Had A Spike Today

Rcpilot

Rcpilot

Reef enthusiast
I'm sure some of you have seen the pics and read about my lace rock with all the slime on it.

Well, I decided to take it out today and give it a good soak and scrub in hot water. Got it out and filled the rubbermaid tub with hot water and a capful of bleach.

Decided to check my chemicals and got:
0.5ppm ammonia
10 nitrate
17 nitrate

:pissedof:

It's a 30g tank, so I did a 10g water change. I've had about 15g of saltwater mixed up for about 2 weeks, just sitting in a rubbermaid tub, so when I saw those numbers I had to change some water.

Got my nitrites down to 5 and my nitrate down to 12. Ammonia won't register on the test.

I made up some more saltwater incase I have to change more tomorrow.

That darn lace rock was just COVERED in green algea that I didn't notice. I thought it was just a stained rock, but when it got wet, all that algea swelled up and started to rot. It got all slimey. I've been scrubbing it with a heavy plastic handbrush that I picked up at Target. I musta knocked off 1/2 a coke can worth of gunk. It's soaking some more and I'll scrub it again before bed tonight and then drain the water. Refill with fresh water and let it sit overnight.

The shrooms, fish, sponge, snails and tube worms look okay for now. Haven't seen any dead critters so far.

Anything else I should do? Planning to test tomorrow morning before work and might do a quick water change before I head out, if I need too.

Thanks
 
Sounds like you basically got a bunch of uncured live rock and started a cycle in your tank. Nothing much you can do about it except water changes and wait it out.
 
that's not a terrible amount of ammonia, or course none is good. but, if your allready showing nitrites then the cycle should be on the down hill slope. probally a mini cycle from all the new live rock in such a small tank. it's hard to miss out on those good buys. if you decide to add more rock go slowly. even if you buy a lot try leaving some in a bucket of saltwater with a powerhead. add a pound or two to the d.t. and wait a week or two, then slowly add more to avoid another mini cycle. hope this helps.
 
Was that the lace rock you put in there RC?
Usually lace is dry and dont cause any problems.Sounds to me like some body sold you some recently dead rock.
 
It was a big 10lb piece of lace rock. I got it out of a box at the LFS. It looked stained and dark in places, but I didn't feel any algea or crustiness on it.

I hosed it down for a solid 20 minutes in my shower with a high power jet out of the showerhead. Scrubbed it and hosed it down really good--or so I thought.

Seams that when I put it in the tank, there WAS green algea on it and it all swelled up and soaked up saltwater. Then it started to decay and rot. It got all slimey and had white slime pockets all over it.

I have it soaking in a rubbermaid tub of hot water and a couple tablespoons of bleach. I've scrubbed it 3 times today and I think I have 95% of the loose and soft organic matter off it now. I've gone over it REALY thoroughly now that it has me concerned. But, there are holes and nooks-n-crannies all over it that I can't get inside. A few of those holes have visible organics inside. It's green algea. I've started picking at it with a wire coat hanger. I pick and bust it up, then flush with a turkey baster. Pick some more. I'm going over every square inch of this rock now and trying to get as much of that algea off as possible. It's no small rock either. :grumble:

I'm going to leave it OUT of the tank for now.

My plan now is to just leave all that cured rock in the tank that I bought from a local reefer yesterday. That cured rock along with the "slightly" live rock I bought from the LFS is going to stay put until my tank gets completely settled. I don't care if it takes 2 months. I have GOT to get this tank stable.

I think I just made a couple dumb moves in stocking the tank:

I only let my Safeway Deli shrimp rot for about 3 days before I took it out. That DID introduce some ammonia, and probably started the biological process, but my wife started whining about the smell and I yanked it out prematurely. So, it probably wasn't competely cycled out. It most likely had a very small bacteria colony, but not enough to handle the load I dumped in it a few weeks later.

2 weeks of nothing. Just pumping.

So, poorly cycled tank--
Then I went out and bought about 10 pounds of live rock--if ya wanna call it that. No coraline growth on it and a lot of dead or dying gunk on it. But, the LFS had it in a big tub and called it live rock. :grumble:

I also bought about 12 pounds of "dry" lace rock. 10 pounds of that was this big hulking mess I'm now bleaching and scrubbing.

So, I dumped 22 pounds of rock in a poorly cycled tank. Dumb.

Then, a couple 3 or 4 days later, I found a local reefer who was parting out a 125g reef. I bought 17 pounds of PREMIUM cured live rocks from him. It's absolutely covered in coraline algea and it's got all kinds of critters popping outta holes. Loaded with life.

I took a poorly cycled tank and added 39 pounds of rock in less than a week. 10 pounds of that was supposedly "dry" lace rock and it turned out to be loaded up with green algea.

That big piece of lace rock is going to stay out of my tank until I can get the tank stable. I just hope I don't kill all these wonderful critters that hitch hiked into my tank on that nicely cured rock that I bought.

In a couple months, maybe the tank will be stable and I will have scrubbed that other piece of lace until my fingers are numb. Then I'll go ahead and put it back in. If the tank has been established for a few months and got a chance to build up a nice bacterial colony, maybe adding that big piece of rock won't cause too much of a problem if it's still got a few bits of organics on it.

Should I make water changes?

Or just let it cycle out? Damn the ammonia and nitrite spikes? Let it go?
 
That's why it's a always a good idea to put your rocks in the tank before you get fish. And I think you are right about taking the shrimp out too soon. You should have just let it rot all the way instead of taking it out.

I'd say just let it cycle out at this point.
 
Im gonna agree with Biff.Just let it go ahead and cycle.Thats one place you sure dont wont to get in a hurry.

If you really want to make the wife complain,try curing 45 pounds of fresh uncured rock in the tank.Took 3 weeks AFTER the cycle to get the house aired out.
 
Well, we ain't got a dog or a doghouse, but I'd be in it fer sure if I did that. :shock:

She'd send me to the local big box and make me buy all the wood for a doghouse--make me build it--and then toss me a pillow.

I'll be curing rocks rather slowly from now on. I'm always telling people that I'm "Mr. Patient" and then I go off and dump almost 40 pounds of rock in a new tank in less than a week. Then I end up with a nice cycle and end up freaking out about killing my beautiful new shrooms.

Stupid :grumble:

I'm not doing a thing for a few months. It's just gonna sit there and stabilize. I'll change some more water this weekend. I plan to change about 5 gallons a week for right now. I've got 20 gallons mixed up and circulating with a powerhead right now. It's got a lid on it, so I'm hoping it won't change salinity too much.

I AM going to get an RO/DI filter ASAP. I'm just saving a few pennies first. I want a nice 5 stage unit--might as well get a good one.
 
great buy got one myself and so does lots of others in our reef club good price cause there actuall website they sell them for almost double that price but there ebay site sells them cheaper.
 
its my long weekend and i'm making 15 gallons for 125 gallon and 5 gallon for 29 gallon tank, tomorrow is water change day since every is gone to school.
 

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