Terrible rookie mistake

[Bam327]

I put somewhere around 150 lbs if dry rock in my new tank and I did not cure it. I added Dr. Tim’s one and only on Friday. The water is terrible cloudy and not getting any better. I have grass floating around the tank and I just messed with my aquascape and it made everything 5x worse. It’s so cloudy that I could barely see the rocks through the glass. I have brown film growing on my power heads already. What should I do? Water change? Is that going to affect the cycle? This tank is bare bottom and I have a filter sock. Skimmer and lights are off

 

[King Turkey]

That is just a bacteria bloom it will settle down. Normal when there is a lot of bacteria in the tank. If you have any live stock I suggest turning on skimmer as a bacteria bloom like that lower O2 alot and can be harmful. Regarless I would start skimming at this point and water test.

 

[Bam327]

I have no live stock in the tank. The tank dropped from 2ppm ammonia to 1 from yesterday to today. Nitrites at .25 and Nitrates at 5. I have powerheads and return pump running. Should I think about putting in an air stone for more O2? Should I still turn in the skimmer since there’s no live stock?

 

[W1ngz]

Turn off the lights and leave it alone for a week. You can run the skimmer, it will help pull out some of the stuff and clear up the water.

Any brown film this fast is probably just crud from the water settling on things, you can just blow it off with a turkey baster.

 

[Lasse]

Skim and if you have any inside filters "fresh water style" - let them run in order to clean up the tank. Just wait until water is clear. Do not add or doing anything else before the "London fog" has gone away. As @W1ngz stated - turn the light of.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Cell]

Source of dry rock? Brand new man made? Real ocean rock that used to be live? If it's the latter, expect a lot of die off and debris over the next few weeks. Extra water changes might be necessary.

 

[troublemaker]

If you have no livestock in the tank, relax and let it run it’s course.

 

[Bam327]

I’ll turn the skimmer on and try to be patient.
The rock is real Reef rock. I have a very large (~40 lb) piece of pukani and the rest is mostly Tonga shelf rock. My refugium has random pieces including a lot of rubble

 

[W1ngz]

and try to be patient

This is your best path to success.

 

[Cell]

I think pukani is known to leach phosphate for awhile.

 

[Bam327]

Should I start running GFO or carbon?

 

[BrandonS]

Black it out and let it sit a few months.

 

[Bam327]

Should I still be dosing ammonia while I’m waiting? Obviously only if it continues to drop.

 

[W1ngz]

Should I start running GFO or carbon?

Do.
Nothing.

 

[Cell]

Nah I wouldnt run gfo or anything at the moment. Just expect to do a big water change or two as the rocks cure and the water likely turns yellow and stinky.

 

[AZMSGT]

Do.
Nothing.

+1, LEAVE IT ALONE, for at least a week and then at the end of a week take measurements again

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

+1 on leave it alone. Sounds like you want an awesome coral tank with the bare bottom. If you can keep the lights off for a couple months you will have a leg up on having a great tank. You want bio film to grow on the rocks, not algae. BRS has a good video on this.

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