N00b..Live rock question

[ellisz]

Fiji rock cause high phosphate? Never heard that. I have 45lbs of fiji in my tank.

The rock from the fish store should have no die off. The rock from LR.com should have very little die off. You need die off to start the cycle. That is why most put a piece of raw shrimp in the tank and let it decompose.

The stuff from hirocks will be seeded by the other LR you have(LFS and LR.com)

Easiest thing might just be to add all the rock when you get it and see if you get an ammonia hit. Add some hermits and then feed the tank. Make sure you have an establiished bacteria bed before adding fish.

OR add the LFS rock and the hirocks. Then add a raw shrimp and go through the cycle process. When it completes, order you LR.com rock and go from there. The LFS rock will not have the life on it that LR.com rock has. Most don't want to go though a full cycle with good rock because some of the life won't survive.

HTH

 

[Oceanicsublimat]

ok..I'm goin to FL this weekend..so I'll just add the lfs rock and hirocks when I get it.. and put a shrimp in.. then wait for the cycle to run it's course.. this will give me more time to get a better plan up with the tank in place.... how long is the wait usually this way? actually I think the rock from the lfs I picked out has some clams on it.

 

[Oceanicsublimat]

oh. and thank u for ur help btw..I really appreciate it.. the guy at lr.com said that fiji rock was higher in phosphate

 

[toadery]

if you add liverock a few weeks after the first fish, should take out the fish when adding it? is there anything else you should be careful of when adding new liverock? i need to add another 20 lbs or so.

russ

 

[steve-s]

Best advice is to cure it seperately before adding new LR to the tank if your unsure of the state of the rock....

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=6

Cheers
Steve

 

[ellisz]

I agree with Steve but LR.com will tell you to just add it. Out of the 3 batches of LR I mail ordered, I cured 2 of them. The only order from LR.com I did not. All went well with just a small blip in ammonia. With the livestock I have now, I would not chance it. Depends on whats in the tank for me.

Alot of people have just added the LR.com rock with no problems but separate curing is always safer.

 

[JPloman]

I know about buying stuff from LFS is generally bad

I disagree with this statement. Not all LFS product is "bad" to buy. I only buy from my LFS when I am looking for livestock. Most of the time I will order my lr online, but only if my LFS is out of uncured rock.

The lr from liverocks.com is exceptional! I am more than happy with the quality of rock they sell. The owners are very nice and Hard Hat Diver friendly. They sell cured lr and it is always ready to go right into the tank upon delivery. I personally like to cure my own rock... but once again we are talking about preference. Not everyone knows how to cure lr or has the time and energy it takes.

 

[Oceanicsublimat]

yeah.. I meant that LFS is bad for things such as sumps, filters, and other things that may be cheaper elsewhere..I will go to my LFS for livestock.. as I want to be able to see what I"m getting..