Live Rock, tank conditions, and possibilities...

[tizapolgar]

Hey guys, it's me again...back with a couple of questions of saltwater inexperience.

To start - I've been testing my water daily for several days, and the tank has been up and running for a week and a half. Temperature stays within one degree up or down of 79F, pH is on the rise (up to 8.0 from upper 7s, so it's almost there), no ammonia, but the nitrites are high (as one would expect). So it seems like the cycle is going pretty normally. 10 Gallons, with between 8 and 10 lbs of live rock.

But, I'm wondering if I've screwed byself by cycling the tank with live rock...this might be a stupid question, but given the harsh water conditions through the cycle process, does that kill off the good stuff (invertebrates and otherwise) that I want to have in the tank that would grow/arrive on the rock, or will it come back with time? I know that it takes several weeks for the rock to cure and begin to grow back, but will it grow back after having gone through an entire cycle?

Like I said...this might be a stupid question...but it seems that my reef and saltwater questions know no bounds :mrgreen:

Thanks!

 

[squibley2]

The stuff that lives on the live rock tends to be pretty hardy which enables it to withstand the cycle with little impact. The stuff from the LR should be able to withstand the cycle and come back with a vengeance in time. I would not worry about it to much if I were you. You have done the right thing by cycling with LR and just let that run its course and see what happens. You would be surprised what makes it. I have had sponges and other organisms that are fairly delicate make when the rock has been almost dry and exposed to temps well out of the normal range and have had them come back after a few months of being in the tank.

 

[bkv1997]

Tizapolgar:

With such a small tank you need to be careful, everytime you add something you need to watch for minicycles.

Just be careful.

Brandon

 

[tizapolgar]

Oh yeah, no worries...I'm in no huge hurry - such a small tank won't take much of a bioload anyway so I'm not in a big rush to fill it up. I'm more concerned with having a happy, healthy environment for one or two small fish, a hermit or two, and some snails (and maybe a temporary peppermint shrimp if aiptasia ever becomes a problem...).

 

[minireefer]

I think your going in the right direction and cycling with live rock will aid in the cycle process.