Have I messed up?

[Dougall Stewart]

Hi All - Not sure if I have mucked up big time but here goes . . .

 

 

Added 5kg of live rock to a newly setup 20 gallon tank (36w actinic/daylight tube power compact ligthing) - seemed lost in the tank so looked in some web adverts and found someone selling live rock for a £5 a kg - I went to pick some up but it had already gone but the chap had a few pieces with soft corals on that he wanted to get rid of, so I thought I would take the chance.

 

It is day one and the tank now has about 10kg of cured live rock with some soft corals (and a dang fish Chromis xanthurus I think - hitchhicked in the corals).

 

It wasn't what I planned for, and I am wondering what do I really have to watch out for if I dont want to loose the lot?

 

[*]Have I got to get the fish out fast?

[*]Add the clean up crew now (none are present)

[*]add a polyfilter

[*]or just monitor and observe for a few days or weeks

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Also - I have uploaded pics to http://www.fishroom.co.uk/ If anyone has a moment I would love to know the latin (or common) names of any of the stock.

 

Thanks

 

Dougall

[bravoreefer]

1. The fish would be fine, they are aggrisive according to some people. http://www.aquahobby.com/marine/e_cxanthurus.php

 

2. Yes get one in the very soon

 

3. Atleast get a HOB filter for some water movement

 

4. Always moniter

 

5. Has your tank not cycled yet? You may be in for a loss of it all. Sorry to tell you bud. Unless everything was taken established tank.

[Dougall Stewart]

Thank you for your suggestions . . .

 

Half the live rock was cured and came from a reputable dealer curing tanks. The other half was from a well established tank.

 

It is difficult to see because it is side on - but there is an internal mechanical/chemical biological filter (this is uncyled however & contains rowaphos)

 

My hope was/is that the live rock from the mature tank will deal with the very light bioload; and will assist in the seeding of the filter unit. The rock was transported in with water for less than an hour - hence the survival of the fish).

 

Assuming this rock will handle the bioload in terms of ammonia and nitrite (nitrate is via water change).

 

My real concerns are:

• 1) This tank and the water have not had a chance to build up beneficial food bacteria and other beneficial microscopic organisms - apart from those that came in with the matured rock.
   
  2) The likelihood that detrimental algae blooms may develop.
  

If ammonia increases I can get the fish to a LFS.

 

If I loose the soft coral - fair enough - I was only after the rock in the first place and expected to have to wait quite a while before adding the corals.

 

However

 

If ammonia and nitrites are controlled by the LR . . .

 

What action should I take to

• 1) Keep the soft corals alive and healthy
   
  2) Minimise the chance of deleterious algae blooms?
  

Again thanks

[harbingerofthefish]

You can try and limit the ammonia in the cycle by doing water changes while the tank cycles. Obviously it will increase the time before the tank cures.

 

And I maybe off on some of these:

 

1 Daisy or Clove polyps

2 Palyothoas

3 Some kind of SPS I don't know anything baout them

4 Leather. Not sure of most names of them.

5 not sure

6 Encrusting Gorgonian

7 Mushroom

[nalbar]

whats done is done. just relax now and dont add anything more.

 

do water changes with HIGH quality water at increased intervals to help everything out.

 

most of what will come will come no matter what you do, particularly algae blooms. and maybe they wont come. just relax, and let your tank settle in.

 

 

nalbar

[Dougall Stewart]

My ammonia levels are still 0 - 3 days later, I would have thought if I was going to get a reading it would have started to show by this stage. The fish is swimming and eating ok too.

 

Only thing I am unsure of (well there are loads really) at this moment concenrs the encrusting gorgonian below ? ? ? Its polyps? ? ? if that is the right word ? ? ? only come out for a few hours a day? ? ?

 

Thanks