When to add live rock

[schulze]

I was wondering when I can add LR. I just starting cycling my tank with a shrimp and wasnt sure if i should add LR now or wait a week.

Ive heard its good to cycle your tank with the LR but I wasnt sure if the ammonia and nitrite spikes would kill of the LR.

Also, how many hrs a day should I have my light on my tank?

 

[austinsdad]

If the rock is uncured, it would definitely be better to add it now.

 

[schulze]

It is going it be already cured from the LFS, possibly petco....

 

[austinsdad]

Maybe cured but most likely not much life on it. I'd add it now, but I have no idea what Petco has. If it is full of life, you might wanna wait - or do water changes often which would extend the cycle time. Can you get ahold of any dry base rock? it'd be great and cheap to use that now too.

Lighting during cycling isn't that important at all, but I like 10 hrs on daily.

 

[melosu58]

I agree, add it now

 

[WhiteCloud]

I like to cycle with just a sandbed and Dry Base Rock using the raw shrimp. Then I add the Live Rock....and sometimes I have a small cycle...sometimes no cycle at all...depending on the LR die-off. This way I do not subject any life on the LR to really high ammonia or nitrite levels...and preserve the most life. I get Florida Aquacultured rock which is teaming with life...and I hate to damage any of it during a cycle.

That is my consciencent method....but I do not know many people that do this.

Steve

 

[schulze]

Okay, i think im gonna add LR slowly through the cycle, just to see how things work out. Heres what I got so far.

 

[austinsdad]

gonna add LR slowly through the cycle,

It may a a longer, drawn out cycle. The ammonia goes up, starts to come down, then maybe go up again with more rocock. I'd do all of it now.

Or like Whitecloud suggests. That does sound good for the life laden, cured LR. Besides, base to start is cheaper anyway. Also, you can work the dry, base rock and shape it, build swim thrus, arches, amd things like that with putty. Don't putty all of it, just some key structures. Easy to do with dry base out of the water.

Also, as you add rock, look for more porous stuff. Even for base. Not as heavy, same sized, but holey. That's the good stuff IMO. It's not the weight that counts, but the surface size with those nice nooks and crannies.

 

[WhiteCloud]

I had not even thought of the puttying idea!! What kind of Putty do you recommend that is aquarium safe??

Thanks

 

[austinsdad]

http://www.liverocknreef.com/shop/i...744&prevaction=category&previd=28&prevstart=0

Like this kinda stuff. Any LFS should carry it. Made just for putting rocks like these together. And no worry, it'll easily come apart when/if you decide to re-landscape. Don't use glue IMO.

 

[drummerj]

i just bought live rock too! I added all at the same time. I havent put any dead shrimp to bring up ammonia levels because i was told that adding live rock teeming with life would take care of that, because most of the life on the rocks would die, and begin to rot in place of shrimp.

 

[Guest]

i was told that adding live rock teeming with life would take care of that, because most of the life on the rocks would die

Hopefully most of your life will not die but enough should to provide a source of amonia. You need to test to see. You should see a high amonia spike if you just added a good amount all at once unless it is all cured with not much life. Bottom line you have to test. You need to see a spike in amonia and nitrite after that until they are both 0.

 

[Charlie]

If you buy lr from the lfs and put it directly into your tank the die-off should be minimal. Its shipping lr (out of water for a day or two) that leads to noticable die-off.

I put my pre-cured (shipped) lr into the tank with a big fat shrimp and had no problems. I think that some people make too much of an issue of exactly when and how lr should be added.

Like Famous Amos (the cookie guy) sais; you can waste too much time researching things to death - sometimes it more important to just get started.

 

[austinsdad]

you can waste too much time researching things to death - sometimes it more important to just get started.

And for some things, I'd say he could be very wrong. Lot's of people "just get started" in this hobby and waste a lot of money without sufficient research.

If you buy lr from the lfs and put it directly into your tank the die-off should be minimal.

That depends entirely on what stage and how much die-off the rock has. Paritally cured or uncured maybe OK depending on the quantity of cured rock already present and how much you're adding. You really can't say just add it directly to the tank without some limits or caution.

Shulze, how are you making out?

 

[schulze]

Everything is going good for me. My tank finished cycling at the beginning of the week. Now i get to see all my hitchhikers (an anenome, bristleworms, some really small white worms, and ive seen one little bug).

Since then I put in 6 dwarf blue leg hermits, and 2 nassarius snails.

This weekend im thinking about getting my first fish... possibly a clown or a goby/blenny.

 

[schulze]

Update

 

[SCFatz]

From SW fish.com:

They should be introduced into established aquariums with Live Rock, as this is where their best food source breeds -- copepods.

The only reason I don't have one of these beuties is listed above.

I suggest you look into hatching brine shrimp (not difficult or expensive) and still there is no garantee that the shrimp will work.Some others may chime in with differenrt opinions,but the research I have done suggests you have purchased a very finiiky eater.

I love the fish though...very high on the wish list for me...I'm just nearly established enough to add one per my reading (I don't mean to sound preachy,just trying to help your fish survive).

HTH

 

[schulze]

update

 

[roka64]

Looks nice! You may want to keep that hair algea in check. How often/what/how much are you feeding? How long are you running your lights?

 

[schulze]

Felt like updating today. Added a sump. Pics show progression.