Is My Rock Alive, Dead, or a Biter?

Rumjahn · 09/12/2013, 08:46 PM

I purchased about 50 lbs of dry rock from a guy locally. He had taken it from his tank about 2 months ago, and kept it in a cooler with a filter and heater on it. I don't think he did much else with it.

When I inspected it, the rock looked really clean, no bad smell whatsoever. The water temp in the cooler was 79 degrees, and salinity was 1.029.

I put it in my 120 gallon tank which contained only 100 gallons of freshly-made saltwater. Baseline readings in the tank, prior to the addition of the rock, were as follows:

SG 1.025
PH 8.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 0
Ca++ 400
Alk 9

After adding the rock and water from the cooler (about 5-10 gallons or so), the nitrates in my tank were 40! Everything else was the same (no ammonia or nitrites). Does that mean the rock had been sitting in water where the nitrates were 400?

Also, the rock looks almost too clean to be alive, and I would have thought it wasn't live except for the fact that the nitrates were so high.

So at this point I'm not sure if the rock is alive or dead. Any sure way to tell? A friend suggested just putting a light on it and seeing if some corraline algae grows. I was wondering if I should add an ammonia source too, but she said to just watch and wait. What do you guys think?

Right now there's nothing else in the tank except for water, rock, and the 40 ppm of nitrates.

Squidmotron · 09/12/2013, 08:55 PM

Maybe just add in a tiny bit of ammonia. A little food perhaps. See if there's a little cycle and see what happens.

Rumjahn · 09/12/2013, 09:29 PM

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Add some food, watch for ammonia to appear, then see if it goes away.

I was going to wait a few days and see if ammonia appeared on its own, and if it didn't, then I'll try adding some.

dunc101 · 09/13/2013, 08:40 AM

It sounds like the rocks have been through a cycle. Here is what it sounds like happened to me.
1.) He placed dry rock in the container with saltwater, probably at 1.023 or 1.025 or whatever. He didn't put any RO/DI to replace evaporation hence your high salinity reading.
2.) He added ammonia
3.) The rock cycled but he never did a water change (why change water with just a bucket of rocks =) ), hence the high nitrates.

I added 100% dry rock when I started my tank. It took the rock nearly a year before they started to "color up" after I added some corals with coralline algae and not look "ultra clean."

Rumjahn · 09/13/2013, 10:03 AM

I'm pretty sure he didn't add ammonia, he said he just took them out of his tank and put them into the cooler with a filter and heater, where they sat for 2 months. He also said his salinity was 1.030 when he tested it prior to removing the rock.

My concern at this point is whether the rocks are still alive. I want to add some dry rock, but if there's no biological activity then I need more live rock before I do that.

Fizz71 · 09/13/2013, 11:18 AM

I would guess they're still plenty alive. I would just get some ammonia in there somehow (shrimp, food, pure ammonia etc.) to the point you can read it and see how long it takes to go away.

It's possible the nitrates in the tub were SOOOO high that it's still leeching out of your rocks. I wouldn't worry about it. The bacteria we care about don't give a crap about the nitrates at this point.

What you are doing right now is exactly what had going on for over a year except _I_ was the one keeping the rock.... I had the rocks in a tub, didn't monitor the salinity much, didn't change the water...and once my system was ready and I moved them into the DT my nitrates were really bad for a few weeks. I used carbon dosing until it was under control--300g of water is too expensive to do multiple big water changes.

As for looking "clean"...even today I have LR in a tub in my basement that is plumbed into the main display, but not lit. If I take a piece of rock from the sump and put it in the DT it stands out like a white guy at a Kanye West concert--but it's very much "live" in terms of bacteria. Just no algae growth.

Rumjahn · 09/13/2013, 01:27 PM

Thanks for that info! It makes me feel better. I wasn't sure if the high nitrates had somehow killed off the bacteria I want. I think I'll go get some ammonia and put it in there now, see what happens.

