Is our live rock still alive?

[lisahellinger]

Sixteen days ago our fish tank installer/local fish store owner placed live rock in our new tank. The smell was horrible for a week. He said this was normal because some of the live rock dies in transit. He then added the lights about a week later (on for about 18 hours/day). This seems like too much to me.

When the rock first arrived I thought it looked pretty good - lots of color - purple(coralline algae, I think), oranges and yellows (sponges?), and pale green encrustations.

We have a chiller that he has not plug in yet because he doesn't have the right temperature probe. The water seemed very warm to us so we purchased a simple thermometer today and it was 90 degrees F. We are worried because the live rock seems very white now. The color that it started with is just not there anymore. Are we just imagining this or has our live rock been cooked, and as a result died over the last week, because the chiller was not plugged in?

Is this normal? If not, what should we do?

Thanks,
Lisa

[Hara]

That does seem very warm. I do not have an answer for you except to say that live rock does lose some of its color due to die off....I think time will tell whether or not it has been "cooked". I would say that the lights are on way too long tho.

I am sure others will chime in on this that may have experiences similar to yours.
Good luck.

[xxmoorishmanxx]

my live rock went through a time when it lost a lot of color and coraline algeas sometimes additives such as calcium and iodine can help bring them back. but i agree that time is your best bet. Oh yeah never add anything to the tank before testing for it first. lights do seem to be on for a while.

[triggers]

Was the LR already cured? Uncured LR smells real bad during the curing process.

[By-Tor]

I wouldn't be concerned about the bacteria that is found on and in the LR, as they are veryt stroong and can endure all kinds of conditions( even dry ). I am confused though, your LFS set up uncured LR in your display tank to cure. That would scare me. For one, who knows what pests were contained in the rock...a pistol shrimp and the side of a glass aquarium can make for a long night when it cracks your aquarium with its claw. Sorry, not trying to scare you. Not to mention all the bristle worms etc that come in on LR. The second problem is going to be controlling all the waste and doing all the multiple water changes. As far as lights, you have to determine what works best for you. There will always be debate onb the length of time you should have your lights on. ( personally, I'd cut them back a little) good luck

[BBReef]

from my experience, curing live rock before you place it your tank is always the best thing to do. even if it has been cured, you can still use it to cycle the tank, there will always be some more die off until the tank is completely cycled. and the colors should eventually come back as the tank matures. at least mine did. i had some completely dead dried out rock that now has purples and greens on it. i didn't think that rock would ever grow anything but it has. and as far as the temp goes, i would definitely put at least one or two small fans on it blowing across the surface of the water, either on the tank or the sump(if you have one). this will bring the temp down a little before you get your chiller working. also cut your lights way back, you really don't need them on at all during the cycling period, especially if you have to wait for your rocks to cure. and as far as the critters go, if your worried about them i suggest you do the 1.03 specific gravity in a bucket thing. that is if your rocks arn't in a place that you want them permanently and would be too much of a hassle to move them, fill up a bucket with salt water approx. 1.03 specific gravity for about 10 sec and watch as the little critters come running out. do this with each rock and place them back in the tank. then, if you arnt grossed out, you can pick and choose which critters you want to keep, and throw the rest out. well ive said my speech i hope some of this helps.