New tank + dead rock = troubles lol

RDHDDRAGON · 10/15/2010, 03:36 PM

I set up a new tank with lots of dead rock. i added live sand and several pieces of live rock to seed the tank. Everything going hunky dory, put some seafood in there to get it cycling. That was 4 weeks ago. The water went cloudy about 1 1/2 weeks ago. Doing 25% water changes everyweek and the cloudiness won't go away. It looks yellowish/green with spots of white cloudiness. i know dead rock takes forever to cure, but how long really? My water doesn't test that bad except the ph.

95 gal tank with 4 pc actinics and 2-150w halides new bulbs
coralife 150 skimmer
oceanic sump full of bioballs

tests i have:
KH 8
ammonia .25
phosphate .5
calcium 540
ph 8.8
nitrates and nitrites below what test reads
salinity 1.024
our filters are new on our ro/di system.

What am i doing wrong? how do i get rid of the cloudiness? why is my ph so high? I am guessing the bloom is algae? if so , could it be depleting the oxygen to make my ph go up? Would this also make the calcium high? How do I fix all these problems?

I am so lost, I have had a 150 gal reef up and running for 5 years now and never had any of these problems. The only difference is the dead rock. Do I just have to wait it out?
Thanks in advance for your help.

scubasteve06 · 10/15/2010, 04:24 PM

Well to me it sounds like the cloudiness is from high Ca. High calcium can cause a snow storm effect in the tank that looks like snow flying around and can be confused with cloudiness. It sounds like your ammonia spike is from die off from the dead rock and the reason you might not be seeing nitrites or nitrates is that your having a mini-cycle due to the ammonia from the die off. I've heard that those cora-life skimmers aren't too great, and that could be another reason that the tank hasn't fully cycled yet because it isn't pulling out much gunk. What does your skimmate look and smell like? Also the sump full of bio-balls isn't going to do much help. I'd replace all the bio-balls or the bio-ball section for a refugium section to help with nitrates and phosphates. A good clip on shop light from lowes or home depot and a 5500k-6500k bulb flood light in the 50-65 watt range will do nicely. The 6100k 'cool white' bulbs are what Sanjay says works best for growing macro algae. You could also add a DSB to the sump section that would be your refugium, some LR rubble will also give the pods a place to hide and reproduce.

Ca and Alk are also directly related to Ph so the reason your Ph is high could have something to do with the Calcium being high also or vice versa.

RDHDDRAGON · 10/15/2010, 04:49 PM

The skimmate is stinky green. I use a coralife 220 on my 150 and it does good. Really nasty dark green , makes you gag it stinks so bad!

This one isn't as dark, but i thought maybe just cause it is a new tank, my 150 is well established and packed with corals.

I might have to do the fuge thing. On my other tank i have a 40 gal fuge/sump and we just wanted to try something new on this tank. And the fact it came with the tank free helped that decision, lol.

How do I get the calcium down? Just water changes?

scubasteve06 · 10/15/2010, 04:58 PM

Well if its producing then don't throw it out or discount it like I did then. Sounds like you have good expierience with the hobby and that your going through a mini-cycle from the die off. I would say that water changes would bring the Ca down, then again WC's are what replenishes Ca, Mg, Alk etc. after not doing one so I'm not to sure. Maybe someone else will chime in with a solution. I think I've heard of people using baking soda or some type of acid to bring the Ph of their tank down too. Don't take my word do some research on it, but I'm pretty sure I've heard this on this forum or elsewhere on the internet in other reef based sites.

R.Ram · 10/15/2010, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scubasteve06

Well if its producing then don't throw it out or discount it like I did then. Sounds like you have good expierience with the hobby and that your going through a mini-cycle from the die off. I would say that water changes would bring the Ca down, then again WC's are what replenishes Ca, Mg, Alk etc. after not doing one so I'm not to sure. Maybe someone else will chime in with a solution. I think I've heard of people using baking soda or some type of acid to bring the Ph of their tank down too. Don't take my word do some research on it, but I'm pretty sure I've heard this on this forum or elsewhere on the internet in other reef based sites.

