CCR Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 A picture Finally!!!! between4-5 is good PH 8.1-3 what did you do about light???? It's lookin gooooood Was the rock aged, from a tank when youu got it???? In a tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gopens Posted September 20, 2006 Author Share Posted September 20, 2006 A picture Finally!!!! between4-5 is good PH 8.1-3 what did you do about light???? It's lookin gooooood Was the rock aged, from a tank when youu got it???? In a tank? yeah it was aged in a tank. this guy had like 3 600 gallon tanks with live rock. isit good that it aged in a tank or bad? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowboardKid26 Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 Its good. It means he has already done the cycling. I try to keep my temp at 79-81 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCR Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 Damm that's a lot of rock!!!!! What about lighting????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gopens Posted September 20, 2006 Author Share Posted September 20, 2006 Damm that's a lot of rock!!!!! What about lighting????? my lighting or the guys lighting with the LR? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowboardKid26 Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 Hey gopens... that add on ebay, where you got your rock, says its uncured. So you will still have a good die off, and your sand is going to suck up everything out of it. So since your at this stage, this is what I would do. 1. Get a range of test kits... Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, and PO4 2. Start testing your water like crazy. every other day. Start with the ammonia. 3. Seriously think about getting a phos reactor and running rowaphos in it while you cycle your rock. you don't want to be dealing with the problems that Nyles and I had, with getting all the PO4 back out as your rock leaches it. 4. Water change, water change, water change.... hopefully your using RO/DI water, as the water in southern oregon is supposidly (sp?) the worst around. (haven't tested it, but have heard from a bunch of reefers ) 5. I would restack my rock so that it is as loose as possible. You want water seriously moving around, under, over and through the rock, to get all the nasties out of it. 6. Every week take the rock out of your tank, and swish it HARD in some fresh saltwater to get the detritus out of it as it cycles. Hopefully you won;t have to do all of that, but as I said, that add does refer to it as "freshly imported UNCURED live rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowboardKid26 Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 Oh yeah... also, I wouldn't be running my lights for a couple of weeks... at least until the Nitrates test at 0, or near 0... then you can add some snails and such. If you run them now, algae will grow like crazy and there won't be anything in there to counter act it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gopens Posted September 20, 2006 Author Share Posted September 20, 2006 Hey gopens... that add on ebay, where you got your rock, says its uncured. So you will still have a good die off, and your sand is going to suck up everything out of it. So since your at this stage, this is what I would do. 1. Get a range of test kits... Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, and PO4 2. Start testing your water like crazy. every other day. Start with the ammonia. 3. Seriously think about getting a phos reactor and running rowaphos in it while you cycle your rock. you don't want to be dealing with the problems that Nyles and I had, with getting all the PO4 back out as your rock leaches it. 4. Water change, water change, water change.... hopefully your using RO/DI water, as the water in southern oregon is supposidly (sp?) the worst around. (haven't tested it, but have heard from a bunch of reefers ) 5. I would restack my rock so that it is as loose as possible. You want water seriously moving around, under, over and through the rock, to get all the nasties out of it. 6. Every week take the rock out of your tank, and swish it HARD in some fresh saltwater to get the detritus out of it as it cycles. Hopefully you won;t have to do all of that, but as I said, that add does refer to it as "freshly imported UNCURED live rock. that is true that the auction does say uncured. but i paid him a few more dollars and he sold me cured stuff right out of his personal 600 gallon tank. all of its cured accept 1 little piece. so being that this stuff is cured. should i still do all the things you mentioned? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowboardKid26 Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 If you are sure that it is cured rock, i would still be testing the water, same tests as before, and start with ammonia. The "cycle" you hear people talk about is the build-up of bacteria that breakdown waste into nitrogen gas. first ammonia... then nitrite... then nitrate. Test them in that order. When all 3 test at 0, then your tank is considered cycled. I would test for PO4 as well. If you can detect it, try and get it down low. like 0.1. Not as critical if your only keeping softies as you said before. You do want to kinda stack your rock loose, you want alot of flow around and through it, since it is the biggest filter you have in your tank. Other than that, your in the waiting game now. Just test your water until all of the tests stated before are at 0. And use this time to get to know your tank. How much water do you evap. per day? do you have a temp flux? stuff like that. I would keep my lights off until you get some snails in there. Make sure your tests are getting close to 0 before you do that. At least the ammonia and nitrite tests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gopens Posted September 20, 2006 Author Share Posted September 20, 2006 If you are sure that it is cured rock, i would still be testing the water, same tests as before, and start with ammonia. The "cycle" you hear people talk about is the build-up of bacteria that breakdown waste into nitrogen gas. first ammonia... then nitrite... then nitrate. Test them in that order. When all 3 test at 0, then your tank is considered cycled. I would test for PO4 as well. If you can detect it, try and get it down low. like 0.1. Not as critical if your only keeping softies as you said before. You do want to kinda stack your rock loose, you want alot of flow around and through it, since it is the biggest filter you have in your tank. Other than that, your in the waiting game now. Just test your water until all of the tests stated before are at 0. And use this time to get to know your tank. How much water do you evap. per day? do you have a temp flux? stuff like that. I would keep my lights off until you get some snails in there. Make sure your tests are getting close to 0 before you do that. At least the ammonia and nitrite tests. i hope its cured. the guy selling seemed very helpful and honest. but i could be wrong,lol. i will separate the rocks, but the pic i showed looks like they are tighter than they really are. there is a good amount of gap, but i will do some rearranging. also were is the cheapest place to find disposable test strips. would i only need the 4 that you mentioned. again thanks tons for the help... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowboardKid26 Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 I wouldn't use the test strips. They're not the most accurate thing. I would just drop the extra money on Salifert. They are the most reliable. Why trust your reef to cheap inacurate tests? I guess if your just trying to test your cycle, they will work for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gopens Posted September 20, 2006 Author Share Posted September 20, 2006 I wouldn't use the test strips. They're not the most accurate thing. I would just drop the extra money on Salifert. They are the most reliable. Why trust your reef to cheap inacurate tests? I guess if your just trying to test your cycle, they will work for now. whats a salifert? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly guy Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 whats a salifert? http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_test_kits_salifert.asp?CartId= the best test kits industry wide. Hobby Outlet Sales has the best prices online by far for salifert stuff but there website has been down for a couple of days......... they run a good business and will be back up im pretty sure http://www.hobbyoutletsales.com/salifert.html IMO, all you really need are the dkh, calcium and phosphate tests. Magnesium down the road if you start keeping lots of sps. Your test strips are fine for measuring nitrates as it gives you a general idea and as your tank matures and your husbandry practices improve that number will go away or reduce signifigantly on its own. Knowing what it is precisely at this point doesnt matter. Ammonia and nitrIte shouldnt be an issue if people would simply just sit on their hands for a couple of minths and let their tanks cycle before they worry about adding any critters. Regular water changes with good salt will take care of everything else you need. As well, i would actually recommend getting a PH monitor. http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=AM1111 then you will know at all times what your ph is without having to test anything. hth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowboardKid26 Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 good thinking fly... i forgot PH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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