some id help please

steveyman2002 · 03/15/2009, 09:01 PM

I have been looking on this site for a couple of years, lots of great info. I have just aquired a 125 gal tank that was kind of miss handled for a wile. I have some things that i need help with to know if they are good or bad. I have had the tank up and running for a week, when i got it the lights did not work and there was green hair algea everywere water parameters were all really good (I thought). I installed the light i had already bought cleaned as much of the rock and cc bed as i could, now I think i have a little bigger prob but not sure. Nitrate level is staying around 80ppm and i have tryed dose's of sugar all week with no change, ammonia is 0ppm nitrite 0ppm ph 8.3 sg 1.022. i did a 20 gal water change today. All the rocks are turning from green to red (I thought it was coriline but now i dont think so, red slime???) there are now 4 other things that have appearead, the first is a small oval shaped thing attached to a rock that when the lights are on it opens up and there are 6 little white dots in it, another is a white sponge/tube there are a hand full through the tank, the other 2 things are pink and look like little branches with little hairs coming out of the ends. here are the pics. hope i have not been to long winded. thanks for the help.

lancer99 · 03/15/2009, 09:16 PM

I think some are tubeworms, but it's really hard to tell from such small pics...do you have better ones?

It's very difficult to kickstart a tank of that size that has been mishandled.

-R

weaselslucks · 03/15/2009, 09:26 PM

IMO i would give or sell any livestock like fish and start again. take out the cc and "cook" the rock(you could do this right in your tank.who knows what kind of buildup you have in the cc.i might save you getting frustrated

kraze3 · 03/15/2009, 09:33 PM

I agree on getting that CC out also, it will become a nitrate factory, it may already be one. You could cook the rock in a rubbermaid so you dont have to sell off the live stock. I wouldnt owrry about worms of snails Id be more worried about algae on the rocks. I would scrub off as much as possible for now and work on getting those params in check.

steveyman2002 · 03/16/2009, 07:36 AM

Thanks so much for the info, I have been afraid to ask this question because i was afraid of the answer. So that said, all i need to do is take to rock out and get it really warm (how warm) in a rubbermaid(for how long)? Will the fish be ok in the tank without the rock?? The only thing that i can see living on the rock is a ton of spegetti worms and all that stuff that i took pics of. My other plan is that in about a month i was planning on moving everything out of this tank and putting in a dif tank, I have been wanting to get rid of the cc bed and get a dif live sand bed but did not know if that would cause a cycle on the tank?? Would it be ok if i replaced parts of cc with live sand at a time?? will the cooked rocks being installed back in the tank cause a cycle?? again thanks for the help.

Ms_Jerk · 03/16/2009, 09:20 AM

I don't see a problem with changing out the sand slowly (wont start a new cycle), but with all the crap you have going on, I have to agree with someone else said about selling off all the live stock and starting over(Since It hasn't been up for too long).

mat167 · 03/16/2009, 09:54 AM

Agreed. Starting from scratch is likely your best bet, especially if you don't have another tank to house the livestock for the time being. This way you won't feel rushed to get everything back in the aquarium. If you are starting over, definitely swap for a finer substrate.

weaselslucks · 03/16/2009, 09:57 AM

cooking the rock refers to curing it.not actually cooking.you put the rock in a rubbermaid container with fresh saltwater(just like your tank) with circulation,a heater and no lights over it.Then you test the water.just like cycling a tank you do large water changes until you read zero ammonia,nitrite,just like you would when cycling your tank. that will kill off all the unwanted algae and detritus.
then take out the cc and put a sandbed in .if you have a fuval or other type of HOB filter that can keep your fish alive in another tank

my only concern with slowly replacing the sandbed is that all the detritus in the bed now will just pollute the new bed

IMO live sand is a waste.i just cant believe you get enough live things in a seal bag with no oxygenation and exposure to extreme hot and colds in shipping. more then likely most of the live things are dead and it amounts to the same thing as putting a n uncoooked shrimp in your tank

mat167 · 03/16/2009, 10:01 AM

Also agree with weaselslucks. Wouldn't bother with live sand, just swap the CC in one shot.

weaselslucks · 03/16/2009, 11:27 AM

so in steps this is what i would do.

