is my live rock dead????

[bigford84]

hi .. so i got 30lbs of live rock from my lfs.. and didnt have my tank running yet so the lfs guy said i can store it in buckets of salt water at any temp and it will be ok. temp was arount 40 -75. and salinaty was 1.025 and they were in there for a week. here are the pics.they all looked like the rock on the rite,now they are getting darker.. are they dead??? and if they are dead what do i do to turn them back into live rock?? im starting a 50 gal fowlr with that 30lbs of rock,60lbs of dry sand,and i have 2 filter bags iv been storing in my fluval canister filter on my running 30 gal fowlr. what would you do to start this tank???

 

[abdhalim2]

i would say that your live rock in cycle process...it might because of some dead bacteria while u bring the LR from your LFS...just let it be since u already put it in saltwater...or u can scrub it....it would only give u another cycle....

 

[austinsdad]

First thing I'd do is test the water with that rock for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. That'll give you a clue. Might have to consider a shrimp cycle if the rock is dead. That 40 degrees suggests it could be dead to me.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Bacteria have the same temperature acclimation requirements as fish and corals. If you shock the rock by pulling it out of 40 degree water and putting it in 75 degree water, you will lose bacteria on the surface of the rock. Whatever is deep inside the rock will probably survive to some extent, so you won't lose everything I wouldn't think, but you are still going to end up cycling. I don't think you will need to add anything, since the die-off will provide ammonia to spur the bacterial growth. Just monitor for Ammonia and Nitrite, then when Nitrite hits zero test for Nitrate (don't bother until then since most Nitrate kits convert to Nitrite, so any Nitrite throws off that test). You might have to do a few PWCs while the cycle happens, I would think if you Ammonia goes over 1.0 or Nitrite over 0.5 you would want to do a PWC, but I don't know for sure, you might be able to let it go higher. It depends on how much life is left on the rock - if there were lots of campers, the lower the better. If it was just cured base rock, then it doesn't matter that much and you could let the ammonia go as high as 3 and Nitrite as high a 1.0-1.5 I would think.

Anyone can feel free to correct me if I am off base...

 

[bigford84]

i know the cycle might have started,but im going to empty the tank to fix the background. it looks like poo with all the bubbles so im going to paint it black. im in no hury to cycle this tank. just wanting to know when i do the shrimp cycleing will it fix the live rock and turn the sand live? and after the cycle i still have 30 lbs of live rock in my 30 gal fowlr that will go in the 50 gal

 

[Soundtrigger]

Bacteria have the same temperature acclimation requirements as fish and corals. If you shock the rock by pulling it out of 40 degree water and putting it in 75 degree water, you will lose bacteria on the surface of the rock. Whatever is deep inside the rock will probably survive to some extent, so you won't lose everything I wouldn't think, but you are still going to end up cycling. I don't think you will need to add anything, since the die-off will provide ammonia to spur the bacterial growth. Just monitor for Ammonia and Nitrite, then when Nitrite hits zero test for Nitrate (don't bother until then since most Nitrate kits convert to Nitrite, so any Nitrite throws off that test). You might have to do a few PWCs while the cycle happens, I would think if you Ammonia goes over 1.0 or Nitrite over 0.5 you would want to do a PWC, but I don't know for sure, you might be able to let it go higher. It depends on how much life is left on the rock - if there were lots of campers, the lower the better. If it was just cured base rock, then it doesn't matter that much and you could let the ammonia go as high as 3 and Nitrite as high a 1.0-1.5 I would think.

Anyone can feel free to correct me if I am off base...

Why floyd? it's more fun you watch you stumble around LOL