TBS Live Rock - Very high ammonia, no nitrite, barely any nitrate

[Thrillik]

Sorry, the aiptasia-X gets delivered on Friday. No issue taking the rock out and scrubbing. Just want to do what is best.

 

[ReefGeezer]

Sorry, the aiptasia-X gets delivered on Friday. No issue taking the rock out and scrubbing. Just want to do what is best.

Don't scrub the live rock. Just swish it around in some tank water in a bucket. That could be done during a decent sized water change.

 

[brandon429]

I would never, ever use that. You'll spread them into 50 aiptasia. The way listed is what works, the way planned is what the masses do that only kill 75% of the anemone then it fragments around the tank and you get any one of the 1500 aiptasia help threads searchable where it didn't work.

 

[Thrillik]

I was just about to pull the rock out of the tank, and the aiptasia disappeared. Any thoughts on where it would have gone? Would my peppermint shrimp eat it that quickly? Or can it move around?

 

[Jekyl]

It doesn't smell like the ocean. It's not a pleasant smell - it's pretty stinky.

Change the water. No need to keep ammonia in there.

 

[ReefGeezer]

I was just about to pull the rock out of the tank, and the aiptasia disappeared. Any thoughts on where it would have gone? Would my peppermint shrimp eat it that quickly? Or can it move around?

It might be withdrawn inside the a little hole or crevice in the rock.

 

[Thrillik]

Took all the rock out, scrubbed off any and all dead stuff I could find, hopefully killed the aiptasia, did a 75% water change, and now hoping that ammonia won’t continue to reach extreme levels.

 

[jabberwock]

Would love to find out this has been misidentified.

Looks like a light bulb nem to me. Not aptasia.

 

[jabberwock]

Did you cycle the tank before adding ocean live rock?

 

[Thrillik]

Did you cycle the tank before adding ocean live rock?

I followed the TBS instructions. RODI + salt with the tank running for a few days before anything added in, then put in their live rock and base rock, then premium rock.

 

[Thrillik]

Looks like a light bulb nem to me. Not aptasia.

Well, whatever it is, it’s probably dead now. Are light bulb nems friend or for?

 

[JM302]

I received my order of 170lbs live sand and 100lbs base rock from TBS several weeks ago. Within 48 hours the ammonia was zero and the tank was good to go. I'm surprised this has happened to you.

Some water changes and patience is all you need IMO. Bottled bacteria has nothing on what's in that rock.

I do think I found some aptasia, but I'll just kalk slurry them to death before they become a problem. I'm not sure if it's a seasonal thing, but I found more than 25 gorilla crabs in the rock.

Good luck and be patient!

 

[jabberwock]

Well, whatever it is, it’s probably dead now. Are light bulb nems friend or for?

Good guys, mine started out the size of a dime. Now 4 inches across.

 

[jabberwock]

I followed the TBS instructions. RODI + salt with the tank running for a few days before anything added in, then put in their live rock and base rock, then premium rock.

Keep talking to them. They want you to be successful with their products. Very helpful folks in my experience.

 

[Thrillik]

I received my order of 170lbs live sand and 100lbs base rock from TBS several weeks ago. Within 48 hours the ammonia was zero and the tank was good to go. I'm surprised this has happened to you.

Some water changes and patience is all you need IMO. Bottled bacteria has nothing on what's in that rock.

I do think I found some aptasia, but I'll just kalk slurry them to death before they become a problem. I'm not sure if it's a seasonal thing, but I found more than 25 gorilla crabs in the rock.

Good luck and be patient!

I too am surprised. I had a long internal debate (months) between live and dead rock. Ultimately went with live rock because I thought it would be easier for my first saltwater tank. Certainly second guessing myself right now.

 

[JM302]

I too am surprised. I had a long internal debate (months) between live and dead rock. Ultimately went with live rock because I thought it would be easier for my first saltwater tank. Certainly second guessing myself right now.

Don't second guess yourself. You made the right choice. Nothing good happens fast. If you had gone dry rock / dry sand you have a potential different list of challenges - just later in the game.

I am very happy with my tank right now and I credit the live rock and sand. My last tank was the first tank I've ever started w/o live/live and it was a complete nightmare. 2 + years to get it stable. I'm confident that will not be the case this time.

Take your time and watch for the crabs..... I got a ton of whelks, gorilla crabs, a mantis shrimp and even an octopus! Even with all of that, it's worth it.

Good luck!

 

[Thrillik]

Don't second guess yourself. You made the right choice. Nothing good happens fast. If you had gone dry rock / dry sand you have a potential different list of challenges - just later in the game.

