live rock or maybe not so live

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ojmenard

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
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I bought some live rock from someone who is downsizing tank. we live like 2.5 hrs apart so we agreed to meet in the middle. i got the rock home and noticed he put the rock in a tub with water but it was fresh water. not really worried bout the cost becuase it was actually cheaper then some of the dry rock i have bought so that is not a problem. i am just curious if you think the stuff will live or was it in fresh water to long. i am assuming it was in the fresh water for about 3 hrs. i rinsed it in SW and then put it in my tank. it is the only LR i have gotten so i just need to know if i should be getting some more LR or if this will survive.
 
You'll need to cure it. The FW probably killed any of the beneficial bacteria, or at least the large majority of it.
 
maybe i am missing something. i need at least some liver ock to start this whole process right. i cant just throw dry rock in there and a shrimp and let it cycle. there has to be some live rock to start the process am i right.

this live rock i bought was suppose to be that live rock so if this is the case then i need to get some more live rock correct.
 
You want an ammonia source to kick off the cycle. The shrimp will provide that for you. The live part comes into play once you have a bacterial colony that can convert the ammonia to nitrItes to nitrAtes. If you had fully cured LR, you would already have the bacteria.
I threw in base rock and shrimp to cycle my 125....
 
i understand this but the fully cured live rock was the rock that was in the fresh water. that is my whole question. that rock is not gonna seed the tank with bacteria from being in fresh water for so long right.
 
You probably lost alot of it but I`m sure you still have some bacteria still made it. You`ll be OK. Just add an ammonia source.
 
ok ty i did add a shrimp last night. how long is it before u generally see the amonia start to rise i tested water today and numbers are as follows

SG-1.026
PH-8.0
ammonia-.5
nitrites .5
nitrates 20
 
Hmmm, what kind of test kit are you using? You already have nitrAtes...have you tested your source water?
To answer your question, about 3-4 days you should see the ammonia start to raise.
 
yeah that kinda peaked my curiousity as well. i have not tested the source water but the water has been in the tank for about 3 weeks now. i had to get phosphates out before adding salt they were kinda high.
 
If you add in all live rock, and no base, how does this effect the cycle? Should you still use the shrimp to kick start something?
 
If you use enough cured LR, you can sometimes skip the cycle. The best way to tell is add a pinch of food and test for the next few days for ammonia/nitrItes, if not rise, you can add a fish.
 
If you can afford it, the reason for adding baserock is the cost. Baserock is cheaper then LR. The reason for the shrimp is to add an ammonia source. Straight LR will cycle your tank if you have enough of it. And this is where people get in trouble. The liverock will make your readings look good and most people will make the mistake and add a bunch of fish and or corals and overwhelm their tank, causing a crash due to not enough bacteria to handle the increased load.
 
k so the shrimp has been in there for 3 days now and its real fuzzy looking like its in a cacoon or fuzz. is this how it should be looking?
 
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