moving live rocks/substrate cause ammonia?

[j86miu]

I have a damsel fish and a few snails/crabs in my 14g tank. If I remember correctly, I'm pretty sure my parameters yesterday prior to a massive 're-aquascaping', salinity was a little low 1.021 maybe, and ph was 7.9 or 8.0?

Yesterday I decided to mess around with rocks because the shapes and setup were really bothering me, I took them out and broke them into separate pieces as fast as I could. I did this indoors and made sure that they stayed moist and dipped them back in the tank every once in a while.

It probably didn't help that I added the fish/CUC with a new piece of live cured rock from from the LFS on saturday... this rock was about 3lbs, but I already had about 11lbs of live rock and 1.5'' of live sand...

I got an ammonia spike today (.25), and did a partial water change with what little prepared salt water I had (5-10% pwc maybe)

Can taking out the rocks for even that short amount of time cause enough dieoff on the rock for an ammonia spike? or possible the die off from the cured live rock I picked up on saturday?

I added a little bit of seachem prime to help with the ammonia, then an hour later, I noticed that my domino damsel started looking real pale and even began to swim funny... on its side and even running into walls and rocks

But not even a few minutes later it began swimming normally again and regained its normal color. I thought he was about to croak based on his paleness and swimming patter.

I'm pretty sure he had ammonia burn from the LFS, and it looks like he might have picked up some more tonight, but at least he is looking ok right now. Hardy little guy. His name is Herps by the way haha.

Anyways, I didn't feed them tonight since I'm sure Ive been overfeeding, which I heard can lead to ammonia also.

Well that was a lesson learned tonight... any other advice for the following days would be greatly appreciated.

[PRDubois]

It was the new rock you put in.

[doctorgori]

No

any other advice for the following days would be greatly appreciated

I've learned the attention span around these parts is short...I'd be a lil briefer

[Rockys_Pride]

Prime binds the ammonia temporarily, you'll need to do a w/c soon.

Try and always have enough water on hand to do an emergency w/c.

Posting pics helps

[Grace tank]

Stirring up the sand will create a spike in your ammonia levels, make sure you do a couple water changes in the next couple of days. On another note, I think that the profanity removed remarks should be left for the lounge. This is why a lot of newbies don't ask questions-they are afraid of the remarks they might get.

[GTR]

Originally Posted by j86miu

Can taking out the rocks for even that short amount of time cause enough dieoff on the rock for an ammonia spike? or possible the die off from the cured live rock I picked up on saturday?

I doubt having the rock out of the tank for a little while would cause problems. As far as the new rock, it really depends on if it was really cured. Do you have any idea how long the store had it. I'd guess though if it was still ripe you'd smell the death from within it.

Keep doing regular water changes, they can't hurt.

How long has it been set up?

[stingythingy45]

Best thing to do is keep up with water changes and testing for ammonia till the bacteria colony grows larger and keeps up with the ammonia.
Lots of folks that don't have a QT set up all the time do this to stave off ammonia issues.

[aleonn]

Removing rocks for aquascaping can certainly lead to mini-cycles, depending on how long the rocks were out. They're usually not detectable in a large system, but yours is only 14g. Also, sometimes the detritus and inadvertently disturbing the sand bed can cause these mini-cycles as well.

For any new LR additions, I'd cure them in a separate tank/container first before adding to your system to address the cycling issues.

[bertoni]

Taking live rock out of water can cause problems. Some sponges die on contact with air, for example. I think most people see only mild effects, if any at all. I've seen mild effects, but nothing major.

The Prime will bind the ammonia permanently, but you'll need to keep adding more as ammonia is generated. I think water changes are a fine idea, too.

Also:


Here at Reef Central, we believe that dialogs between participants should be conducted in a friendly and helpful manner. If you disagree with a posting, please express yourself in a way that is conducive to further constructive dialog. Conversely, when you post on any given subject, you must be willing to accept constructive criticism without posting a hostile or inflammatory response. Personal attacks of any kind will not be tolerated. Please work to insure that Reef Central remains a friendly and flame free site where everyone, especially newcomers, can feel free to post questions without fear of being unfairly criticized. Thank you for your cooperation.

[Cheney12]

In regards to the live rock. Does anyone know where I can get good live rock for a reasonable price. The live rock I want currently sells for 200 for 25lbs and that just seems crazy especially when I need 60lbs of it. I would just like to get more for the money but still end up with a quality product.

[j86miu]

Originally Posted by bertoni

Taking live rock out of water can cause problems. Some sponges die on contact with air, for example. I think most people see only mild effects, if any at all. I've seen mild effects, but nothing major.

The Prime will bind the ammonia permanently, but you'll need to keep adding more as ammonia is generated. I think water changes are a fine idea, too.

