A sad day for my reef.

[ChiTownRomeo]

Truely a sad day for my 55 gal Aquarium. I was using Marco dry rock but it is so dusty and crumbled easily. No matter how much i rinse or soak it, it crumbles and is so dusty! I Switched it out for Bulk reef Supply Pukani Dry rock. Added a bottle of Dr. Tim's one and only to establish bacteria. Woke up this morning and every fish was dead. Water was super cloudy, Skimmer was foaming like crazy and Only my snails and emerald crabs were alive. My Black Ice clowns were also dead. Did a emergency 30 gallon water change and my corals have opened back up and my snails are out roaming around. I have no idea what went wrong cause I "cooked" the dry rock for 3 weeks. Maybe I should go back to Marco Rock. Or is Live rock the best way to go? Be careful with Pukani Rock.

 

[melosu58]

When you added the dry rock it did not have the beneficial nitrifying bacteria on it. The rock was not cured. You`ll need to cycle the tank again before you add any mor fish. We have good articles on cycling the tank and curing the rock.

 

[mr_X]

It's not a good practice to add a large amount of anything to your delicate system all at once. It's not the type of rock that's the problem.
Dr. Tim's is not a miracle elixir that deletes the need for a cycle. If you've watched the instructional/ promotional video they add the bottle then put 2 tiny clown fish in a 90 gallon system.
They don't max out the bio load immediately, which is what I think happened here.

How did you cook the rock exactly?

 

[ChiTownRomeo]

When you added the dry rock it did not have the beneficial nitrifying bacteria on it. The rock was not cured. You`ll need to cycle the tank again before you add any mor fish. We have good articles on cycling the tank and curing the rock.

That's why I added the Dr. Tim's One and Only....

 

[ChiTownRomeo]

It's not a good practice to add a large amount of anything to your delicate system all at once. It's not the type of rock that's the problem.
Dr. Tim's is not a miracle elixir that deletes the need for a cycle. If you've watched the instructional/ promotional video they add the bottle then put 2 tiny clown fish in a 90 gallon system.
They don't max out the bio load immediately, which is what I think happened here.

How did you cook the rock exactly?

Only had my 2 Clowns and 2 Chromis in the tank. All still Juviniles And some crabs and snails. So no big Bio Load at all. Cooked the rocks in a vinegar/ water bath. Then muratic acid bath. Then let soak in R/O water till it was was clear and no more debris.

 

[melosu58]

That's why I added the Dr. Tim's One and Only....

It takes weeks for that nitrifying bacteria to take over the tank. Adding that stuff did nothing at the moment.

 

[mr_X]

The bio load was from the rock, not the fish. A massive amount of nutrients all at once crashed the tank.
Cooking rock is just another name for curing it. You probably crashed the ph with those chemicals.

 

[ChiTownRomeo]

The bio load was from the rock, not the fish. A massive amount of nutrients all at once crashed the tank.
Cooking rock is just another name for curing it. You probably crashed the ph with those chemicals.

I had a feeling it came from the rock. Brs has a disclaimer saying "it comes out the ocean and needs to be cleaned and cured" Over 100 posts say to cook it the exact way I did. Oh well I'm going back to all fiji Live rock.

 

[mr_X]

100 posts say to soak dry rock in muratic acid? I would have put the rock in a bin with a powerhead and salt water, added a little ammonia, and waited 3 weeks before I started testing for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.

 

[ChiTownRomeo]

100 posts say to soak dry rock in muratic acid? I would have put the rock in a bin with a powerhead and salt water, added a little ammonia, and waited 3 weeks before I started testing for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.

Yep since it's so much dead organisms on the rock.

 

[mr_X]

Then you wouldn't need the ammonia, but otherwise, I would still follow the above. This would happen with Fiji rock as well.

 

[daney90]

Sorry to hear your lose.. good thread to read as we learn something new everyday.

 

[Jmkb02]

Did you clear out all your rock and replace it with the new rock?

* sorry for your lose! Hope the corals make it!

 

[ChiTownRomeo]

I figured since it was dry rock it was clean. But I was wrong. This dry rock was loaded with dead organisms. Its all my fault and nobody to blame but myself. i didn't read what BRS said about the dry Pukani rock and how it contains dead sponges, crabs and more. Noob mistake.... And it cost my fish their life.

 

[ChiTownRomeo]

Anyone have good experience with reef cleaners dry rock...

 

[CorallineAlgae]

It most likely wasn't the dead sponges and other debris it was the muriatic acid.

 

[Jmkb02]

It most likely wasn't the dead sponges and other debris it was the muriatic acid.

I'm gonna have to agree. I've heard of dead rock causing a re-cycle affect but not wiping out an entire tank in less than 24 hours. Sorry for your lose again but I would clean that rock and then cycle it. It's gonna take some time and if you have any live stock at all in your tank, you may want to consider rehoming it for some time.

 

[MacDracor]

That is really sad and I'm sorry for your loss. I think the best way to handle new rock is one piece at a time, several days apart. I would even do this for 100% dry and clean rock just to be sure.
I've never seen anyone recommend muriatic acid before. Can you post links? Maybe context matters?

 

[erichm20]

Yea I've also never heard of using acid either maybe a little vinegar but never acid. I just cured an added about 25 lbs of base rock that I got from my uncles garage which he said was there 2 years. After doing a bunch of research I just put it in a Rubbermaid bin with sw, heater, and power head. I had to do huge water changes every couple days in the beginning and it took about 5 weeks to complete the cycle before I added it to the tank.

 

[Jmkb02]

So any news? Did you make a decision?