Lighting vs. live rock

[Reefrookie]

I recently shortened the time cycle on my tank to 6 hrs. compared to 10 hrs. I also rearranged some rock work and now it seems I am getting more die off. Is the die off from the shortened light cycle or because I turned a few and a new surface of the rock is facing the lighting? Also, will I have another cycle now? All my parameters are in line, but the REALLY weird thing is......since I did this, I have a somewhat strong ammonia smell in the room :frustrat:

 

[FNG44601]

Gotta ask how long has your tank been set up? Are you still cycling? Just an off top guess without knowing.... but I'd guess that your live rock is curing!
-- any livestock in the tank?

 

[Reefrookie]

Tank is set up for about two month. I had a complete cycle a month ago. Just have some snails and one clown for livestock

 

[cthegame]

I recently shortened the time cycle on my tank to 6 hrs. compared to 10 hrs. I also rearranged some rock work and now it seems I am getting more die off. Is the die off from the shortened light cycle or because I turned a few and a new surface of the rock is facing the lighting? Also, will I have another cycle now? All my parameters are in line, but the REALLY weird thing is......since I did this, I have a somewhat strong ammonia smell in the room :frustrat:

Yes i think the die if because you turned a few and a new surface of the rock is facing the lighting...but im not 100%.

You might get a mini cycle but i dont think it will be anything to be too concerned about.

 

[fatman]

The moving the rock is the larger cause. Live rock requires little light as nearly all live rock available for sale is taken from deep waters. That is because people in general have fairly low light intensities and the suppliers are supplying what the majority of people can have coraline success with. Every new contact surface you provided is now having a die off of coraline, plus some death of beneficial bacteria because lessened flow means lessen dissolved oxygen getting to the bacteria that require oxygen. However it will take little time for the bacteria still living to multiply and make up the differences for the losses, so any spiking of ammonia, and nitrite should be small and very short term. It will take longer for the new surfaces exposed to the light to cover with coraline. Sometimes you actually can lose coraline when exposing it to additional light as it liked dimmer lighting, IE. deep water live rock which came from deeper waters grows best in dimmer light areas. That is why lots of times the coraline is heavier under ledges and closer to the bottom of the tank than the top. Very, very, little shallow water live rock makes it to the markets anymore.

 

[Bifferwine]

I would siphon or suck off with a turkey baster as much of the dying off algae as you can. Any algae that dies in your tank will re-release nutrients back into the water. Turning rocks around is a good way to quickly kill off nuisance algae, but it's important to remove as much of the dead and dying stuff as possible by hand.

 

[Marke86]

Did you test your water right after moving your rocks around this will stir up old dead stuff and somtimes raise nitrites.

 

[Reefrookie]

Did you test your water right after moving your rocks around this will stir up old dead stuff and somtimes raise nitrites.

Yes, I am testing every other day since I rearranged the rocks, I just keep getting more die off. And the smell is getting worse. My wife is ready to kill me!