09/12/2013, 08:46 PM	#1
Rumjahn Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 114	Is My Rock Alive, Dead, or a Biter? I purchased about 50 lbs of dry rock from a guy locally. He had taken it from his tank about 2 months ago, and kept it in a cooler with a filter and heater on it. I don't think he did much else with it. When I inspected it, the rock looked really clean, no bad smell whatsoever. The water temp in the cooler was 79 degrees, and salinity was 1.029. I put it in my 120 gallon tank which contained only 100 gallons of freshly-made saltwater. Baseline readings in the tank, prior to the addition of the rock, were as follows: SG 1.025 PH 8.2 Ammonia 0 Nitrites 0 Nitrates 0 Ca++ 400 Alk 9 After adding the rock and water from the cooler (about 5-10 gallons or so), the nitrates in my tank were 40! Everything else was the same (no ammonia or nitrites). Does that mean the rock had been sitting in water where the nitrates were 400? Also, the rock looks almost too clean to be alive, and I would have thought it wasn't live except for the fact that the nitrates were so high. So at this point I'm not sure if the rock is alive or dead. Any sure way to tell? A friend suggested just putting a light on it and seeing if some corraline algae grows. I was wondering if I should add an ammonia source too, but she said to just watch and wait. What do you guys think? Right now there's nothing else in the tank except for water, rock, and the 40 ppm of nitrates.

09/12/2013, 08:55 PM	#2
Squidmotron Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Plano, TX Posts: 675	Maybe just add in a tiny bit of ammonia. A little food perhaps. See if there's a little cycle and see what happens. __________________ .................................................. Current Tank Info: 210 Gallon "Mixed Reef" Tank (84 inches wide)

09/13/2013, 08:40 AM	#4
dunc101 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 758	It sounds like the rocks have been through a cycle. Here is what it sounds like happened to me. 1.) He placed dry rock in the container with saltwater, probably at 1.023 or 1.025 or whatever. He didn't put any RO/DI to replace evaporation hence your high salinity reading. 2.) He added ammonia 3.) The rock cycled but he never did a water change (why change water with just a bucket of rocks =) ), hence the high nitrates. I added 100% dry rock when I started my tank. It took the rock nearly a year before they started to "color up" after I added some corals with coralline algae and not look "ultra clean." __________________ Duncan

09/13/2013, 11:18 AM	#6
Fizz71 FragSwapper Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: West Lawn, PA Posts: 5,800	I would guess they're still plenty alive. I would just get some ammonia in there somehow (shrimp, food, pure ammonia etc.) to the point you can read it and see how long it takes to go away. It's possible the nitrates in the tub were SOOOO high that it's still leeching out of your rocks. I wouldn't worry about it. The bacteria we care about don't give a crap about the nitrates at this point. What you are doing right now is exactly what had going on for over a year except _I_ was the one keeping the rock.... I had the rocks in a tub, didn't monitor the salinity much, didn't change the water...and once my system was ready and I moved them into the DT my nitrates were really bad for a few weeks. I used carbon dosing until it was under control--300g of water is too expensive to do multiple big water changes. As for looking "clean"...even today I have LR in a tub in my basement that is plumbed into the main display, but not lit. If I take a piece of rock from the sump and put it in the DT it stands out like a white guy at a Kanye West concert--but it's very much "live" in terms of bacteria. Just no algae growth. __________________ --Fizz Current Tank Info: Current system is 8x2x2 240g peninsula setup with a single "chamber" 100g sump in the basement with an RDSB. All corals are 100% home grown from frags of fellow reefers (low natural reef impact).

09/12/2013, 09:29 PM	#3
Rumjahn Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 114	Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Add some food, watch for ammonia to appear, then see if it goes away. I was going to wait a few days and see if ammonia appeared on its own, and if it didn't, then I'll try adding some.

09/13/2013, 10:03 AM	#5
Rumjahn Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 114	I'm pretty sure he didn't add ammonia, he said he just took them out of his tank and put them into the cooler with a filter and heater, where they sat for 2 months. He also said his salinity was 1.030 when he tested it prior to removing the rock. My concern at this point is whether the rocks are still alive. I want to add some dry rock, but if there's no biological activity then I need more live rock before I do that.

09/13/2013, 01:27 PM	#7
Rumjahn Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 114	Thanks for that info! It makes me feel better. I wasn't sure if the high nitrates had somehow killed off the bacteria I want. I think I'll go get some ammonia and put it in there now, see what happens.