Starting over with live rock

[MrDLHughesY]

I am not having mine shipped in water, I figure it will run the price up too high. As easy as it is to put it in a container, 10lbs is only about 4 pieces I would put it in a container, a 5 gallon bucket would do. I would still cure it, but that is me. As soon as the readings look good on ammonia, nitrites and nitrates you are good to go.

This is my rock, 10 pounds curing from KP this morning. Got 20 more coming tomorrow.

POST EDIT: I see in the picture the light crate was about to fall in the water with the light. I think my cat did that, it has now been put back like it should be.

What your reasons for having the light on ? Your just promoting algae growth

 

[Snoopdog]

What your reasons for having the light on ? Your just promoting algae growth

And what is wrong with algae?

 

[EMeyer]

Why are you people worried about a dang bristle worm? Seriously? Do you not understand the benefits of these creatures? Everyone is so quick to jump the gun to call something a pest and eliminate it. There is some trend going on with people sterilizing their tanks and it really needs to be rethought out. Bristle worms do way more good than bad. The bristles on the sides are a defense mechanism, their only defense from being eaten. Just pay more attention and wear gloves if it bothers you that much but it is not that bad. I have been reefing for 10 years and never touched a bristle worm and I pick up rock all of the time.

You havent touched a bristleworm if you think its not that bad.

I'm 100% with you about not trying to have sterile tanks. Bristleworms are inevitable and probably do something useful, although no one has ever shown any evidence of such a thing, just endlessly restated it.

But what I know for sure, is if you touch a bristleworm, its worse than a hornet sting. The same pain, but more spread out... a hornet stings in one place, a bristleworm leaves a welt as long as the bristleworm.

If I could snap my fingers like Thanos and eliminate all bristleworms on the planet I'd do it in a heartbeat. They are really that bad. BUT you also can't avoid them -- they will get into everyones tank. Only thing a person can do is wear gloves, and kill them with fire when you have a chance. (*This is revenge, not an effort to eradicate them from the tank)

 

[Snoopdog]

You havent touched a bristleworm if you think its not that bad.

I'm 100% with you about not trying to have sterile tanks. Bristleworms are inevitable and probably do something useful, although no one has ever shown any evidence of such a thing, just endlessly restated it.

But what I know for sure, is if you touch a bristleworm, its worse than a hornet sting. The same pain, but more spread out... a hornet stings in one place, a bristleworm leaves a welt as long as the bristleworm.

If I could snap my fingers like Thanos and eliminate all bristleworms on the planet I'd do it in a heartbeat. They are really that bad. BUT you also can't avoid them -- they will get into everyones tank. Only thing a person can do is wear gloves, and kill them with fire when you have a chance. (*This is revenge, not an effort to eradicate them from the tank)

I have been bitten by all kinds of things hornets, wasp and more recently a snake. Even if a bristle worm gets me I will deal with it. I refuse to kill bristle worms. They are part of the natural reef tank fauna and should be there.

 

[t5Nitro]

Thanks for the photo @Snoopdog . I was going to order the 10 lbs and ship it in water (+$25) but im not sure that I have room for 4 rocks. Maybe ill see if Philipp can send me just 2 rocks. How big are those pieces?

 

[Snoopdog]

The biggest 6 inches across, the smallest 4 inches across. I am never against taking a hammer to a rock and breaking it in two....or four.

 

[MrDLHughesY]

And what is wrong with algae?

Never said anything was wrong with it I just asked why ! I just don’t see why you would use a light when your only curing it

 

[Tired]

I touched a bristleworm once, and it really wasn't that bad. I just got a bunch of bristles stuck in my fingertip, and had to duct tape them out. Annoying more than anything. I wonder if the people who get nasty welts have a sensitivity, or have touched something else?
Besides, you should wear gloves when handling live rock anyway. If not for bristleworms, for all the sharp edges and bacteria.

I'm inclined to suggest light during cycling the rock. Algae will help burn off the nutrients, and if there are corals or other photosynthetic animals on it, they'll appreciate that. If the light causes an algae bloom, oh well, your snails will tackle that and the pods will appreciate the food.

