Pre-cured LR

[DamselnDistress]

I cycled my tank not planning on having live rock and now I have 3 damsels in it. But now I've read that live rock is so much better than none so I was thinking about getting some. My nitrites are kind of high and if I add live rock will my ammonia and nitrites head towards 0 once it's stablized? I have a 75 gal with a fluval 404 canister filter and 1 powerhead. I've also had problems with fluctuating pH. Will live rock help this stay the same? I was also wondering if I ordered it pre-cured online if I would start a new cycle when I added it to my tank or if it would just be a short cycle and I should wait a couple weeks? I'm planning on taking the damsels back to the LFS store before I add any LR and I also heard they're just agressive fish so I was going to get clowns to start with. So will I have to cure it again once it's sent to me? What would be the point of buying it pre-cured then?

 

[brndfrb]

Most of the time when you get cured online once it is shipped it has to cure again. At least that is what i have been told. Check out Premiumaquatics.com There rock is great. That is where i have gotten all of my rock. But i can go and pick it iup there b/c i live about 10 minutes form where they are located in indiana.

 

[fishfreek]

If your nitrites (not nitrates) are high then you have a problem with an incomplete bacteria cycle. Live rock will enhance your bactera filter. If you can get live rock localy make sur eyou ask for rock that is cured. If possible buy rock that you have seen in the store for a period of time.

If you order rock online you will have to go thru a recuring proces. To cure the rock you can use a simple rubbermaid tub or trashcan. We have a good article on how to cure live rock in our articles area. If your still looking for a source of online live rock might I suggest liverocks.com as they are a sponsor of the site and the only things I have heard have been prases about their rock. Another source for live rock would be liveaquaria.com

 

[DamselnDistress]

so even if i buy it precured i will have to go through another curing process again? Can I put it in my already cycled tank and leave it in there without fish and let it go? Also, do I need a protein skimmer? If I had a protein skimmer could I go without live rock?

 

[fishfreek]

Yes, dont buy into the marketing hype about precured live rock when you have to have it shiipped. Even if you ship it overnight there will be some dieoff and the dieoff could be significant enough to cause problems.

Dont let that detur you from getting live rock online.

A skimmer is highly suggested for new saltwater aquarists. The skimmer really does not do the same process the live rock does. Think of it as that they work hand in hand with eachother but one is not a replacment for the other.

 

[DamselnDistress]

Is live rock really necessary? I'm planning on having 2 clowns, a copperband butterfly, a yellow tang, some kind of dwarf angel and maybe a foxface. For a tank with only 5 or 6 fish is the live rock necessary? Im not planning on having corals at all and I heard you only need live rock if you want corals. Would I have to worry about my ammonia or nitrates being high if I only had a protein skimmer? I want my tank to be really clean looking and every tank I've seen with live rock has tons of algae. Maybe I should just stick with a protein skimmer and no live rock.

 

[fishfreek]

Im not planning on having corals at all and I heard you only need live rock if you want corals.

False statement.

Would I have to worry about my ammonia or nitrates being high if I only had a protein skimmer?

Yes because a skimmer will not directly remove ammonia or nitrite or nitrate. A skimmer only removed disolved organic compounds. Sure having a good skimmer can remove what could develop into ammonia but its not a method of removing ammonia. Only a good biological filter will do this.

I want my tank to be really clean looking and every tank I've seen with live rock has tons of algae. Maybe I should just stick with a protein skimmer and no live rock.

I stronly suggest looking thru our photo gallery. I think you will find many tanks that use live rock that look very nice, unless your shooting for a clean "aka sanitary bleach white" look.

 

[DamselnDistress]

Right now I have an all white tank. But, if LR will make my tank healthier that's probably the way to go. What's the best kind? I've seen a bunch of different types such as Fiji and Tonga and Marshall and Kaelini and on live aquaria they have lalo. what's the best kind?

 

[DamselnDistress]

also could i use this lighting for corals? http://petsupplyliquidator.com/htm/aprod_hood_ultrareef.htm
how bout this?
http://petsupplyliquidator.com/htm/aprod_hood_al_lighthouse.htm

 

[cj10488]

quite honetly I have the Ultra Reef hood from PetsupplyLiquidator.com It was a great and still is a great hood however I find that it was not enough light for my 55gal.. Yes I am a light freek lol I am currently in the process of retrofitting the hood with 2x250watt MH bulbs... FWIW it should house most low-medium light corals in a 75gal tank... Make sure you specify if you get that hood that you want 4 bulbs the 10k and 2 of the True actinic.. BTW the Customer SErvice there sucks extremely bad.. you might want to check out http://www.aquariumlight.com/index.asp or www.hellolights.com I just recently ordered 2x250watt MH bubls from http://www.aquariumlight.com/index.asp on ebay.. I would say that this hood would be nice and work well with all corals
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3212&item=2355098714
All you would have to do then is buy whatever MH bulbs you wanted to put in there that will work with the ballast..

HTH,
James

 

[DamselnDistress]

I was wondering if that hood was any good. So i want 3 10k bulbs and 3 blue ones? I have a 75 gal and need the 47 inch hood. Also is the prizm skimmer any good? I need a hang on one...no sump. I'd get that kind of ebay one but I don't have a canopy and I need a hood like the one on petsupplyliquidator.com. I think 330 watts will be good for low to medium light corals. Question...do corals require tons of work? I dunno if I wanna mess with them if i'm gonna have to slave over them. Also, if i get an overnight shipment on LR, will I really have to cure it again? Or will it only take a week or two?

 

[cj10488]

you want 4 10k bulbs and 2 true actinic I dont know what they have that funky setup on there You can look in the genral retailers forum for my experience with them.. I did not like them... since you need a hood as well check this out... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3212&item=2355098589

A good hang on skimmer is the aqua C remora.. Check the sponsors forum I think Captiveraisedcorals is running an awesome special for them you are going to want the remora pro though.. Corals really dont require that much work besides keeping the water quality high.. As for LR i would highly suggest Liverocks.com there was very very little die off from that and lots of critters..

HTH,
James

 

[DamselnDistress]

So which is the best kind of live rock.....fiji, tonga, kaelini, gulf rock, keys rock?

 

[cj10488]

i Vote the Aquacultured Keys Rocks.. It also saves the natural Reefs out there in the waters as well..


James