Dead live rock

[abby_n]

Hi! I just made an account so I’m brand new to this forum, trying to start my first saltwater aquarium and I’m already running into problems.

I ordered aquacultured live rock that was pretty excited about and basically the shipping service lost my package and it showed up about a month later than it was supposed to... it smelled pretty bad. I unwrapped all of it and scrubbed each of the rocks pretty well to remove everything that seemed dead and went to a nearby fish store to buy some saltwater and a bucket which they are currently soaking in. The rock was pretty cool. It had some plants growing on it and clam shells that were still attached.

Some of the rock looks black at the bottom. It still doesn’t smell great and ammonia levels are really really high. It seems like I need to add some current and filtration in the water and do water changes fairly often. The person at the fish store suggested I should just dry it out and restart which would be a bummer.

I’m interested to know if you guys think it might still be usable. I’m completely new to saltwater so any advice is super helpful.

Here’s a link to the rock I bought Incase that is relevant:
https://gulfliverock.com/price-list/ols/products/20-lbs-premium-deco-live-rock

Thanks!!
Abby

 

[Sniperhank]

I won't sit here and tell you that rock is rock, but the ammonia levels being high in the tub can be a blessing in disguise. That is all the dead stuff helping you cycle the tank/cure the rock. Get some flow in there with it and let nature do it's thing.

That said, I'd still suggest giving a super good scrub before putting the rock into the system. Though the decomp will get the bacteria base built up in the rock, you don't want to be adding unnecessary nutrients into your finished system.

 

[abby_n]

I won't sit here and tell you that rock is rock, but the ammonia levels being high in the tub can be a blessing in disguise. That is all the dead stuff helping you cycle the tank/cure the rock. Get some flow in there with it and let nature do it's thing.

That said, I'd still suggest giving a super good scrub before putting the rock into the system. Though the decomp will get the bacteria base built up in the rock, you don't want to be adding unnecessary nutrients into your finished system.

Thank you! Glad to hear that it might not be a lost cause. The water is looking a lot clearer and ammonia is testing lower now so as long as there isn’t anything dangerous abt using rock like this I’ll just try to add some current, scrub them off again, change out the water and let it cycle. I think I was worried because I did notice a little bit of mold growing on a couple of the rocks. Guess I’m not used to saltwater. It seems like trying to keep things clean and prevent stuff that you don’t want from living in your tank is a lot harder!

 

[Sniperhank]

It's hard to keep things pristine. If you're having issues with getting the rock clean, take it outside and blast it with the hose.