 

[MrDLHughesY]

I touched a bristleworm once, and it really wasn't that bad. I just got a bunch of bristles stuck in my fingertip, and had to duct tape them out. Annoying more than anything. I wonder if the people who get nasty welts have a sensitivity, or have touched something else?
Besides, you should wear gloves when handling live rock anyway. If not for bristleworms, for all the sharp edges and bacteria.

I'm inclined to suggest light during cycling the rock. Algae will help burn off the nutrients, and if there are corals or other photosynthetic animals on it, they'll appreciate that. If the light causes an algae bloom, oh well, your snails will tackle that and the pods will appreciate the food.

Yeah I agree when cycling it in the tank for a small period during the day but not when your only curing it in a tub

 

[Snoopdog]

I touched a bristleworm once, and it really wasn't that bad. I just got a bunch of bristles stuck in my fingertip, and had to duct tape them out. Annoying more than anything. I wonder if the people who get nasty welts have a sensitivity, or have touched something else?
Besides, you should wear gloves when handling live rock anyway. If not for bristleworms, for all the sharp edges and bacteria.

I'm inclined to suggest light during cycling the rock. Algae will help burn off the nutrients, and if there are corals or other photosynthetic animals on it, they'll appreciate that. If the light causes an algae bloom, oh well, your snails will tackle that and the pods will appreciate the food.

And this is why. Small corals come on rock, this batch was no different. Plus there are nice species of macro algae. And who wants to lose the coralline algae on rock? Not me.

 

[ReefJCB]

How about putting in a bio brick for a month or two in the sump? I haven’t noticed any Aiptasia or vermatids in the sump.

 

[tim stark]

Following. I am planning a redo of my tank as well due to hydroids and red planaria and have a similar plan to yours. How are you planning on cleaning the tank, overflow and plumbing? Vinegar? Why did you choose 2 months as the quarantine period for your rocks?

FWIW I got rid of dinos by adding a lot of pods to my tank. You may want to consider adding more pods after you introduce the rock just as additional insurance against the dinos.

what are pods?

 

[Tired]

Copepods and amphipods. Copepods are mostly what are useful here, as they help your tank's biodiversity.

 

[Dburr1014]

I’m not sure how I’m wanting to clean it, I’ll probably just do a manual wipe down with 50/50 vinegar and doing the same for all the plumbing with a pipe cleaner brush.

2 months just feels like a a decent amount of time to buildsome biodiversity. Going to ghost feed and add bacteria to boost it as much as possible.

Thinking about adding some tank water from a water change. Wondering if that could introduce any of my issues onto the new rock though.

Aptasia are a beast. I once added a rock with them to about a 20% vinegar solution and they lived. I'm going to clean my tank and pipe with bleach. Just nuke them for sure. Rinse and let dry out completely after.

 

[Tired]

Just drying it out should kill them. They really don't handle dehydration well.

2 months will only increase biodiversity if you add it. Time and food only allow for existing species to multiply, not for new species to appear. Biodiversity is about healthy populations of multiple species, as many different beneficial organisms as you can get and keep happy.

 

[ReefJCB]

Just drying it out should kill them. They really don't handle dehydration well.

2 months will only increase biodiversity if you add it. Time and food only allow for existing species to multiply, not for new species to appear. Biodiversity is about healthy populations of multiple species, as many different beneficial organisms as you can get and keep happy.

What can I do to increase the biodiversity? I plan on adding things like reef stew, pods, micro backter start, etc during the cycle period. Would multiple products from different vendors help, or do they all have the same type of nitrifying bacteria.

 

[Tired]

Biodiversity is a term for, essentially, how many types of life are in any given area. Anything that adds another kind of life increases your biodiversity, but what you want to focus on is building a healthy ecosystem of beneficial critters. Any live rock will have loads of bacteria, no need for any more, so you should take a look at what else you see. Pods and phyto are good, intentionally adding scavengers like micro brittle stars is also good. Live rock should bring in plenty of stuff.

What I meant was, if you have 20 species of assorted bugs and worms in your tank, no amount of time will cause you to have more than 20 species. Adding more species will give you more. Good ocean rock will bring in pretty much anything you could want, though. Except maybe micro brittles- white ones are semi-common, but black ones are sort of hit-or-miss if you'll find them.

(A note: technically, adding different species of coral increases biodiversity, but it's not really in the relevant department. A tank started with dry rock, but with 100 types of coral, could still be thoroughly bare of useful organisms if enough didn't come in on frag plugs.)

