Whats Next for Newbie in the House???

[ladygwen]

:lookaroun :look: Okay what next??

Have 75g tank set up with 4" dsb 40-45 lb base rock Remora /c maxijet 1200 and 2 maxi jet 1200 powerheads running.

I ordered 40 lbs. Caribbean LR from LiveAquaria due to arrive Friday morning.

Will need to cure rock in tank as have no other option, how do I proceed when my shipment arrives. Really don't want to be doing something to mess things up.

Do I need to be doing something with the rock when it arrives??? How long after adding rock should I start doing water tests

Thanks
Suzi

 

[Woodstock]

If you do not have any livestock in yoour aquarium, you can cure the new rock in there. It will cause a cycle. Rinse & scrub the new rock in saltwater prior to putting it in your tank. This will help remove any dead organisms. I would begin testing immediately and logging the results.

 

[Barcochris]

Ditto, if there is no live stock just rinse and scrub and put it in your tank

 

[blue_eyes53813]

I also wanted to mention that when you are putting the liverock inthe tank, shake the rocks underwater to release any air bubbles that might be clogging the holes.

 

[Charlie97L]

would a quick freshwater dip be advisable in this situation too? just to get rid of any nasty hitchikers? i'm going to be in a similar place in a few weeks, putting rock in.

 

[Woodstock]

Some use a FW dip on new rocks.... Yarr does.

FW Dipping of live rocks?
I recently used a FW dip to remove pistol shrimps from my live rock with no issues. I did a very quick dunk-n-swish of every rock in my reef using FW with the identicle temp and PH of the main tank. This was on a fully stocked reef with a heavy bioload... I did not have a cycle afterwards and the corals did fine. I had no losses other than the pods, mini serpents, and pistols that fell off the rocks into the FW tub. With that said, I am very reluctant to recommend FW dipping of rocks from a live reef.... I was super, super careful but the next person that tries it may not be and could cause a crash to their reef

 

[Charlie97L]

yeah, well it would be a new tank... so i'm not sure what to do... i was reading that the drs foster and smith LR or whatever that site is is pretty heavily inspected for the bad hitchikers before they ship, so i may go with them.

 

[blue_eyes53813]

I got live rock from them a few months ago and it was actually very clean. I did cure it in a seperate container for about three weeks and didnt get much die off or cycle.

 

[BoomerD]

Caribbear rock tends to have more unwanted hitchhikers than the pacific varieties, like mantis shrimps and other nasties. I don't know if I'd do a f/w dip of my rock or not. Too much chance of killing the stuff you DO want to live. I think I'd do a super-saline dip rather than a f/w dip. That should chase out mantis's and crabs, without hurting corals and algaes.

 

[blondie323]

question???

probably a really silly question but what is a "super-saline dip"?:rollingey
and should I be doing it whenever I bring home new LR?

 

[Woodstock]

I have never used a super-saline dip.

 

[Little Luey]

Whats next? ah..... you have to have a pizza party at your place and have all of us over.
I think super saline dip is just salt water with extra salt in it but I am not sure. I never really did other than place the rock in the tank, let it sit there for a month, you will see any hitchhikers if any during that time.

I was serius about the pizza party. LOL.

 

[ladygwen]

Cheers Pizza Party at my house to celebrate the arrival of the live rock !! Whoo Hooo !!!!!

I was so excited and trying to wait so patiently but the FedEx man was just too slow.

I did the whole super salinity dip followed by a cleaning of any noticeably dead or dying material. Then into the tank it went. Yeaaaa.

I was real pleased with the rock from Live Aquaria lots of beautiful pink and green coralline on it, many uniquely shaped pieces all of nice size, and quite light and pourous.

Didn't find any critters when doing the dip, but one piece came with what I assume is some sort of plant life. It's kind of orangy red in color very compact and close to the rock, kind of a pointy yet lacy appearance. Sorry can't provide any pictures at the moment.

Thanks All for The Advice
Suzi