Previously Going, Now Went Marine

[Straydum]

i just got my first piece(s) of live rock to add into the tank. there wasn't any quarantine though, the rocks went straight in since there isn't anything inside either except for sand. there's currently only 2kg in there but overtime i'd pick up the remaining 8 or 10kg i need currently water stats are as follows, nitrate: 160ppm nitrite 0.5ppm alkalinity (kh): between 180 and 300ppm pH: 8.4 ammonia: 0.25ppm sg: 1.024 nitrates are surprisingly high considering its more or less a new set-up and all, a water change would follow after this. i'm already tempted to get more live rock, but as other journals mention, i'd take things slow from here

 

[SkiFletch]

Did you use tapwater for the inital fill? would explain the 160ppm nitrate...

 

[Straydum]

half of it was tank water. the other half came from another tank (freshwater) which might explain a small amount of nitrate but i didn't expect 160. i'll go test tap water and see how it goes.

i was wondering, since the live rock i bought is already cured, am i still expecting an ammonia spike?

 

[ben1987]

depends how long it was out of the water for, if it was out only a matter of minutes then you wont see much of one. Ammonia and nitrite want to be zero though so you have had a little one.
I would do big water changes with RO water once the ammonia and nitrite have gone to lower the nitrates. Im not sure i would be trusting my marine tank with old fresh water though...

 

[Straydum]

just did i water test on tap water. nitrates and nitrites are all zero which means the blame goes to my freshwater. the rock was exposed to air for about 10 minutes and after that straight into the tank it went. would it be okay if i substituted RO water for distilled water?

 

[Crazy fishes]

Distilled is fine just as long as you are mixing up salt water. Why are you using old water from a freshwater set up?? That is really quite puzzling the very thing you are going to spend all your time tackling is nitrates and phosphates which are going to be sky high in that old water. You also run the risk of possible infection spread. While a lot of parasites will be killed by the salinity why take the chance?? If I was you I would empty the tank of old water and refill with freshly mixed salt water. That chunk of rock you have should be placed in salt water at the correct temperature with plenty of flow. Also why are you buying live rock in little bits, you know your tank will not be able to hold any live stock until it has all finished cycling.

Hope this helps

Regards

 

[Straydum]

god i'm making so many mistakes on this. yeap just did what you said about the water. emptied 7/8 of the tank until the water level hits the sand bed and new water goes in. now everything's cloudy so i'll wait till tonight before i do a water test.

hmm i'm pretty confused about the live rock thing. searching through topics some said not to buy all the live rock at one go for various reasons. an additional reason for me is that the shop in my area stocks rocks which does not appeal to me much. i went through the lot a couple of times and picked the ones with the most algae growth and covered with life. the other rocks there were just as white as normal ones. am i supposed to hasten with my amount of live rocks?

 

[rabbut]

If supply is poor, do it over time. You can't add stock untill it's all in though.... It would be an idea to add some food to the tank if you are going a long time between additions, to keep your rock "ticking over"

 

[Straydum]

what would adding in food result in? do enlighten me and i just got a couple of pictures

first sign of life i saw

and then,

full tank shot,

sorry about the bad quality, and my rocks arent really as mature as they look like id anyone?

 

[ben1987]

The food will give the life on the rock something to live off so it doesnt start to die being as there is no bio-load in the tank

 

[rabbut]

As ben says, thats what the food does. Similar to feeding an empty but mature FW tank that you plan to add livestock to farily soon after emptying it...

The "thing" on the rock in the last two photos looks like an Aptasia or glass anenomy, a poisonous pest that multiplies fast and stings other things in the tank The pics of it though are a bit blured from where I'm sat, so it could also be something else. Get onto google image search and see if it looks like one

I can't make out whats in the first pic

All the best
Rabbut

 

[Crazy fishes]

I wouldn't be put off by lifeless looking rock as the stuff is magical!!! My rock looked as dead and featureless as any but within three days hair algae appeared and little creatures popped out of every hole, crack and cranny. Also if you know anyone with a in tank thermometer/ nozzle on a power head that has some coraline algae (purple/green crusting stuff) on it then after the tank is cycled ask if you can scrape the coraline off the item into your water. It helps seed the tank and the stuff once gets in pops up everywhere. Good work on draining the water it is the most sensible path to take. Aiptasia can be a pain so take the rock out and blow torch it!!! Alterenatively you can use peppermint shrimp but you have to wait until the tank has cycled. By this time the Aiptasia will have spread but peppermints love the stuff. Joes juice is another option which could be used now.

Good luck and any questions just ask

Regards

 

[Straydum]

i ran a google search, leaving me quite positive its aiptasia. the tiny thing looked so harmless there though i'll remove it manually (with gloves or something else). just a question, how many shrimps can i have in the tank? i often see people having only one shrimp in there, do i follow that?

just did a water test,

nitrate: 60ppm
nitrite 0.0ppm
alkalinity (kh): between 180 and 300ppm
pH: 8.4
ammonia: between 0.25 and 0.50ppm
sg: 1.026

nitrates fell by about half, but i'm still going to have another water change till it goes near 0. ammonia went up by alittle, hope it falls soon. tomorrow would be another trip to the farm which has plenty of better quality rock

 

[Straydum]

just got back with more live rock. fifteen to twenty minutes out of the water though, straight into the tank it went after that. the aiptasia before has been boiled.

it bothers me that there's this white wave of stuff on my glass and its increasing at alarming rates. 2 hours ago it was at the sides of the tank and now its almost covered half the front panel. i ran a search here but nothing resembles it. it looks like dust really, white dust. many really thin white lines of say one or two mm with only one end attached the the panel while the other swaying in the current. i tried to get the picture using macro but it comes out all fussy

 

[Crazy fishes]

It is probably sediment building up don't to worry about. This has happened since the new rock went in right? Just give it a wipe if it bothers you that much

Regards