 

[Drewbacca]

This thread is about revamping & renewing the rock work in our tanks , which is my current mission I'm wrapping up.. but just wanted to mention that Everyone hete shares the same goal here, we all just want what's best for our tanks overall health, and in turn... The health of our fish and corals. whether that Is best served in a replicated reef with lots of biodiversity with critters like bristle worms and vermatids.. or a 'pest' free tank with nothing that irritates our fish, corals or.. us.
I have slowly learned over the course of my seven year tank & most recent (and actually first serious) problems, is that the most important key factor is the diversity of the MicroBiome aka bacteria.
I can say with certainty that a tank can be sucessfull with high populations of many things considered nuscance pests..as I've had them all in my 7 year tank, started from live rock... But, knowing that vermatids reach out and clean my sand at night...and out of 100s of them they probably only bothered a few corals a little bit.. and bristlecworms under every rock never a problem (fireworms hurt like hell) I think there is no function that any of them carry out that outways the minor inconveniences that slowly add up, like vermatid growing all over lps skelatons & the points making it difficult to clean rock & coral.
The diversity of bacteria beyond the denitrifying that comes in a bag is far more important.. and understanding which ones will be more helpful to your tank now and which of those are more dominant will allow you to dose in the right order..so the weaker of the two can get some foothold before adding the stronger.. just like adding dominant fish last after the lil ones have claimed their spot, so the dominant one doesnt say... "whoa..nope, sorry..that seat's taken.. uh-ahh.. noop, that one too..
Yeeah..They're all mine actually.. sorry. kick rocks nerd."
The reason you dont want the light on.. is so the good bacteria can occupy the surface before the photosynthetic bacterial algae does.. it's the whole point of cycling & seeding rock.. to get the good bacteria going..
If you're having pest & algae issues..
take you rocks out.. scrub the outside with a peroxide & tank water mix and use angled wire cutters & dental tool to chip out anywhere you see a dark shiny jelly dot.. which is mojos or aptasia shrunk down with a slime coat. (Wear goggles/mask as they squirt at you) thiscwill clear the surface of all but allow the good to still live inside as long as you scrub the bottom always rotating so it drips down & not through the rock. Now it's open real estate.
So then you can seed your rock in your sump and add good bacteria to your system like mb clean then mb7. Or put them in a bucket w tank water & some new SW & do this. So when light finally hits the surface the good bacteria say ..seat taken.
BUT... you Must have your nutrients right first.. not zeros & not high. 1-4 nitrate and .02 - .1 phos. Preferably this is the first step.. but Zero gives them no fuel. So when the lights hit the bad photosynthetic bacterial algae have plenty of fuel tho.. some algaes use amonia too. So make sure you have fuel in there to feed but not overfeed your army before you ask them to go work for you & hold the fort down.

 

[Snoopdog]

I probably have several thousand vermetid snails in my tank, the tons of bumblee snails have not put a dent. Guess what? Not one of them has been a problem, nada. I do not regret the live rock because I have seen an insane amount of biodiversity. I have jewelbox clams popping up everywhere and they are exciting to watch. We now have fleshy limpets thriving all over the rear sump portion. The worst thing I have seen so far I had to catch is a leopard flat worm and there is at least one more of those I need to catch.

 

[bugaboo9495]

My tanks been up for over 3 years with the existing rock. The rock was dry that became live.

As far as going slow for the SPS do you mean cycling it ok the brutes longer?

My game plan is:
1)Purchase new rock and get the aquascape I want.

2) Let the rock cycle/mature in brute cans for ~2 months

3) Pull out all livestock in another brute with circulation and heat.

4) Remove all sand, rock, and water

5) Clean tank, overflow, and plumbing to make sure no pests get reintroduced

6) Put in new sand and rock

7) Reintroduced all livestock

I know this was a while ago but I’m about to restart as well. I lived in the middle of no where for college and moved twice a year so things got a bit ugly. Bubble, vermited and bristle worms everywhere. I’m doing BRS negative space vibes as well!
Did you use new matrix or keep your old matrix. I’m wondering if I need to get new matrix if I want no bubble algae or vermited. (I can live with bristle worms)