Adding gulf live rock with die off still on it

[bayareareefer]

Started a sterile reef using dry sand and and dry rock about a month ago, as inpatient as it sounds I hate to watch my tank go through so many biome changes (Dino’s,cyano, diatoms, bottoming nutrients etc.) last week I got a box of gulf live rock (decorated). Came in smelling like a dead cat. But some pieces less smelly then others. Threw the pieces in my rock bucket that sits at about 90f with a couple power heads and a heater. Can I toss I few pieces of the gulf rock in my sump? How much more damage can it do? I’m already dealing with nuisance algae so maybe this will just speed things up? How bad can the die off be for a tank that is already going through it…

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Started a sterile reef using dry sand and and dry rock about a month ago, as inpatient as it sounds I hate to watch my tank go through so many biome changes (Dino’s,cyano, diatoms, bottoming nutrients etc.) last week I got a box of gulf live rock (decorated). Came in smelling like a dead cat. But some pieces less smelly then others. Threw the pieces in my rock bucket that sits at about 90f with a couple power heads and a heater. Can I toss I few pieces of the gulf rock in my sump? How much more damage can it do? I’m already dealing with nuisance algae so maybe this will just speed things up? How bad can the die off be for a tank that is already going through it…

It could kill the fish with a ammonia swing...at least I think I saw a fish in your picture. If you have no livestock in the tank you can take a chance. I would at least rinse and shake the rock vigorously in a bucket of Saltwater to remove and dead items and then place it in another bucket with a skimmer and pump and monitor the ammonia levels until it is safe to place in the display. The fact that it smells foul is a warning on the amount of dead items on the rock. I also noticed white areas on the rock pictures that look like a bacterial mat from dead organisms. You can add bacterial strains to help the process along. If you have a lot of die off it could take a month before the rock cycles and is ready for the display tank.

Water changes can help speed up the process as well.

 

[bayareareefer]

It could kill the fish with a ammonia swing...at least I think I saw a fish in your picture. If you have no livestock in the tank you can take a chance. I would at least rinse and shake the rock vigorously in a bucket of Saltwater to remove and dead items and then place it in another bucket with a skimmer and pump and monitor the ammonia levels until it is safe to place in the display. The fact that it smells foul is a warning on the amount of dead items on the rock. I also noticed white areas on the rock pictures that look like a bacterial mat from dead organisms. You can add bacterial strains to help the process along. If you have a lot of die off it could take a month before the rock cycles and is ready for the display tank.

Water changes can help speed up the process as well.

Water changes in the bucket of live rock right? Because water changes in a new reef tank with already relatively low nutrients wouldn’t be a smart thing to do right? “Did a water change in the sump and the Dino’s came back in full effect”. So my best bet is to scrub the gulf rock and monitor it for another month in the bucket, before adding it to my system? Doesn’t adding bacteria also bottom out nutrients? Such as microbcter 7? Maybe I should add microbacter7 to the bucket of rock? Sorry for the redundancy in questions lol

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Water changes in the bucket of live rock right? Because water changes in a new reef tank with already relatively low nutrients wouldn’t be a smart thing to do right? “Did a water change in the sump and the Dino’s came back in full effect”. So my best bet is to scrub the gulf rock and monitor it for another month in the bucket, before adding it to my system? Doesn’t adding bacteria also bottom out nutrients? Such as microbcter 7? Maybe I should add microbacter7 to the bucket of rock? Sorry for the redundancy in questions lol

Water changes for the bucket after a good rinse and shake. You don't need to scrub the rock just remove white areas as they are likely dead sponge as much as possible. The bacteria is just to increase the speed of the cycle for the rock in the bucket. None of this applies to your display tank. You are not going to bottom out the nutrients as the die off is going to add more nutrients than you want to the bucket. You are trying to remove the dead organics as soon as possible to keep as much of the life alive on the rock as you can. If the rock is allowed to completely foul you will lose much of the life you want in your tank. Hope that helps explain the goal to keep as much alive on the rock as possible. Keep an eye out for dead crabs, worms and shrimp in the rock and remove them from the bucket.

 

[Tired]

90F? That might kill things in a little bucket without much oxygen.

You definitely need to be doing water changes in the rock. You're trying to preserve as much life as possible, which means it needs light, flow, reasonable temps, and the lowest ammonia you can reasonably manage.

Live rock that's still full of decaying things shouldn't go in a tank with any livestock. You might want to split it between two buckets, though, so the ammonia won't climb as fast.

 

[bayareareefer]

Water changes for the bucket after a good rinse and shake. You don't need to scrub the rock just remove white areas as they are likely dead sponge as much as possible. The bacteria is just to increase the speed of the cycle for the rock in the bucket. None of this applies to your display tank. You are not going to bottom out the nutrients as the die off is going to add more nutrients than you want to the bucket. You are trying to remove the dead organics as soon as possible to keep as much of the life alive on the rock as you can. If the rock is allowed to completely foul you will lose much of the life you want in your tank. Hope that helps explain the goal to keep as much alive on the rock as possible. Keep an eye out for dead crabs, worms and shrimp in the rock and remove them from the bucket.

Thank you for your insight. Do people add clean up crews to their buckets to help with this? At such high temps can snails survive in the bucket? On a side note I had some Vermatid snails make their way into the bucket and they seem like they’re making some notable realestate everytime I pop open the lid, can I add a few bumble bee snails in the bucket or will they just die off?

 

[Rovert]

Sounds like you're off to a good start.