1.either move or sell you livestock out of the tank
2. take out the cc completely
3. scrub the LR to remove as much hair algae and undesirable algae as possible
4.put the rock back into the tank with lights off(maybe cover the tank in plastic garbage bags so no light gets in.make sure you have good circulation
5. wait about a week and a half and test change 25 to 50 percent of the water
6 wait another week and test again
repeat 5 and 6 untill your water is stable 0 amonia,nitrats ect
turn on lights take off garbage bas and add you sand bed.
cycle the tank as normal
slowly add livestock

steveyman2002 · 03/17/2009, 07:15 AM

again thanks for the help weaselslucks, what kind of sand should i use?? when i have the rock in the tank all baged up do i have my filter system and skimmer going too?? when i add the sand bed the tank will cycle again? sorry for all the questions.

kel2682 · 03/17/2009, 07:48 AM

Dont wrap the rock just use the bags to cover the light over the tank thats why a rubermaid tub would be better it has a lid

weaselslucks · 03/17/2009, 09:04 AM

if keeping the rock in the tank you need to wrap the tank so no light gets into it you can have your skimmer going.what kind of filter are you useing? i forgot do you have a sump?. i like to use aragonite it comes in course(wich is still finer then cc) or sugar fine. I like the first one but either one will work. when you add the sand you most likely will get a smaller cycle because there is no bacteria in your sand bed only on your rocks

i wish i had someone to walk me through when i first started.atleast you are asking and that is the best thing you can do

steveyman2002 · 03/17/2009, 08:34 PM

ok so now as i was at work today i was thinking (o boy) i am going to switch tanks, so would this work i move all the cleaned rock to my new tank (leaving the fish in the tank that they are in) wrap it with plastic and let it cycle than add the aragonite and add livestock slowly. The tank as of right now has a wet/dry sump with a skimmer. my new tank i am planning on a sump with a dsb, ref and skimmer in the sump of course. will the fish be ok in the old tank wile everything is getting ready in the new??

weaselslucks · 03/17/2009, 08:46 PM

that should be fine,keep us updated on your progress and try to be patient.

03/15/2009, 09:01 PM	#1
steveyman2002 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Ulysses, Kansas Posts: 4	some id help please I have been looking on this site for a couple of years, lots of great info. I have just aquired a 125 gal tank that was kind of miss handled for a wile. I have some things that i need help with to know if they are good or bad. I have had the tank up and running for a week, when i got it the lights did not work and there was green hair algea everywere water parameters were all really good (I thought). I installed the light i had already bought cleaned as much of the rock and cc bed as i could, now I think i have a little bigger prob but not sure. Nitrate level is staying around 80ppm and i have tryed dose's of sugar all week with no change, ammonia is 0ppm nitrite 0ppm ph 8.3 sg 1.022. i did a 20 gal water change today. All the rocks are turning from green to red (I thought it was coriline but now i dont think so, red slime???) there are now 4 other things that have appearead, the first is a small oval shaped thing attached to a rock that when the lights are on it opens up and there are 6 little white dots in it, another is a white sponge/tube there are a hand full through the tank, the other 2 things are pink and look like little branches with little hairs coming out of the ends. here are the pics. hope i have not been to long winded. thanks for the help.

03/15/2009, 09:16 PM	#2
lancer99 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Falls Church, VA Posts: 1,100	I think some are tubeworms, but it's really hard to tell from such small pics...do you have better ones? It's very difficult to kickstart a tank of that size that has been mishandled. -R

03/15/2009, 09:26 PM	#3
weaselslucks Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Oxford,Ct Posts: 1,393	IMO i would give or sell any livestock like fish and start again. take out the cc and "cook" the rock(you could do this right in your tank.who knows what kind of buildup you have in the cc.i might save you getting frustrated

03/15/2009, 09:33 PM	#4
kraze3 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: RI Posts: 2,373	I agree on getting that CC out also, it will become a nitrate factory, it may already be one. You could cook the rock in a rubbermaid so you dont have to sell off the live stock. I wouldnt owrry about worms of snails Id be more worried about algae on the rocks. I would scrub off as much as possible for now and work on getting those params in check.

03/16/2009, 07:36 AM	#5
steveyman2002 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Ulysses, Kansas Posts: 4	Thanks so much for the info, I have been afraid to ask this question because i was afraid of the answer. So that said, all i need to do is take to rock out and get it really warm (how warm) in a rubbermaid(for how long)? Will the fish be ok in the tank without the rock?? The only thing that i can see living on the rock is a ton of spegetti worms and all that stuff that i took pics of. My other plan is that in about a month i was planning on moving everything out of this tank and putting in a dif tank, I have been wanting to get rid of the cc bed and get a dif live sand bed but did not know if that would cause a cycle on the tank?? Would it be ok if i replaced parts of cc with live sand at a time?? will the cooked rocks being installed back in the tank cause a cycle?? again thanks for the help.

