the population of beneficial bacteria leading to an ammonia spike or crash. Interventions to address a tank issue should be done one intervention at a time and slowly.

Consider the use of bacteria in a bottle such as Microbactor 7 at time of transfer.

Emerald crabs have worked well for me in the past.

Jnickles85 · Jan 12, 2016

brandon429 said:
from what I can tell about your plans, the tie-in to that reference thread is that these events are about to occur within a tank full of life...corals and fish and clean up crews likely. we need to address ammonia sources because of that.

Right now my two clowns, a hammer coral, a frogspawn, and an acan, are in a 10 gallon tank. They have a heater, powerhead, and an air stone. I have been doing a little over a gallon water change a day on this tank to try and keep the ammonia down.

Jnickles85 · Jan 12, 2016

Tahoe61 said:
Welcome.

Another option might be to cycle the dry rock in a separate container for a couple weeks prior to removal of the current rock.

Remember an over enthusiastic cleaning can result in a reduction in the population of beneficial bacteria leading to an ammonia spike or crash. Interventions to address a tank issue should be done one intervention at a time and slowly.

Consider the use of bacteria in a bottle such as Microbactor 7 at time of transfer.

Emerald crabs have worked well for me in the past.

Thanks for the Welcome.

I'm already to late on the waiting :/. My rock has been out of the water for about 48 hours now. My tank has been running with just the main pump and I added a gallon of vinegar to the water so it's just been softening all the bubble algae up that's stuck to the walls and such.

Jnickles85 · Jan 12, 2016

Hopefully it doesn't take to long for my tank to do its cycle once I set it back up. I can tell my clowns hate the QT tank.

Tahoe61 · Jan 12, 2016

Sounds like you have a decent handle on the situation. I would however get an Ammonia badge for the QT and some Prime, with freshly made SW available for water changes as needed.

Jnickles85 · Jan 12, 2016

Tahoe61 said:
Sounds like you have a decent handle on the situation. I would however get an Ammonia badge for the QT and some Prime, with freshly made SW available for water changes as needed.

Okay thanks. I def. Have the SW on hand. I've never used prime before. I think I have heard of it before though. Is that used for stress ?

Tahoe61 · Jan 12, 2016

It's an Ammonia binder in case you see a spike in either the QT or the display when you return the livestock.

Jnickles85 · Jan 12, 2016

Here's the tank now. I should have taken a before pic! Haha.

Tahoe61 · Jan 12, 2016

Let me clarify Prime, it is used as a water conditioner and detoxifies ammonia.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4057

Tanks looks like you accomplished your goal, congrats, I bet that feels good.

Jnickles85 · Jan 12, 2016

Tahoe61 said:
Let me clarify Prime, it is used as a water conditioner and detoxifies ammonia.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4057

Tanks looks like you accomplished your goal, congrats, I bet that feels good.

Yeah, it's clean but now I have to start all over [emoji17] . Once I get the dry rock in the tank and running with the skimmer and everything else, should I try and find a piece of live rock from a store to put in there to help seed? Not exactly sure if it even works like that.

Tahoe61 · Jan 12, 2016

Yes, because you're tank is going to cycle again. Keeping feedings as light as you can appropriately do. Get some bacteria in a bottle, test each day, do water changes when indicated by the ammonia and nitrite levels, and use the Prime if the fish begin to look stressed and ammonia is detectable and you are unable to intervene with a water change.

Jnickles85 · Jan 12, 2016

Tahoe61 said:
Yes, because you're tank is going to cycle again. Keeping feedings as light as you can appropriately do. Get some bacteria in a bottle, test each day, do water changes when indicated by the ammonia and nitrite levels, and use the Prime if the fish begin to look stressed and ammonia is detectable and you are unable to intervene with a water change.

What do you mean by bacteria in a bottle?

I didn't think I would be able to add my live stock in the tank until after the cycle. Is having a small piece of live rock in the tank allow me to do that? Or maybe even Live Sand? Tank was bare bottom. I like the sand look better.

Tahoe61 · Jan 12, 2016

There are quite a few products such as Dr.Times One and Only, Microbactor7, Seachem's product.....these products add beneficial bacteria back into the system to establish the biological filter. A small piece of live rock is not large enough, you need a larger biological filter to complete the nitrogen cycle in a timely manner.
Live sand is ok, probably a good intervention.
At this point you have fish and corals in a tank with little biological filter and a display with little to no biological filter, so you need to watch both systems.
Doing water changes during a cycle is called a soft cycle, typically not the best route for newer hobbyist but doable.

Keep us updated.

jetmaker · Jan 12, 2016

I've used bio spira with good success its bacteria in a bottle.

Jnickles85 · Jan 12, 2016

Tahoe61 said:
There are quite a few products such as Dr.Times One and Only, Microbactor7, Seachem's product.....these products add beneficial bacteria back into the system to establish the biological filter. A small piece of live rock is not large enough, you need a larger biological filter to complete the nitrogen cycle in a timely manner.
Live sand is ok, probably a good intervention.
At this point you have fish and corals in a tank with little biological filter and a display with little to no biological filter, so you need to watch both systems.
Doing water changes during a cycle is called a soft cycle, typically not the best route for newer hobbyist but doable.

Keep us updated.

So should I not add my live stock to the display? Is there really a difference since both tanks have nothing?

Tahoe61 · Jan 12, 2016

At this point you can go either way, both tanks are most likely to experience some level of a cycle. Neither tank has a significant biological filter nor the medium ( sand, rock, mechanical filtration) for the denitrifying and nitrifying bacteria to colonize.

Jnickles85 · Jan 13, 2016

Tahoe61 said:
At this point you can go either way, both tanks are most likely to experience some level of a cycle. Neither tank has a significant biological filter nor the medium ( sand, rock, mechanical filtration) for the denitrifying and nitrifying bacteria to colonize.

Well I won't add any of my live stock to the main tank until after I add the dry rock. (Picking that up today). I am also going to try and find some live sand from the local fish place as well. I just have to find some heavy duty type because of the water flow in the tank likes to dig up areas.

Then that way I can add some bacteria in a bottle and hopefully the bacteria can start to multiply from there.