I do believe baking soda brings the pH UP! While, if I'm not mistaken, vinegar brings it down...

RDHDDRAGON · 10/15/2010, 05:37 PM

I guess I will wait it out then and see what happens.

It is worse than die off, the rock was dead, dried out comletely. I have never used dried up rock before so it is throwing me for a loop!

neoalchemist74 · 10/15/2010, 06:09 PM

Yeah, your going to have to just wait it out. Your cycle may take a very long time w/dead rock.

mm949 · 10/16/2010, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by R.Ram

I do believe baking soda brings the pH UP! While, if I'm not mistaken, vinegar brings it down...

vinegar does lower the pH, baking soda increases KH but doesnt buffer over 7.8 pH

RDHDDRAGON · 10/19/2010, 07:24 PM

The water is getting cloudier i think. I cant tell anymore, lol. The purple coraline is going nuts, all over the live rock i put in there and there are speckles of it all over the dead rock.

Should i Jjust leave the calcium level alone?

mgoblue · 10/20/2010, 11:27 AM

If you have coraline algae growth, the calcium will come down naturally. There is a really good thread in the reef chemistry forum that talks about the various combinations of alk and calcium and how to get the numbers back into the target zone. Do a search, I'm sure you'll find it.

streak · 10/20/2010, 02:56 PM

Did you happend to cook and or wash the dead rock for a few days in tap/ro water? maybe even a vinegar soak over night to get off all the nasty left overs.. To me it sounds like its leeching out stuff thats dead on the rock. Just my opinion.. And i have read just about every artical about using dead rock.. I am suprised that theres so few on how to prepare it.. Comparing to manmade rock.

10/15/2010, 03:36 PM	#1
RDHDDRAGON Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: oklahoma Posts: 341	New tank + dead rock = troubles lol I set up a new tank with lots of dead rock. i added live sand and several pieces of live rock to seed the tank. Everything going hunky dory, put some seafood in there to get it cycling. That was 4 weeks ago. The water went cloudy about 1 1/2 weeks ago. Doing 25% water changes everyweek and the cloudiness won't go away. It looks yellowish/green with spots of white cloudiness. i know dead rock takes forever to cure, but how long really? My water doesn't test that bad except the ph. 95 gal tank with 4 pc actinics and 2-150w halides new bulbs coralife 150 skimmer oceanic sump full of bioballs tests i have: KH 8 ammonia .25 phosphate .5 calcium 540 ph 8.8 nitrates and nitrites below what test reads salinity 1.024 our filters are new on our ro/di system. What am i doing wrong? how do i get rid of the cloudiness? why is my ph so high? I am guessing the bloom is algae? if so , could it be depleting the oxygen to make my ph go up? Would this also make the calcium high? How do I fix all these problems? I am so lost, I have had a 150 gal reef up and running for 5 years now and never had any of these problems. The only difference is the dead rock. Do I just have to wait it out? Thanks in advance for your help.

10/15/2010, 04:49 PM	#3
RDHDDRAGON Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: oklahoma Posts: 341	dead rock The skimmate is stinky green. I use a coralife 220 on my 150 and it does good. Really nasty dark green , makes you gag it stinks so bad! This one isn't as dark, but i thought maybe just cause it is a new tank, my 150 is well established and packed with corals. I might have to do the fuge thing. On my other tank i have a 40 gal fuge/sump and we just wanted to try something new on this tank. And the fact it came with the tank free helped that decision, lol. How do I get the calcium down? Just water changes?

10/15/2010, 05:37 PM	#6
RDHDDRAGON Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: oklahoma Posts: 341	dead rock I guess I will wait it out then and see what happens. It is worse than die off, the rock was dead, dried out comletely. I have never used dried up rock before so it is throwing me for a loop!

