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02-12-2006, 10:20 AM
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#1
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REEFLVR
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 1,080
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Help it happened to me now
I finally did it yesterday. I got 50# of LR. It looks real good and I was told it was cured. I was told by the LFS that it looked like I have already had a cycle in my tank, so I went ahead and got 8 turbo snails, and 3 red legged hermits. I put it in yesterday and today did my water test. On the 7th I did water test and got:
Amonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10
pH 7.9
Today I got these results:
Amonia .25 which is a first
Nitrite .25 which is a first
Nitrate 40 " " " "
pH 7.9
What should I do? The fish store it an hour away. Should I move them into another tank which I would have to set up?
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__________________
150 Gal tank,sump, DIY Skimmer, LR,LS
Coral beauty, Clown fish, 3 pajama cardinals
1 b/g chromis, YWG, cleaner shrimp
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02-12-2006, 10:36 AM
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#2
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The Muddy Mod
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Uxbridge, MA
Posts: 5,039
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How long has the tank been set up, and what was in it before you added the 50# of LR.
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02-12-2006, 10:41 AM
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#3
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REEFLVR
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 1,080
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The tank has been running since this summer with saltwater and new sand and sand from a previous owners tank. About 3 weeks ago I put in my 80# of agrocrete rocks. Nothing else has been in there. I do have lots of tunicates in there.
__________________
150 Gal tank,sump, DIY Skimmer, LR,LS
Coral beauty, Clown fish, 3 pajama cardinals
1 b/g chromis, YWG, cleaner shrimp
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02-12-2006, 10:46 AM
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#4
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Nothing to See Here
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Cartersville, Georgia
Posts: 2,995
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Usually LR you buy from the LFS isn't 100% cured- its mostly cured, so there will be some die off, and that die off is causing the ammonia readings and you will cycle again.
You can set up the LR in a rubbermaid to finish the cycle if you wanted too. Did you happen to notice a smell to the rock?
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02-12-2006, 10:46 AM
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#5
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The Muddy Mod
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Uxbridge, MA
Posts: 5,039
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The new LR is probably causing a mini cycle. I wouldn't be to worried with just snails and crabs. That's just me though.
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02-12-2006, 10:48 AM
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#6
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The Muddy Mod
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Uxbridge, MA
Posts: 5,039
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Hi Gwen, at least we're thinking alike.  |
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02-12-2006, 11:06 AM
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#7
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REEFLVR
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 1,080
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no I didn't notice any smell. It was in a vat with some uncured rock too, but I didn't get any of that kind.
__________________
150 Gal tank,sump, DIY Skimmer, LR,LS
Coral beauty, Clown fish, 3 pajama cardinals
1 b/g chromis, YWG, cleaner shrimp
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02-12-2006, 11:52 AM
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#8
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REEFLVR
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 1,080
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Can I run my lights to watch the snails, and crabs? Or is that a no no? Should I do a water change? I've got water mixing up right now and it will be ready tomorrow.
__________________
150 Gal tank,sump, DIY Skimmer, LR,LS
Coral beauty, Clown fish, 3 pajama cardinals
1 b/g chromis, YWG, cleaner shrimp
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02-12-2006, 12:01 PM
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#9
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Super Moderator
Join Date: Jan 1999
Location: Southern Oregon, Way West of Dimples ;)
Posts: 21,741
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If its an hour drive home you are going to have a mini cycle, because there will be some dieoff due to exposure to air(guessing the rock wasnt wetbagged. This might be a good time to go ahead and "cook " it to avoid problems later, heres a good link to xplain it all 
http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=66551
__________________
When considering courage in battle, one should remember that there are 2 sides to every conflict.
The heroism of the losing side rarely gets remembered
but we were all husbands and fathers, sons and bros
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02-12-2006, 12:53 PM
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#10
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REEFLVR
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 1,080
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If I decide to leave it in the tank should I do a water change?
__________________
150 Gal tank,sump, DIY Skimmer, LR,LS
Coral beauty, Clown fish, 3 pajama cardinals
1 b/g chromis, YWG, cleaner shrimp
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02-12-2006, 12:59 PM
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#11
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uber-stupid
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Biloxi, MS
Posts: 3,265
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Yes, do a water change now and one in a couple days then test again the next day. If you are still getting amonia do another test the next day. Its not that big of a deal you may lose some crabs and snails but the tank will rebound just fin in a couple weeks.
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02-12-2006, 01:13 PM
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#12
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Eat more PIE
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Florida Panhandle
Posts: 18,597
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The water change will prolong your cycle but help with the ammonia,its really up to you to decide.
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Double your drive space. Delete Windows
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02-12-2006, 02:22 PM
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#13
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uber-stupid
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Biloxi, MS
Posts: 3,265
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IMO, if your wanting to save the critters do the water changes if not ....
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02-12-2006, 02:22 PM
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#14
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REEFLVR
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 1,080
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So amonia is what I need to watch for? I thought I needed to worry about Nitrates. The Amonia has always been 0 until now. May-be I haven't had a cycle before. The nitrates when I started testing last Nov. were at 10. They went down to 0 a couple days later. Then up to 20, and then down to 10 before I added the LR. Then now wow 40. What is the highest it could get before it killed everything in there?
__________________
150 Gal tank,sump, DIY Skimmer, LR,LS
Coral beauty, Clown fish, 3 pajama cardinals
1 b/g chromis, YWG, cleaner shrimp
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02-12-2006, 02:28 PM
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#15
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uber-stupid
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Biloxi, MS
Posts: 3,265
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Nitrates can be very high before they become leathal. I would say 200 pmm before they are leathal (maybe higher). The real issues with nitrates is algae. There are other things that will happen before you have to worry about death. Stunted growth, bad color, VERY bad algae, disease, ETC...
Ammonia is leathal at very low concentrations like .005 to some animals and some will tolerate them as high as 1.5 (goldfish?). Any reading in a reef system should be viewed as leathal. Nitrites (not nitrates) are also leathal in small concentrations, but, not as leathal as ammonia but still if you get and reading it should also be veiwed as leathal.
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