Also:


Here at Reef Central, we believe that dialogs between participants should be conducted in a friendly and helpful manner. If you disagree with a posting, please express yourself in a way that is conducive to further constructive dialog. Conversely, when you post on any given subject, you must be willing to accept constructive criticism without posting a hostile or inflammatory response. Personal attacks of any kind will not be tolerated. Please work to insure that Reef Central remains a friendly and flame free site where everyone, especially newcomers, can feel free to post questions without fear of being unfairly criticized. Thank you for your cooperation.

what's with the note? is that directed at me?

[j86miu]

Originally Posted by GTR

I doubt having the rock out of the tank for a little while would cause problems. As far as the new rock, it really depends on if it was really cured. Do you have any idea how long the store had it. I'd guess though if it was still ripe you'd smell the death from within it.

Keep doing regular water changes, they can't hurt.

How long has it been set up?

almost two weeks now

[daplatapus]

Originally Posted by j86miu

what's with the note? is that directed at me?

I believe that was directed to the post from Grace Tank. Don't worry about it, Keep up the good work doing research and finding out what you need to know.

[ken1977]

Originally Posted by Cheney12

In regards to the live rock. Does anyone know where I can get good live rock for a reasonable price. The live rock I want currently sells for 200 for 25lbs and that just seems crazy especially when I need 60lbs of it. I would just like to get more for the money but still end up with a quality product.

Craigslist...

[ken1977]

Originally Posted by j86miu

I have a damsel fish and a few snails/crabs in my 14g tank. If I remember correctly, I'm pretty sure my parameters yesterday prior to a massive 're-aquascaping', salinity was a little low 1.021 maybe, and ph was 7.9 or 8.0?

Yesterday I decided to mess around with rocks because the shapes and setup were really bothering me, I took them out and broke them into separate pieces as fast as I could. I did this indoors and made sure that they stayed moist and dipped them back in the tank every once in a while.

It probably didn't help that I added the fish/CUC with a new piece of live cured rock from from the LFS on saturday... this rock was about 3lbs, but I already had about 11lbs of live rock and 1.5'' of live sand...

I got an ammonia spike today (.25), and did a partial water change with what little prepared salt water I had (5-10% pwc maybe)

Can taking out the rocks for even that short amount of time cause enough dieoff on the rock for an ammonia spike? or possible the die off from the cured live rock I picked up on saturday?

I added a little bit of seachem prime to help with the ammonia, then an hour later, I noticed that my domino damsel started looking real pale and even began to swim funny... on its side and even running into walls and rocks

But not even a few minutes later it began swimming normally again and regained its normal color. I thought he was about to croak based on his paleness and swimming patter.

I'm pretty sure he had ammonia burn from the LFS, and it looks like he might have picked up some more tonight, but at least he is looking ok right now. Hardy little guy. His name is Herps by the way haha.

Anyways, I didn't feed them tonight since I'm sure Ive been overfeeding, which I heard can lead to ammonia also.

Well that was a lesson learned tonight... any other advice for the following days would be greatly appreciated.

I did the same thing on Sunday. I came home Monday from work to an algae bloom and my glass was covered in green. I did a ten gallon water change to my fifty cube last night and seems to be clearing up. I highly recommend the water change.

[ken1977]

I want to ad one six inch wide 2 inch deep real reef rock to my fifty cube. Since this is a bio rock man made with bacteria on it already from real reef rock co. Will this spike a bloom in my tank if I'm just stacking it on a piece that's established?

[Grace tank]

That note was definatly directed at me and not you! I apologize for what I said. Did not intend to upset anyone. SORRY

[Sugar Magnolia]

Originally Posted by Grace tank

That note was definatly directed at me and not you! I apologize for what I said. Did not intend to upset anyone. SORRY

What bertoni posted is taken directly from the User Agreement that everyone agrees to when joining RC.

[GTR]

Originally Posted by j86miu

almost two weeks now

Even with fully cured live rock I think a system that's only two weeks old will be quite different than a more mature system. If you did what you described two years from now I'd expect nothing to happen. At two weeks though the system is running on the edge IMO.

Originally Posted by Cheney12

In regards to the live rock. Does anyone know where I can get good live rock for a reasonable price. The live rock I want currently sells for 200 for 25lbs and that just seems crazy especially when I need 60lbs of it. I would just like to get more for the money but still end up with a quality product.

Maybe you can find used LR on the cheap locally and it will certainly work. I've always preferred to start will fresh uncured LR so I could control the curing process with as little die off as possible. The used LR will supply you will the biological base to run the tank but I've rarely seen the diversity of life on what's come out of a torn down tank. I like all the bugs, worms, sponges, etc that you find in stinky boxes of LR.