LR Curing and cycling

[ellisz]

Hi all,

My rock has been curing from 2 weeks now. I saw the ammonia go up right after it was put in and the Nitrites spiked after the first week. I thought my cycle was ending but I did have another smaller ammonia spike. I took 3/4th of the rock out and rinsed/lightly scrubbed it on monday and did another water change. Last night my ammonia was gone and Nitrites were barely noticable plus the nasty smell from the tank has gone away. BTW, I have been doing the water changes per the curing article but they were a bit less than 50%.

Should I go ahead and rinse/scrub the remaining rock? There is some stuff kind of swaying in the current. Can a clean up crew work on this?

If my levels stay good over the weekend, I was planning on trying some snails and crabs. Should this be ok? I have an olive snail in the tank right now and he has been moving around a lot for 3-4 days.

Maybe if all is ok, next weekend maybe move my current fish to the new tank. I want to get a cheap assortment of critters to see what the dog will let be

 

[reefrunner69]

Should I go ahead and rinse/scrub the remaining rock? There is some stuff kind of swaying in the current. Can a clean up crew work on this?

I would use a turkey baster to blast it off the rock I wouldn't remove the rock to scrub it anymore if it has cycled/cured.

If my levels stay good over the weekend, I was planning on trying some snails and crabs. Should this be ok?

Yes, make sure to do a long slow acclimation for the mobile inverts, they are very sensitive to changes in temp, salinity and ph.

Maybe if all is ok, next weekend maybe move my current fish to the new tank. I want to get a cheap assortment of critters to see what the dog will let be

I would move the fish over slowly, one per week, or two smaller ones per week, from the least aggressive/territorial to the most.

 

[ellisz]

I have read that for acclimating snails, you can attach them at the water line and let them acclimate themselves. Will this work? Only problem I see is getting them to grab the glass. For the olive snail I put in, I was not really sure he was still alive since he had not moved in a few days and he would not stick to the glass. I just floated him a bit and sit him on a rock. He came right out after that.

I also have one turbo snail in the other tank. Is there an easy way get them to release? I have tried to move him before when moving the tank and he won't let go...

As for moving the fish, I only have 2 so that is easy. I planned on doing the dog last since he is the biggest. Plus he hates to be moved. He usually sulks a bit afterwards

Thanks for all your help!

 

[reefrunner69]

I have read that for acclimating snails, you can attach them at the water line and let them acclimate themselves. Will this work?

I have never tried it, but have read it, so no idea how well it works.

Is there an easy way get them to release?

I usually slide mine down to the edge of the glass until they let go