i think we made a mistake...

[chizzle]

so i sent my boyfriend to the store to pick up the live rock for the tank so we could begin cycling. i asked the store if they had uncured live rock, which they did, but the boyfriend got the cured live rock. so now we have 70 pounds of cured live rock in an uncycled tank. is this a problem? and can we still use the shrimp method to help with the cycle? thanks for the help.

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

youll be fine, just stick a few shrimp in there to get the cycle goin.

 

[austinsdad]

Watch the ammoinia and 'trites closely. Hopefully the 70 lbs of cured LR won't prevent the ammonia spike and comsume it all instead.

 

[chizzle]

thanks for the help! definately makes me feel better.

 

[melosu58]

Your OK. Begin the cycle.

 

[lando]

The cured LR will only help things progress faster. I would still contiue with a fishless cycle for a few weeks but you only helped your tank by adding cured LR. The reason adding uncured LR to a tank is because the die-off on the rock can feed the cycle and, frankly, it is ussually cheaper and will do no harm in a brand new tank.

 

[chizzle]

i just kept seeing that everyone was using uncured & i was getting worried. thanks again for the quick responses & all the help, yall are great.

 

[talloulou]

I started with cured live rock and never really saw a cycle so I agree with the idea that it's beneficial, though costly.

 

[chizzle]

maybe the boy got a good deal then? one LFS sold premium figi for $6, and the other was at $7.69 a pound. both places had them in tanks with inverts & pumps & all the equipment...we got tons of featherdusters & some sponges & growth, ect. but i went ahead & threw in a shrimp, so we will see how it goes =]

 

[roka64]

Definitely keep us posted!

 

[chizzle]

just did a water test & starting to see a cycle.
ammonia - 1ppm
nitrites - .50ppm
nitrates - <10ppm
Ph is at 8.4, temp at 78 & salinity is at 1.023.

those seem right? i wrote them all down, but they are in the other room -- just going off of memory. oh, and we are startin to see some pods on the glass.

 

[austinsdad]

Sounds like you're on your way, but I'm not sure the dusters and sponges will make it thru.

Good luck.

 

[chizzle]

i figured that, but its okay. i wasnt overly impressed with them anyways it just means i get to add new & better ones eventually (more down the road of course)

and one last question - how much of a spike will we expect to see? because we used already cured LR will it be different? thanks again.