Need help immediately

[LRT]

Got a bunch of live rock loaded with all kinds of coral etc.
Everything is developing white slime over it like its dieing!
Should I be concerned?
Is it dieing or natural?
Do i need to remove from system immediately?
What can I do?

 

[Dragon52]

#reefsquad

 

[Flippers4pups]

Looks bacterial

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Hi,

could you give a bit more info. Where did the rock come from/what type is it. Was it out of water at any time or in stagnant water for an extended time? trying to see if something is causing die off

 

[saltyhog]

Did the rock come fully submersed in water or just in wet paper? I'm certainly no expert in this area but most of it looks like it is on the top of sponges, could be some sloughing? I wouldn't remove it even if it's bacterial. I would try to blow it off with a turkey baster and see if it returns.

 

[LRT]

Looks bacterial

It's only covering everything that's alive or was alive on the rock!
If it's just stress and secretion I am making lots of new water now.
Theres tons of coral on the rock its basically covered.
If it's dead or dieing I need to remove.
If it's something I can control I need to know how before it's all dead and useless.
I removed everything I thought was dead.
Couple clams and oysters.
Did a partial change

 

[count krunk]

That rock looks like it spent some time on the bottom of the gulf of Mexico in 20' of water

 

[LRT]

Did the rock come fully submersed in water or just in wet paper? I'm certainly no expert in this area but most of it looks like it is on the top of sponges, could be some sloughing? I wouldn't remove it even if it's bacterial. I would try to blow it off with a turkey baster and see if it returns.

Wet paper from florida.. Sat for 6 hrs before I could pick it up!

 

[LRT]

Hi,

could you give a bit more info. Where did the rock come from/what type is it. Was it out of water at any time or in stagnant water for an extended time? trying to see if something is causing die off

Everything's off the charts. Gulf live rock loaded with corals.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

It depends a lot on when the vendor pulled it from the water until the time it made it to you. I would not expect it to be bad

It should just be surface die off, what is meant by off the charts?

 

[LRT]

It depends a lot on when the vendor pulled it from the water until the time it made it to you. I would not expect it to be bad

It should just be surface die off, what is meant by off the charts?

Ammonia and Nitrates totally started system over beyond recognizable readings.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Are you putting this rock into a new tank to cycle or adding to an already established tank with livestock?

 

[LRT]

Are you putting this rock into a new tank to cycle or adding to an already established tank with livestock?

Newly established system that I did fully cycle for a couple months with a cpl fish and live rock.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Ah,

If the tank is cycled and has livestock I would recommend pulling the rock, doing a big as you can water change and dose some prime if you have it. What test are you using for ammonia and how high was the highest reading it went past?

The goal would first to be to get you tank safe. Do you have something that can hold the rock which can serve as an observation/qt tank for a while? Get the rock in clean salt water and remove the dead material and shake off off as much detris as you can. Most likely the ammonia, nitrate and bacteria all came from die off during transport.

@saltyhog missing anything?

 

[LRT]

Ah,

If the tank is cycled and has livestock I would recommend pulling the rock, doing a big as you can water change and dose some prime if you have it. What test are you using for ammonia and how high was the highest reading it went past?

The goal would first to be to get you tank safe. Do you have something that can hold the rock which can serve as an observation/qt tank for a while? Get the rock in clean salt water and remove the dead material and shake off off as much detris as you can. Most likely the ammonia, nitrate and bacteria all came from die off during transport.

@saltyhog missing anything?

Using API salt master test kit. DARK green almost black green for ammonia. Had a couple dead clams. Plants. Oysters it's all been removed.
Yes I have a tub I can convert to cycle rock.
dang this sucks!

 

[Snuffy The Seal]

Newly established system that I did fully cycle for a couple months with a cpl fish and live rock.

+1 on the ammonia from dieoff, and the white stuff looks to be bacterial. Seperate the rock or trash it, and let the rock serve as a warning to not take stuff from the ocean. Problem with identifying this stuff is that it isn't common and found in the reef hobby, and that is was taken from somewhere that has millions of possible microorganisms. Best of luck with finding what this is and I hope the tank remains safe.

 

[LRT]

+1 on the ammonia from dieoff, and the white stuff looks to be bacterial. Seperate the rock or trash it, and let the rock serve as a warning to not take stuff from the ocean. Problem with identifying this stuff is that it isn't common and found in the reef hobby, and that is was taken from somewhere that has millions of possible microorganisms. Best of luck with finding what this is and I hope the tank remains safe.

I am separating the rock. TOTALLY my fault bad here. Came loaded with life, coral, I feel I just put it in immature system too fast.
It's ok honestly I just hope I didnt just destroy and kill a bunch of Coral out of impatience and ignorance.
Rock is was good.
Let is sit for 8 hrs before i picked it up and few hrs on flight.
Live and learn I guess.
I'm kinda dissapointed almost sad that I could and should have done a better job here!

 

[LRT]

Totally sad and disappointing day on my part here!

 

[Mastiffsrule]

I am separating the rock. TOTALLY my fault bad here. Came loaded with life, coral, I feel I just put it in immature system too fast.
It's ok honestly I just hope I didnt just destroy and kill a bunch of Coral out of impatience and ignorance.
Rock is was good.
Let is sit for 8 hrs before i picked it up and few hrs on flight.
Live and learn I guess.
I'm kinda dissapointed almost sad that I could and should have done a better job here!

Don‘t stress or get down. Everything has a learning curve. Live rock is one of them.

The rock you have is good, it just ended up having too much die off to use right away. It will need to establish a full bacteria bed again. Let is sit in the container with fresh salt water and circulation until it becomes established. While it is in the container you can remove all the die off. Another thing you will want to do is get rid of the bad hitch hikers that come in on gulf rock while it is in there. The worst are gorilla crabs.

And don’t get disappointed, it’s all about learning

 

[Mastiffsrule]

I am not sure who you ordered thru, but I use Tampa Bay Saltwater. I just started a tank in January. They shipped me rock and sand right from the ocean in bags with water air freight. I was able to use them to start a new tank with them

I attached their instructions just for a quick read if you like

Live Rock - Tampa Bay Saltwater Aquacultured Live Rock - The Package Setup