10/15/2010, 06:09 PM	#7
neoalchemist74 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Longmont Colorado Posts: 627	Yeah, your going to have to just wait it out. Your cycle may take a very long time w/dead rock. __________________ You have two ears and one mouth, so you should listen twice as much as you talk. Current Tank Info: in progress

10/20/2010, 02:56 PM	#11
streak Reef Madness! Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Perryville, Missouri Posts: 616	Did you happend to cook and or wash the dead rock for a few days in tap/ro water? maybe even a vinegar soak over night to get off all the nasty left overs.. To me it sounds like its leeching out stuff thats dead on the rock. Just my opinion.. And i have read just about every artical about using dead rock.. I am suprised that theres so few on how to prepare it.. Comparing to manmade rock. __________________ The Shoe String Budget Reef Aquarium. Possible?? Compared to 7 55 breeding Discus days well we see and try! :P Current Tank Info: 10g nano with 2 clowns 1 Royal Gorama 1 RBTA!

10/15/2010, 04:24 PM	#2
scubasteve06 Jeeper Reefer Join Date: May 2010 Location: Clemson, SC Posts: 1,171	Well to me it sounds like the cloudiness is from high Ca. High calcium can cause a snow storm effect in the tank that looks like snow flying around and can be confused with cloudiness. It sounds like your ammonia spike is from die off from the dead rock and the reason you might not be seeing nitrites or nitrates is that your having a mini-cycle due to the ammonia from the die off. I've heard that those cora-life skimmers aren't too great, and that could be another reason that the tank hasn't fully cycled yet because it isn't pulling out much gunk. What does your skimmate look and smell like? Also the sump full of bio-balls isn't going to do much help. I'd replace all the bio-balls or the bio-ball section for a refugium section to help with nitrates and phosphates. A good clip on shop light from lowes or home depot and a 5500k-6500k bulb flood light in the 50-65 watt range will do nicely. The 6100k 'cool white' bulbs are what Sanjay says works best for growing macro algae. You could also add a DSB to the sump section that would be your refugium, some LR rubble will also give the pods a place to hide and reproduce. Ca and Alk are also directly related to Ph so the reason your Ph is high could have something to do with the Calcium being high also or vice versa.

10/15/2010, 04:58 PM	#4
scubasteve06 Jeeper Reefer Join Date: May 2010 Location: Clemson, SC Posts: 1,171	Well if its producing then don't throw it out or discount it like I did then. Sounds like you have good expierience with the hobby and that your going through a mini-cycle from the die off. I would say that water changes would bring the Ca down, then again WC's are what replenishes Ca, Mg, Alk etc. after not doing one so I'm not to sure. Maybe someone else will chime in with a solution. I think I've heard of people using baking soda or some type of acid to bring the Ph of their tank down too. Don't take my word do some research on it, but I'm pretty sure I've heard this on this forum or elsewhere on the internet in other reef based sites.

10/19/2010, 07:24 PM	#9
RDHDDRAGON Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: oklahoma Posts: 341	The water is getting cloudier i think. I cant tell anymore, lol. The purple coraline is going nuts, all over the live rock i put in there and there are speckles of it all over the dead rock. Should i Jjust leave the calcium level alone?

10/20/2010, 11:27 AM	#10
mgoblue Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Grand Junction, MI Posts: 149	If you have coraline algae growth, the calcium will come down naturally. There is a really good thread in the reef chemistry forum that talks about the various combinations of alk and calcium and how to get the numbers back into the target zone. Do a search, I'm sure you'll find it.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Can you take fake reef rock and turn it into live rock	aquariumkeeper2	New to the Hobby	11	08/04/2010 05:44 PM
Live rock that is now dead rock LOL	vinc	New to the Hobby	4	03/09/2008 11:48 AM
using dead rock in a tank???	Butchdawg14	Southern Colorado Marine Aquarist Society (SCMAS)	8	02/21/2007 06:39 PM
dead rock and tank?	reefnetworth	The Reef Chemistry Forum	3	06/25/2006 05:20 PM
Will a tank cycle will all dead rock?	fishing101	Reef Discussion	13	05/22/2006 04:02 PM