added live rock...tank going crazy!!!!

[popothemailman]

i added 65lbs of precured fiji live rock into my 80gal tank. at first the water looked light brownish and cloudy. and today the water is white cloudy and looks like there are a bunch of little white particles on them. the rocks were scrubbed with a tooth brush and i got most of the dead sponges off but there still are some on them. what should i do to get rid of the cloudiness and when and what can i do to better my tanks readings:

ammonia 2.5
ph 7.8
nitrite .05
nitrate 5.0
alkinity normal

Tank setup: wet dry hang on filter with a 350gph ph, 2 maxi jet 1200(295gph each) for tank flow. red sea prism deluxe skimmer, 290watt lighting, 300w heater.

i use amquel after 10% water changes once a week.

please help, what should i do???

 

[darb2]

Amonia of 2.5 is pretty high. Stop using the amquel, cause this product gives false positive readings for ammonia. This sounds normal for a cycling tank

 

[indy]

Just have some patience. Nothing good happens fast in a sw aquarium. The cloudiness should pass as bacteria builds, as will the ammonia. Doing water changes during a cycle just stretches the cycle out longer. Unless you have something in the tank you're trying to keep alive, just let it be until the cycle is completed, then do a water change.

 

[Sam]

What you are seeing is a perfectly normal cycling process. Even though the LR is 'pre-cured, by the time it is shipped to you there is die-off. I actually used my LR to cycle my new tank very successfully. So you just have to sit out the re-cycle of your tank. If you had previously cycled it, then this cycle should be shorter. Just do the same things as when you did your first cycle in terms of testing the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. As mentioned, no water changes until cycle is complete and no amquel. HTH

 

[malkore]

Hang on here...if the rock was pre-cured, it shouldn't have had dead sponges still on it. Unless I just misunderstood, and you scrubbed it and then cured it. If the latter is the case, then it sounds like a normal cycle.

Depending on the type of test kit you use, Amquel can cause false positive results for ammonia. If your test kit uses 1 reagent, it's a Nessler kit and will be inaccurate if you use Amquel. If it has 2 reagents, and takes 5 mins for the results to show up, you've got a salicylate test kit, which can properly read ammonia in the presence of AmQuel.

 

[lando]

Where did you get the rock and how long was it in transit? Sounds like it had some considerable die-off and arrived as uncured LR at your door. Not that big of deal since you are cycling. Just give it time and things will come around. Waiting the hardest part. Lando

 

[popothemailman]

thanks guys this helps since i was told to do frequent water changes to get 'the dead stuff out.' my tank smells also it isn't very strong but the water does smell. i noticed on one rock that there is about a 3in black spot and it also has a white spot on the other side about the same size. what are those? i just started to add calcium to the tank yesterday 1drop per 2gallon daily..should i stop doing this? also with all my lighting that i also set up the extra 220w MY TANK WAS AT 90 F. this is due to my wooden cover blocking the fans on the lighting i need to fix that pronto, and i heard of people getting little fans to put in the back of there tank, what size and how strong are they? about the amquel i have the red sea test kit and it takes 15min to get results..should i switch to seachem prim i know a lot of people use that.

thanks again, i would have messed everything up

MY BAD!!!!!! THE AMMONIA is: .25

 

[indy]

The cycle should take care of most of the dead stuff, so no worries there. And SW tanks smell like SW tanks, kind of like the ocean once the cycle is done. Can't really say what's on the rocks, could be anything.

I wouldn't add anything to the tank until the cycle is done, and make sure you test for whatever supplements you use.

I think most peeps use small computer size (4") or so fans. But if you unblock the fans you have, you'll probably see your temps drop quite a bit.

 

[seaham358]

Like the others say stop adding the amquel and any product like that no need let nature do its thing. No water changes just sit back and let the tank do its thing. Don't scrub the rocks, don't worry about whats on them at this point. The smell is normal as others have said just part of the die off.....
Sit back have a cold one and just watch the tank mature.

