New to Using LR

[Xzibit]

Hello everyone. I just started a new tank with the intent of a reef tank. I have done a FO tank before w/o problem and I am used to the normal cycling of a tank. My question is this. I set up my tank with some playsand with live sand on top of that (about 70/30 mix) I went and got 4 damsels as I have done before in the past. They were in there for about a week before I was able to afford LR. When I got the live rock I drianed 1/4 of the tank and place the LR, then returned the water and fish. Later on that night when tossing the shipping boxes I notice a piece of paper that said the LR still needed to be cured (even though I bought it precured). The next morning I tested the water and PH and ALk were fine but Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates all spiked to the max possible level. The fish are still alive but is the a normal thing when using LR? Thanks for any possible help.

X

 

[benjen]

Yes, this is very normal with live rock, and most people would advise curing a tank with live rock over damsels anyway. If you can, I'd strongly recommend taking either the damsels or rock out and moving them to any quarantine "tank" you might be able to scrounge together. (A large bucket will work if you can get water movement and a heater in there.) If you can't, you'll want to start doing water changes, because all live rock has to cure unless you get it in your tank a very short time after it comes out of the ocean or a tank where it was fully cured. Cycling with damsels can have a very negative impact on their health and is completely unnecessary anyway.

Curing with live rock creates a much larger initial bacteria culture for breaking down fish waste, but it creates a much bigger spike as it reaches a balance point of dying stuff vs live stuff. If you see anything obviously dead and starting to decompose on the rock, scraping it off and getting it out of the tank will help. Also, any life on the underside of the rock often dies from a lack of light/circulation.

In the future, I'd recommend cycling with live rock and/or just adding a little uncooked deli shrimp to decompose and cycle the tank. Live rock works better than almost anything else.

 

[jessie]

have you kept the damsels in the tank after cycling in the past? if not, didnt it take some effort to get them out? i used damsels to cycle my first tank, and man did i ever have a hard time catching them. and thats why i prefer to cycle with live rock now.

 

[Xzibit]

Actually by the time the tank was cycled the fish were so used to regular feedings it was pretty easy... just fed them some flake and caught then as they came to eat.

 

[jessie]

it took me forever to catch mine. and just about every time that i read somewhere on here where someone used a damsel to cycletheir tank, they had a hard time getting them out. i even tried to leave mine in for a while, but they killed my first percula. it took me forever to catch them the first time.