I'd back that temperature down to 75-ish. I also started with 200# from Dan and also had a lot of die-off. I made the point of swishing around the rocks in a 5 gallon bucket of fresh salt water then placed the rock directly in the tank since I had nowhere else to keep it. I also dosed a few times per day with Microbacter7 for two days. My tank cycled in less than 3 weeks.

If you have no animals in the tank, I'd just place the rock in there, add the Microbacter7 and let nature take its course.

 

[Ancient Mariner]

That rock looks great! I agree that you need to cure it outside your main system as long as possible. First will be the stuff that died in transit. Then there will be days/weeks when things continue to die when weakened by the shipping process. Then there’s the weeks of die off of things that survive the shipping but just can’t survive in a captive system. Adding the rock too soon will not only expose to toxic ammonia but then there will be extra nutrients as the later die off is processed probably helping nuisance algae. So curing is so important.
No need for high temperature, IMO. Clean up crew is an option but if you cure the rock without light, nuisance algae shouldn’t be a problem during the curing process. Definitely don’t add them at 90F. No need to add bottled bacteria. That’s what live rock supplies!

 

[TheSheff]

Started a sterile reef using dry sand and and dry rock about a month ago, as inpatient as it sounds I hate to watch my tank go through so many biome changes (Dino’s,cyano, diatoms, bottoming nutrients etc.) last week I got a box of gulf live rock (decorated). Came in smelling like a dead cat. But some pieces less smelly then others. Threw the pieces in my rock bucket that sits at about 90f with a couple power heads and a heater. Can I toss I few pieces of the gulf rock in my sump? How much more damage can it do? I’m already dealing with nuisance algae so maybe this will just speed things up? How bad can the die off be for a tank that is already going through it…

so I know you don't want this answer but having the algae phase is just part of the reefing journey. I dose some bacteria additives like microbacter clean and Dr time waste away but I still needed to maintain the algae. I would say that successfully dealing with the algae stage teaches us to enjoy our tanks so much more.

 

[Ancient Mariner]

so I know you don't want this answer but having the algae phase is just part of the reefing journey. I dose some bacteria additives like microbacter clean and Dr time waste away but I still needed to maintain the algae. I would say that successfully dealing with the algae stage teaches us to enjoy our tanks so much more.

I agree that dealing with nuisance algae is inevitable. But I agree with the approach of adding properly cured live rock to a dry sterile rock start will help the overall process of getting through the uglies and reaching a stable system. (Adding copepods also seems to help a reef fight nuisance algaes.) Heres a video that shows how adding complexity to a system helps fight nuisance algae.

How 15 Answers Changed the Way I Look at My Tank Forever! 10 Months of Biome Cycling 12 Aquariums

In this live presentation at Reefapalooza New York 2022, Ryan shares the results and draws some insightful conclusions from our 10-month investigation of the reef aquarium biome.

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[bayareareefer]

so I know you don't want this answer but having the algae phase is just part of the reefing journey. I dose some bacteria additives like microbacter clean and Dr time waste away but I still needed to maintain the algae. I would say that successfully dealing with the algae stage teaches us to enjoy our tanks so much

That rock looks great! I agree that you need to cure it outside your main system as long as possible. First will be the stuff that died in transit. Then there will be days/weeks when things continue to die when weakened by the shipping process. Then there’s the weeks of die off of things that survive the shipping but just can’t survive in a captive system. Adding the rock too soon will not only expose to toxic ammonia but then there will be extra nutrients as the later die off is processed probably helping nuisance algae. So curing is so important.
No need for high temperature, IMO. Clean up crew is an option but if you cure the rock without light, nuisance algae shouldn’t be a problem during the curing process. Definitely don’t add them at 90F. No need to add bottled bacteria. That’s what live rock supplies!

I mainly want to target the vermatids in my tub before adding doing the main display. Also, doesn’t higher temps help speed up the process of decomposition?

 

[bayareareefer]

so I know you don't want this answer but having the algae phase is just part of the reefing journey. I dose some bacteria additives like microbacter clean and Dr time waste away but I still needed to maintain the algae. I would say that successfully dealing with the algae stage teaches us to enjoy our tanks so much more.

Definitely so, but what does this have to do with properly curing paper wet gulf rock and adding to a sterile system? Also, going through severe ugly stages doesnt necessarily need to be part of the Reefing hobby. Self education for preventative measures can be a more effective means of having success in this hobby, like proper biome cycling .

 

[bayareareefer]

I agree that dealing with nuisance algae is inevitable. But I agree with the approach of adding properly cured live rock to a dry sterile rock start will help the overall process of getting through the uglies and reaching a stable system. (Adding copepods also seems to help a reef fight nuisance algaes.) Heres a video that shows how adding complexity to a system helps fight nuisance algae.

How 15 Answers Changed the Way I Look at My Tank Forever! 10 Months of Biome Cycling 12 Aquariums

In this live presentation at Reefapalooza New York 2022, Ryan shares the results and draws some insightful conclusions from our 10-month investigation of the reef aquarium biome.

www.bulkreefsupply.com

This is the video that tipped me off to it, but I would love to hear other actual experience with gulf rock and how long they cure it for

 

[lubeck]

edit; realized this was two weeks ago. how did it go?

I got gulf live rock to start my tank. I just rinsed It and put it. Didn’t have fish though.

I think you could put a couple small fresh smelling pieces in now after a rinse.

as for thr rest. Shouldn’t take more then a week to cook in a separate tank with a power head and 77 degrees. Maybe do a water change in between. This stuff is going to help big time.