New LR / Major Die off

[jcm1229]

Started my nano tank at the office. Over the weekend there was major dieoff from my new rock. Smells bad!

 

Just keep siphoning / water changes?? ANy other suggetsions??

 

This was Florida rock - only out of the water for about 16 hours. I wasn't expecting this!!

 

Thanks!

[newreefers]

16 hrs is a long time. the smell will go away in a day or two. the tank will have to cycle. if you do water changes it will prolong the cycle.

[jcm1229]

My nano is setup in my office - so the smell is of some concern. Any way to minimize it?? I did throw some carbon in my aquaclear hoping that might help. I plan to siphon and change about 1-2 gals per day. Is this a bad idea??

 

Thanks!

[Twins Guy]

unless you're new to the hobby altogether you prolly understand the concept of a tank cycling...so i'll spare you th...you will get a fair amount of dieoff from your uncured rock. but you don't necessarily need the dieoff to stimulate good bacterial growth. its already there, in the rock. by leaving all that pollution/dieoff in the tank you may get more robust bacterial growth right away-but you still have to live/work around that smell. i would recommend doing some water changes. water changes will only dilute pollutant levels in the tank and not eliminate them altogether so there should be plenty for the bacteria to get goin. once your ammonia and nitrite levels reach zero and are stable you're gonna add one or two critters and make sure your tank's biological filtration can meet the demands of those inhabitants. gradually (as you add critters) your tank's "biological capacity" will increase. you aren't going to add all your critters at once (unless you really trust the guy at Petco:D ) do a water change, siphoning out the dead stuff and don't worry about an interuption in your tank's cycle. and in no time you'll be adding a (couple) critter(s-depending on tank size, of course).

[SteveC]

Weird, I never had a bad smell from mine. Just smelled like clean ocean. I was thinking of ordering more, it smelled so nice! I wonder what the difference is.

[adinsxq]

a cjm, a djm and now a jcm.... ??? keep the water circulating buddy.

[jcm1229]

I think I have plenty of circulation going. I have an aquaclear 200 and a minjet404 runnning.

 

I added carbon to the aquaclear to try to help with the odor. My LFS suggested using fresh carbon every 48 hours to combat the odor.

 

I've been doing a 2 gal water change each morning trying to siphon up any dead stuff, but I can't really see much except around the glass since the water is still very cloudy. I can't tell if there's dead stuff in the cloludy area to siphon since I can't see it. I'd hoped that this rock would have had a small cycle / small dieoff, but I guess I was wrong.

 

Any other suggestions/opinions/recommendations??

[jcm1229]

I'm guessing that I might have killed everything off. The smell has really subsided to only at the tank (Thank God!!). I will refrain from any more water changes / siphoning for a little while. The water is still murky - Can only see about 1/3 of the way into the tank.

 

If everything is indeed dead, would it be best to pull all the rock and thoroughly brush it, siphon all the sand and replace the rock - let it cycle and try to repopulate it through some sand and detrivore kits.

 

OR

 

Just leave it, let it cycle, do some water changes and siphon as much as possible??

 

Comments??

[tonkadawg]

I used uncured LR to cycle my tank also, and it stunk!!! :x It was also very murky, but shortly after the smell died down, the water cleared up. I was doing water changes 10% 1x week after the smell was gone.

 

I too think I have killed any little critters that might have been in the sand when I started, so I am curious to see what the veterans recommend. To replace/reseed sand or not to?

[Twins Guy]

tonkadawg, jcm-

i'd prolly continue with the small water changes 10%/week unitl the smell disappears. that will be one indicater that ammonia levels are down. i'd also test your water for both ammonia and nitrite (the toxic buggers). definitely don't replace your sand rock! it may be helpful to reseed the tank with a little rock and or sand once your ammonia + nitrite levels are down but you've come too far at this point (and spent too much money)! you may notice a small cycle upon reseeding. just be patient and your tanks will be fine in the long run. you may have lost a lot of the cool biodiversity that uncured rock offers but you will retain a lot of the biological filtering capacity of the rock if you're patient and just let the critters do their thing. algae and all that will come later. good luck guys, hope this answered some questions.

[tonkadawg]

that is what I was leaning towards doing (reseed/patience) as I think my tank has finished it's cycle. Up until a few minutes ago, I was gonna go pick out a few snails, a shrimp and some hermit crabs, and maybe a blenny or goby, but work calls.

 

At a later date when the tank is more established I will probably add some more LS or a seed kit, but Twins Guy, you are right, I have spent enough and have come to far to try and start with new sand.

[Twins Guy]

...as long as ammonia and nitrite readings are down (presuming your tank clears) if you're starting to get some algae growth its about time to add a couple snails and or hermits (trying to remember your tank's size, i want to say 18 gal so maybe a couple turbos and a cerith snail, and 2 or 3 blue leg or scarlet hermits). i wouldn't hesitate to add a couple, keeping in mind that you may have some ammonia and nitrite blips. small water changes as appropriate should easily control these levels. these guys should help control algae growth and offer some visual stimulation. and they should handle a minor "spike" from reseeding.

not trying to confuse the issue but...once your levels are down and stable you can start building the bio-load, testing and provoking "the biological filter." reseed with a little fresh live sand (from an established tank or live rock holding bin-printerdown guys idea-or wherever) or rock or both, keep an eye on things and gradually build up your tank. it doesn't happen overnight but there's no reason not to start this process once the tank is stable, IMO