03/16/2009, 09:20 AM	#6
Ms_Jerk Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 126	I don't see a problem with changing out the sand slowly (wont start a new cycle), but with all the crap you have going on, I have to agree with someone else said about selling off all the live stock and starting over(Since It hasn't been up for too long).

03/16/2009, 09:54 AM	#7
mat167 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Montreal, South-Shore Posts: 473	Agreed. Starting from scratch is likely your best bet, especially if you don't have another tank to house the livestock for the time being. This way you won't feel rushed to get everything back in the aquarium. If you are starting over, definitely swap for a finer substrate.

03/16/2009, 09:57 AM	#8
weaselslucks Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Oxford,Ct Posts: 1,393	cooking the rock refers to curing it.not actually cooking.you put the rock in a rubbermaid container with fresh saltwater(just like your tank) with circulation,a heater and no lights over it.Then you test the water.just like cycling a tank you do large water changes until you read zero ammonia,nitrite,just like you would when cycling your tank. that will kill off all the unwanted algae and detritus. then take out the cc and put a sandbed in .if you have a fuval or other type of HOB filter that can keep your fish alive in another tank my only concern with slowly replacing the sandbed is that all the detritus in the bed now will just pollute the new bed IMO live sand is a waste.i just cant believe you get enough live things in a seal bag with no oxygenation and exposure to extreme hot and colds in shipping. more then likely most of the live things are dead and it amounts to the same thing as putting a n uncoooked shrimp in your tank

03/16/2009, 10:01 AM	#9
mat167 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Montreal, South-Shore Posts: 473	Also agree with weaselslucks. Wouldn't bother with live sand, just swap the CC in one shot.

03/16/2009, 11:27 AM	#10
weaselslucks Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Oxford,Ct Posts: 1,393	so in steps this is what i would do. 1.either move or sell you livestock out of the tank 2. take out the cc completely 3. scrub the LR to remove as much hair algae and undesirable algae as possible 4.put the rock back into the tank with lights off(maybe cover the tank in plastic garbage bags so no light gets in.make sure you have good circulation 5. wait about a week and a half and test change 25 to 50 percent of the water 6 wait another week and test again repeat 5 and 6 untill your water is stable 0 amonia,nitrats ect turn on lights take off garbage bas and add you sand bed. cycle the tank as normal slowly add livestock

03/17/2009, 07:15 AM	#11
steveyman2002 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Ulysses, Kansas Posts: 4	again thanks for the help weaselslucks, what kind of sand should i use?? when i have the rock in the tank all baged up do i have my filter system and skimmer going too?? when i add the sand bed the tank will cycle again? sorry for all the questions.

03/17/2009, 07:48 AM	#12
kel2682 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: CT Posts: 532	Dont wrap the rock just use the bags to cover the light over the tank thats why a rubermaid tub would be better it has a lid

03/17/2009, 09:04 AM	#13
weaselslucks Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Oxford,Ct Posts: 1,393	if keeping the rock in the tank you need to wrap the tank so no light gets into it you can have your skimmer going.what kind of filter are you useing? i forgot do you have a sump?. i like to use aragonite it comes in course(wich is still finer then cc) or sugar fine. I like the first one but either one will work. when you add the sand you most likely will get a smaller cycle because there is no bacteria in your sand bed only on your rocks i wish i had someone to walk me through when i first started.atleast you are asking and that is the best thing you can do

03/17/2009, 08:34 PM	#14
steveyman2002 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Ulysses, Kansas Posts: 4	ok so now as i was at work today i was thinking (o boy) i am going to switch tanks, so would this work i move all the cleaned rock to my new tank (leaving the fish in the tank that they are in) wrap it with plastic and let it cycle than add the aragonite and add livestock slowly. The tank as of right now has a wet/dry sump with a skimmer. my new tank i am planning on a sump with a dsb, ref and skimmer in the sump of course. will the fish be ok in the old tank wile everything is getting ready in the new??

03/17/2009, 08:46 PM	#15
weaselslucks Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Oxford,Ct Posts: 1,393	that should be fine,keep us updated on your progress and try to be patient.