AzeX Posted January 28, 2004 Share Posted January 28, 2004 Asthe title says, I would like to add additional live rocks to my current nano system. I have an established 5.5 gallon tank that has been running for about 1 month and 1 week. I even have some critter in there.(5 small turbo snails and 1 emerald crab) But now I want more rocks in there because I don't have a lot in my opinion.(5 lbs of rock right now) I have heard adding Live Rocks into an established tank causes the whole system to cycle again. Is there a way around that cause I don't want to cycle the tank again since I don't know what to do with the critters while the tank is recycling.. Any suggestion would help thxs Link to comment
mapv281 Posted January 28, 2004 Share Posted January 28, 2004 get a cheap 2.5 gallon tank, cycle it there, then add it to your tank, then use the left over tank for mixing water, or quarantine, whatever, i don't know if this might work but imo i think it's your best shot. Link to comment
oflores Posted January 28, 2004 Share Posted January 28, 2004 Yeah I added more live rock to my established tank and drove the nitrates up. I had to do a lot of water changes to keep the water conditions good. Link to comment
snookface1 Posted January 28, 2004 Share Posted January 28, 2004 Make sure you get good cured LR. The crab and snails should handle the increase of nitrates. As most of us say, do not do water changes, just watch it and only do changes if it gets in the extreme ranges. Link to comment
tinyreef Posted January 28, 2004 Share Posted January 28, 2004 I have heard adding Live Rocks into an established tank causes the whole system to cycle again. depends on whether the rock is cured or not and the situation of the rock previously. uncured is usually not a good thing to add. otoh when you add a coral you almost always add a bit of 'uncured' LR, the piece that it's anchored to (btw this is a great source of biodiversity). while it's not technicaly cured, it is very safe (usually) to add into your tank. because that little piece of rock has been kept submerged or very wet ever since its time on the reef, basically hitching a ride with the more expensive coral fragment or incubating/seeding in some established aquaculturist's system. properly cured rock is fine to add. for instance, i add new rock all the time, culled from throwaway bins at the lfs. i cure that rock tho. Link to comment
AzeX Posted January 28, 2004 Author Share Posted January 28, 2004 Really? For people who live around NYC, you might have heard of FishTown USA. I plan to buy there rocks. Supposely its Premium Live Rocks cured from Fiji. Or should I just buy them and take it home to cure it myself. Link to comment
tinyreef Posted January 28, 2004 Share Posted January 28, 2004 smell test. decay and putrefaction are bad signs. if it's already cured then you're set. be prepared for high prices and slim to nil biodiversity. for a new setup i always prefer uncured from a transshipper (e.g. exoticfish.com). the pricing can sometimes come out cheaper than cured at a lfs, even including airfreight. if you're in NYC (location info helps ) you may want to check out manhattanreefs.com for more local info. hth Link to comment
scapone Posted January 28, 2004 Share Posted January 28, 2004 fishtown usa rock is still going to cause a cycle I used there rock in both my tanks but for 3$ a pound for the figi its worth it. If you want top notch rock with coraline algae and some corals already on there you can check out this place in copaige L.I. called pet wharehouse. Link to comment
bones_bones Posted January 29, 2004 Share Posted January 29, 2004 OK...I have a different opinion. Just add dry base rock and be patient. In a few months it will look the same as the rest anyway. IMHO Link to comment
AzeX Posted January 30, 2004 Author Share Posted January 30, 2004 Hey I have been also wondering where online and any store near the NYC area could you find these Reef Ready Dry Rocks? Link to comment
tinyreef Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 some lfs have throwaway bins for nuked rocks from discouraged reefers. there's always some poor slob that couldn't take the hobby anymore and dumped their systems. in fact, i've picked up about 80 lbs of prime (8"+) fiji dry rock in the last few months ($1.99/lb.). muhahahaha! i re-cure them in a bucket. the only danger is if they were from FOWLR systems (copper test). voila! live rock in about a month. Link to comment
vyger Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 If it's not too far ,You can also try Country Critters in Patchogue, L.I. It's where i buy all my stuff. They have the best looking reef tanks I've seen. They carry live sand and have an wide range of corals. they have five huge reef tanks prob. each a couple hundred gal that are awesome. 6gal Eclipse nano 2 1/2 AGA nano Link to comment
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