I am very happy with my tank right now and I credit the live rock and sand. My last tank was the first tank I've ever started w/o live/live and it was a complete nightmare. 2 + years to get it stable. I'm confident that will not be the case this time.

Take your time and watch for the crabs..... I got a ton of whelks, gorilla crabs, a mantis shrimp and even an octopus! Even with all of that, it's worth it.

Good luck!

Thanks for the responses. I removed a bunch of crabs before the rocks went in my display tank. Haven’t seen anything except hermit crabs since. Had a couple starfish hitchhikers but haven’t seen those either - assuming they probably died from the ammonia.

The clean up crew + 2 peppermint shrimp I have are appearing to be surviving fine, which is surprising given I had ammonia north of 2.0 for several days.

An octopus would be quite the find. What did you end up doing with it?

 

[JM302]

Thanks for the responses. I removed a bunch of crabs before the rocks went in my display tank. Haven’t seen anything except hermit crabs since. Had a couple starfish hitchhikers but haven’t seen those either - assuming they probably died from the ammonia.

The clean up crew + 2 peppermint shrimp I have are appearing to be surviving fine, which is surprising given I had ammonia north of 2.0 for several days.

An octopus would be quite the find. What did you end up doing with it?

I gave it to a LFS . They have a client that has a touch tank - so it was perfect. It was a cute little bugger. I wish I could have kept it - but at the same time had no interest in dealing with an escape artist.

The gorilla crabs get speared.. LOL. I must say, I did the same as you, picked out crabs before it went in the tank. After a week of looking every night I saw nothing then it was if someone flipped a switch and they were coming out of every hole in the rock. I'm confident I got all the large ones. I know there are at least 2-3 tiny little suckers left that I couldn't get. Not stressing about it, I'll get them if / when it becomes a problem.

 

[ESABOE]

Hey there @Thrillik,

Not sure which customer you may be or if you may have emailed us regarding high ammonia.

Couple things to keep in mind, we always recommend for new tanks / uncycled tanks, to begin with the TBS Package shipped in 2 phases, or order live sand & base rock. Let the tank cycle a week, then add premium rock. Allowing a new tank to build bacteria with Part 1 (sand & base) prepares the system to handle any die off that may happen once the premium rock is added (Part 2). Premium rock doesn't like ammonia, hence the 2-part method.

Some customers with smaller tanks (5-15gal) ask for the complete Package to be shipped at one time. Customers are informed that daily water changes are required for generally a week, slowly tapering down. This helps control extra ammonia that can't be processed by the young tank. Lower lights, high flow, no feeding and no adding extra lifeforms are very important.

From what I am reading above, you need to continue daily water changes. There is no need to add bottle bacteria or Prime. If the water smells fowl, then remove rocks that have sponges/tunicates on them and smell the rock. IF a sponge/tunicate smells bad, scrape it off. Place rock back in the tank and continue with high flow and water changes. Things will stabilize soon.

Also, please forward a photo of what you are identifying as aiptasia. Folks often think hidden cup corals are aiptasia. We do have a solitary "sponge anemone" that resembles an aiptasia, it often has a greenish disk and the tips will sometimes bubble like a bubble tip. It does not spread but lives alone. If you are concerned, peppermint shrimp will eventually eat it.

Happy to help on this thread or PM me.

I was so excited after BRS and Ryan talked about how great TBS products were and was going to add their sand and rubble to the new tank I’m about to build. While I understand there will be hitchhikers per their website and most of them good; Aptasia is a very different kind of problem. Can someone from TBS respond on the increase in bad hitchhikers I’ve seen on R2R posts lately?

And before anyone slams me that there are no guarantees in what you get with live products, I am specifically asking since TBS cites very little issues like these and many on this site have used the product on many generations of their tanks.

I am really wanting to get this product and love everything the brand stands for, but as a very new reefer, I’m trying to be as cautious as one can.

 

[BetteMidler]

Curious if the rock was smelled upon receipt? Any other smell than fresh sea, almost sweet warm smell would of been a red flag. You should of had several buckets & divided all the pieces in fresh saltwater. After waiting 10-15 min, start smelling buckets. If any rotting smell existed, think rotten eggs, try to find any die off. Probably a sponge, tunicate, or something else didn't make it that needs to be scrapped off. After scrapping, throw it in another fresh bucket of saltwater, let sit & smell again. Eventually, you should be smelling a fresh product.

I really thought hard about getting live rock from TBS, but after much research, the risk of aiptasia & the pest from any gulf supplier over a Caribbean/Keys one drove me away. That shouldn't stop anyone from using them, but the risk is pretty clear. The source I used earlier this month did leave something to be desired, but I am happy with the result so far.