 

[popothemailman]

so i'm guessing the tank will be ready when the water is clear and the tests are perfect. when this point has been reached should i wait a while before i start adding fish? or will it be ok to add fish immediately? also how many fish do you think ill be able to put in my tank, lets say the fish i'm looking to get are, puffer, tang, wrasse, anthius.. that kind of size group..

thanks again, and a will do on the cold one

 

[seaham358]

If its a FO tank the the puffer is cool..... NO fish at all till the cycle is finished, this could be a week-2-3 weeks depending on the die off. Don't go by what the water looks like go by the test kits. Add 1 fish and see how that goes after a few weeks add another and so on. Do not add 2-3 fish at once this is just asking for trouble. The good bacteria needs time to grow with each fish added. Add the tang last they can be territorial. In a mature adding a few fish at once is ok but not in a new setup could cause a mini cycle.
I think I'll have one tonight also

 

[popothemailman]

i have been getting an increasing about of white spots on the rocks and it almost looks like the coraline isnt as strong. what is going on with that?

 

[Sam]

Figure about 4-6 weeks for your tank to fully cycle at which point you can start to add fish. However, recommend that you QT your new fish before adding to the main tank to avoid importing any diseases. Assuming that your fish list is one of each, that should be okay. You may also want to get a clean up crew to help with waste control. The spot on your LR may end up being some sort of good growth, so don't worry about it, it should flourish as time goes on, May be a coral or two! HTH

 

[popothemailman]

what clean up crew would be ok with the fish im getting. im afraid some of the aggressive fish like the puffer will attack them. what clean up crew and how much do you guys prefer. also will some starfish be ok to add with fish like the puffer. also my ph is low, and i know the water needs to have air. should i take off the galss tops, what other things can i do to up the ph and keep it steady...possible put a air head in the filter...? my prism protein skimmer does create a lot of bubbles...

thanks a lot

 

[Sam]

I am not sure about the puffer, you will have to check on its appetite for inverts, however the Tang and anthia will be fine with the 'crew.' usually a combination of hermit crabs (scarlet, dwarf blue tip, red tip) and snails (puffer may snack on these, check compatibility) usually astrae, margaritas and they are a few others you may want to check into. I also have a couple of bristle stars (good scavengers, sand stirrer) and a couple of sea cucumbers (scavenger) If you look at www.etropicals.com, they have a build-your-own package or you can buy a pre-pack of them. All of these help control all sorts of algae, excess food and waste. I also have a few cleaner shrimp (ambionesis Lysamata) but I know that the puffer will definitely have these for dessert. HTH 8)

 

[popothemailman]

AAAAAAA!!! just tested water and these are my new results on the red sea test kit:

Ammonia: 1.0
PH: 7.8
Nitrite: >1
Nitrate: 50
alkalinity: Normal

they shot up even more!!! should i do anything or still just leave it be... i mean are you sure i shouldn't do a water change or clean the filter(rinse the top pat its really dirty, and where the water enters is dirty too now)???

 

[Sam]

Hang tight buddy. Put your hands in your pocket. Just keep your skimmer running and clean but don't change anything else. Sounds like you had a lot of die-off and what you are witnessing is a normal cycle as the tank and the LR stabilizes. Everything is good. You will have a nice bacteria-colonized tank before you know it.

 

[popothemailman]

Will it be alright if i remove one of the rocks and reclean it with a tooth brush and put it back. It is the only rock that has big black stains, and also the only rock that still has to sponges on it that i would like to remove... will this be alright or should i just leave it? oh... and also i have been advised to turn off the lights and leave them on for only 3-4 hours due to algae growth, is this alright also?

thanks again guys.. you came to my rescue once again...

 

[popothemailman]

here is a picture of the the rock. it contains about 70% of the hole tanks deadness.

 

[Nate C]

My NH3/NH4 went up to 7.0 (!) during the cycle. My first batch was imported pacific rock and had a ton of dieoff including a few baseball sized sponges.

After about 5 weeks things settled down.