How fast should the ammonia be going up?

[WarOrks15]

ok so i put 36 lbs of LR in ym new tank at 1:00 cst and now it is 8:30 cst and the ammonia is off the chart. my test kist goes up to 8 ppm. and i think i have some corals growing on thei live rock should i be doing a water change soon to will the be fine?

[HoopsGuru]

Not much you can do for the corals, you have to allow the system to "cycle" for the first time which will include these spikes. This is why I choose to cycle the system first with shrimp and then add my liverock, the resulting spike from the uncured rock is rarely enough to kill off as much life. I would just allow the tank to continue on, you will be surprised what comes out of and grows off the rock once the levels have stabilized.

[WarOrks15]

thank you a ton for your timely responce. i really did not think of starting the cycle with hrimp 1st because every one was saying to just do it with live rock . be i will keep that in mind for the next tank (if i find more money or get rich fast). Thanks again.

[reefrunner69]

Do water changes, 50% every other day until the ammonia comes down. This will preserve as much life on the rock as possible and shorten the cycle time. The nitrifying bacteria are there on the rock, they simply cannot keep up with the amount of ammonia being produced from the die off.