So I set my 125gal tank on Wednesday, 75 pounds of live rock, about 50 dry, and about 100 pounds of carib live sand. There are no fish in the tank yet.
1) I have what I believe is a bacterial bloom problem. It is a milky white slime that looks like a little blanket over parts of the rock. It can be easily knocked off and then the rock looks normal, so my understanding is that would hint it is a bacteria problem. I searched the internet (and this forum) long and hard...this problem seems slightly mythical. That being said it appears some people have used Dr. Tims refresh and waste-away to correct the problem. The theory seems to be the mass amount of bacteria on the live rock in a sterile systems creates bacteria competition issues. Of course I also had a wall plug-in air freshener 15 feet away that I forgot the wife put there, whoops, so that may also be to blame. I plan to go the Dr.Tims route and see how that goes.
2) With taking #1 into account I am unsure of the best route to take for cycling the tank. I have a protein skimmer, but am not currently using it during the cycling process. I have also not done any water changes. Below is some tank info:
Salinity - 1.026
Temp - 77 F
Ammonia - .25 - .50 API
Nitrite - .50
Nitrate - 5ppm - 10ppm
I have not added an ammonia source figuring the die-off from the live rock would suffice, at least in the first few days. The rock got to me in about 24 hours so it was in fairly good shape. Unsure if I should chuck some food or a piece of shrimp in there or just leave the tank alone.
1) I have what I believe is a bacterial bloom problem. It is a milky white slime that looks like a little blanket over parts of the rock. It can be easily knocked off and then the rock looks normal, so my understanding is that would hint it is a bacteria problem. I searched the internet (and this forum) long and hard...this problem seems slightly mythical. That being said it appears some people have used Dr. Tims refresh and waste-away to correct the problem. The theory seems to be the mass amount of bacteria on the live rock in a sterile systems creates bacteria competition issues. Of course I also had a wall plug-in air freshener 15 feet away that I forgot the wife put there, whoops, so that may also be to blame. I plan to go the Dr.Tims route and see how that goes.
2) With taking #1 into account I am unsure of the best route to take for cycling the tank. I have a protein skimmer, but am not currently using it during the cycling process. I have also not done any water changes. Below is some tank info:
Salinity - 1.026
Temp - 77 F
Ammonia - .25 - .50 API
Nitrite - .50
Nitrate - 5ppm - 10ppm
I have not added an ammonia source figuring the die-off from the live rock would suffice, at least in the first few days. The rock got to me in about 24 hours so it was in fairly good shape. Unsure if I should chuck some food or a piece of shrimp in there or just leave the tank alone.