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You need the live rock to grow the bacteria for the nitrogen cycle. Instead of another biological media, the live rock IS the media. If you have die-off on your LR, yes it will create ammonia, but that will kick-start the cycle. If you want really minimal die-off, get your live rock somewhere...

When you have live rock in your tank you get a lot of hitchhiker critters, the most numerous being what we call "pods"--they're several kinds of tiny crustaceans (I think) that live on the live rock, eat algae and detritus, multiply quickly if allowed, and serve as a great food source for fish...

Just a note...In the original water specs you said temp was 74.5 (?) and the specific gravity 1.022....sounds a little low on both....

I got a pistol shrimp with my lr, as well as a gigantic bristle worm, countless smaller bristle worms, snails, peanut worms,spaghetti worms, tons of amphipods and copepods, feather dusters, etc. etc. So far nobody's caused any problems; I don't know that a pistol shrimp is something to worry...

I have an orangish thing growing on my glass...I was guessing it was an algae, because I have a ton of other algae on the glass. This is brownish orange, but branched like a tree. You can see the hyphae (or whatever) stretching out where the colored branches are going to go...it grows pretty...

I haven't gotten a good enough look at Pistol to see what kind he is; he stays pretty well hidden, and I've only seen him at night, inside a cave, so I have no idea as to coloring. Any ideas on how to lure him out? If I got a shrimp goby and they didn't pair, would they fight? My son REALLY...

I didn't see any antennae on this guy's face, so I don't think it's a eucinid (but what do I know? lol) It had a velvety look, with clumps of bristles sticking out every 1/4 inch or so, on both sides of its back. When it bent (in the light) you could see a metallic, multicolored look, like oil...

Two nights ago I discovered what I think is a pistol shrimp in my live rock. Tanks is 5 gallons, been set up 3 1/2 weeks, no livestock added. I haven't caught another glimpse of him, but in trying to, I saw a monster bristleworm last night. OK, it's not really a monster, but this size tank it...

I don't know as much about saltwater, but if that were a freshwater tank I would say it's blue-green algae...Can someone tell me if it even grows in saltwater? It's a serious pain in the neck to get rid of. It's kind of slimy, comes off in sheets. :(

I'm as new at this as you are....but I love those hitchhiker guys! I can't tell from your pic, but it sounds like what I've heard is called an amphipod. Longish guy, translucent, back end kind of curled under the body. They're very fast, have lots of legs and long antennae. I saw one the...

Well, the diatoms or whatever are already diminishing; but I wonder if anyone can tell me about the worms in my tank. They are about the thickness of a hair, some colorless and some red. They either stretch themselves or spin a type of strand, from rock to rock or rock to sand. The strands...

I have a micro reef tank with aragonite sand substrate and several pieces of live rock. Been set up 1 1/2 weeks; sg is 1.0235, temp 78? F, ammonia just a trace, nitrites a trace, nitrates a trace, pH is 8.0. There is a layer of brown on the substrate and live rock, more on the surfaces exposed...

Thanks for the advice...the bio-wheel thing is the sort of thing I don't know, because I've only had fw, although for a long time. My son has pointed out to me that the sand (aragonite) and lighter colored pieces of rock are being covered with brown stuff....I'm assuming this is diatoms and...

I just tested the water on my tank...pH is 8.0, specific gravity at 1.024, ammonia still just a trace. It's been set up a week, lots of feather dusters, tons of amphipods running around (with green backs now, which I assume means they've been eating algae), a few bivalves here and there, couple...

I am trying again...it would probably be easier to wait and see what this thing grows into! Anyway, this is the best sketch I could manage of the mystery critter. The tube-y thingy that's sticking out on the left side is almost transparent. The whole look is kind of fuzzy, like there are tiny...

i am also curious...my live rock has been in my tank for a week. My lfs recommended letting the rock itself cycle the tank. I'm sure this could take a while, but I'm hesitant to add dead shrimp and spike ammonia really fast. What do you think of just letting the live rock critters cycle the tank?

I'm trying again....I'm having a hard time adjusting the size of the picture, for some reason. I think it's the applications I'm using...we'll see if this goes.....

OK, I finally figured out how to attach this pic! This is a critter on my live rock...probably about 5 mm in diameter...sorry about the fuzzy pic, the camera didn't have a macro lens. The thing seems to have a couple of "pseudopods" coming out of the middle of it. The pseudopods move, and one...