Adding LR during cycle

[cherijon]

My current situation is as follows:

40 gal tank, 2 almost gone shrimp, 30 lbs base rock, 3 lbs LR. Ammonia = 0. The nitrites are still up so they cycle is definately still in process.

What I was wondering is can I safely add more LR to the tank now without messing up the cycle process and without killing hitch hikers on the LR. I'm looking at adding a piece or 2 at a time (2-4 lbs) until I have all I'm going to add. It is from a reputable LFS (I've heard they do exist) and is cured. I do not have any fish in there at the moment and I am in no rush to put fish in before I should, probably after all LR has been added. Cash flow and a desire to not kill fish are both forcing me to be patient, besides the tank looks pretty cool even without fish. Thanks for the help.

 

[jerejohnson]

i would say if you add already cured lr then you would be fine. have you had the ammonia spike? to get the trites down you could do water changes that definately would help.

 

[fishfreek]

What is your nitrite level. If the nitrites are not to high you should be ok adding cured liverock from your lfs.

If your nitrite is high then i would avocate waiting a few days for that to continue its down slide.

 

[cherijon]

Interesting question. Unfortunately when I received my test kit (SeaChem) one of the vials was broken and damaged the chart. They are sending a replacement but in the meantime the most precise I can be is too high for fish. If I recall it should be a very pale pink and it is instead a bright red. Is there a rule of thumb for "not to high" in this case. BTW in answer to the earlier question, yes the ammonia spike has come and gone.