Water Changes after Adding Live Rock to New Tank

[Plexasaurus]

I recently purchased live ocean rock and put it in my tank yesterday. Unfortunately, I'm a noob so I didn't brush it or do any rinse beforehand - just straight into a new tank. Today, I checked the ammonia levels and they're through the roof, understandably so as things die off/have died off since me receiving the shipment and putting it into the tank. My question is do I do water changes throughout the next couple of days/weeks until the ammonia dies down? I'm concerned about the bacteria, good stuff, and critters living in the live rock surviving the ammonia spike more than anything. This live rock also came with lots of worms, crabs, and bivalves. If anyone has any insight, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks!

 

[Dan_P]

I recently purchased live ocean rock and put it in my tank yesterday. Unfortunately, I'm a noob so I didn't brush it or do any rinse beforehand - just straight into a new tank. Today, I checked the ammonia levels and they're through the roof, understandably so as things die off/have died off since me receiving the shipment and putting it into the tank. My question is do I do water changes throughout the next couple of days/weeks until the ammonia dies down? I'm concerned about the bacteria, good stuff, and critters living in the live rock surviving the ammonia spike more than anything. This live rock also came with lots of worms, crabs, and bivalves. If anyone has any insight, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks!

Keeping the pH below 8 will help limit the amount of toxic free ammonia. Water changes can help. Adding nitrifying bacteria like Fritz Turbo Start could be useful. A somewhat unorthodox method would be to dose vinegar at 0.5-1 mL/gallon per day. If the tank is without fish and coral, you could increase the dose to twice a day if ammonia is present after the first dose.

 

[gbroadbridge]

I recently purchased live ocean rock and put it in my tank yesterday. Unfortunately, I'm a noob so I didn't brush it or do any rinse beforehand - just straight into a new tank. Today, I checked the ammonia levels and they're through the roof, understandably so as things die off/have died off since me receiving the shipment and putting it into the tank. My question is do I do water changes throughout the next couple of days/weeks until the ammonia dies down? I'm concerned about the bacteria, good stuff, and critters living in the live rock surviving the ammonia spike more than anything. This live rock also came with lots of worms, crabs, and bivalves. If anyone has any insight, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks!

If this is a new tank that you're just starting up, just leave it alone and let it settle.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'through the roof' but the Ammonia will help with tank cycling.
Any reading will probably drop quite rapidly.

 

[Plexasaurus]

If this is a new tank that you're just starting up, just leave it alone and let it settle.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'through the roof' but the Ammonia will help with tank cycling.
Any reading will probably drop quite rapidly.

Thanks for your reply. It is a new tank I started up yesterday. I've added the live ocean rock along with the nitrifying bacteria. The ammonia was about 1 ppm according to my last read. I guess it's not through the roof but I was concerned that if it continues to be sustained or increases, that this may damage the microorganisms on the rock or even the critters that came along with the rock and would defeat the point of having purchased the live rock in the first place, if that makes sense. So you would recommend just letting the tank do its thing on its own until it stabilizes? No water changes then?

 

[Plexasaurus]

Keeping the pH below 8 will help limit the amount of toxic free ammonia. Water changes can help. Adding nitrifying bacteria like Fritz Turbo Start could be useful. A somewhat unorthodox method would be to dose vinegar at 0.5-1 mL/gallon per day. If the tank is without fish and coral, you could increase the dose to twice a day if ammonia is present after the first dose.

Thanks for responding! My last ammonia read was 1 ppm. My main concern was that if the ammonia doesn't go down or even increases from where it is now, that this would kill the beneficial organisms on the rock and even the critters that came along with it, defeating the purpose of having purchased the live rock to begin with. As I asked gbroad, would you recommend water changes daily until it goes down, or just let the tank figure it out on its own? I may try that vinegar idea you mentioned as the tank is just live rock at the moment.

 

[Dan_P]

Thanks for responding! My last ammonia read was 1 ppm. My main concern was that if the ammonia doesn't go down or even increases from where it is now, that this would kill the beneficial organisms on the rock and even the critters that came along with it, defeating the purpose of having purchased the live rock to begin with. As I asked gbroad, would you recommend water changes daily until it goes down, or just let the tank figure it out on its own? I may try that vinegar idea you mentioned as the tank is just live rock at the moment.

Yes, do water changes if you are concerned.

 

[SliceGolfer]

Where did you purchase rock from? Some vendors have care guides on their websites and recommend water changes to help sustain the life on/in the rock, such as

https://tbsaltwater.com/pages/instructions
https://www.kpaquatics.com/product/premium-aquacultured-live-rock-airfreight-shipping/

 

[BryanM]

die off happens, ammonia to be expected. Let it be, test in a week…. Almost certainly will be much better in short order.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

At 1 ppm ammonia, I’d do nothing. I would not do water changes or add bacteria. 1 ppm is not a concern and doing those other things have their own drawbacks.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

This has more:

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/ammonia-is-our-friend.1062/

 

[Plexasaurus]

This has more:

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/ammonia-is-our-friend.1062/

Being a new reefer, I really appreciate this article. I'm going to read it in its entirety, but I do appreciate the chemistry and research behind it. Thanks!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Being a new reefer, I really appreciate this article. I'm going to read it in its entirety, but I do appreciate the chemistry and research behind it. Thanks!

You're welcome.

Happy Reefing. :)