Help my Live Rock is turning into Dead Rock!

[x Mouse x]

Tank details first I guess...
1. System information; lighting, filtration, size...

single marine strength fleuro (30watt - I think) - was told this was sufficient since I am not putting corals into my tank

Fluval 204 sump with filter media... carbon and bio noodles

52gal tank (48x18x14 - I think)


2. System water paramaters.

Paramaters all over the place as I am still in the 2nd week of cycling
Readings last night as follows...

PH 8.0 (bit concerned about that.. the lfs guy sold me a buffer(?) that is supposed to set it to 8.3 - sounds high to me but I took his word & used it last night)

Ammonia 4.0, Nitrate 5.0, Nitrite 0,

3. Coral or fish name(type). - None

4. How long you have had it. - 3 weeks total

5. What your problem is. - I put some LR into my tank about 1.5 weeks ago (only 5kg so far). In the last couple of days I have noticed it turning a whitish-grey, almost looks like there is some kind of scum growing on it, and all sorts of worms etc are emerging onto the sand and dying in droves!

6. What are its tank mates. - nothing

I'm not sure what to do.... is this a normal thing to happen during cycling? This is my first marine tank (kept tropicals for years), and suddenly I am feeling way out of depth. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance
Lisa

[tnguy86]

what is the salinity and temperature?

[x Mouse x]

what is the salinity and temperature?

Sorry forgot to include those..

Salinity - 1.022
Temp - 29C/82F (heater set for 26C/79F, but room temp is higher)

Lisa

[tnguy86]

as for the flourescent bulb, does it have actinic?

[x Mouse x]

truthfully... I don't know.. :? It's for marine, and if you use a row of 3 suitable for soft corals (so it said on the box anyway) if that's any help. Unfortunately I threw out the box it came in. Next time I am going past where I got it from I'll check up on that.

[x Mouse x]

Just to update, I siphoned off most of the dead corpses last night and replaced about 20% of the water as a result.

This morning the water is a little cloudy, so I am thinking that I have a wicked bacteria bloom in the making.

[tnguy86]

mang, wish we could figure out what it is that's causing the die-off. the mass die off like that usually doesn't occur. i also find it odd that your ammonia is high, but so is your nitrate. usually, in a cycle, when the ammonia gets high, your nitrates usually increase until there is enough nitrobacteria to convert to nitrates. my suggestion is to leave leave it and let it cycle thoroughly before making any more water changes. i'd also take out the carbon for now as it's pointless to have prior to the cycle. all i can say is to let your tank stablize and test your parameters every so often until your cycle is over. hopefully, by then, you'll begin to see your coralline come back and life back in the aquarium.

[x Mouse x]

Just to update, the ammonia has now spiked to 8.0 - all other params still the same :?

[tnguy86]

i say just wait for the ammonia to get to 0 b4 you make that BIG water change....

[x Mouse x]

I will do thanks tnguy86 :)

[romunov]

How is your tank doing, mouse?

[x Mouse x]

Hi romunov :)

Everything eventually settled down... although what was originally on the rock was pretty much history. Once the params stablized I left it for another week and then added another 5kg of LR - none of which died!! YAY

Following another stable week I added 2 black percula's - cute lil guys that are so friendly to the point of being a nuisance!

Another stable week and a half later and my hubby brought me home a yellow tang and 4 turbo snails - all of which have been doing great for the last week.

It actually looks like a tank now - fish and all, and all the paramaters are holding steady. I'm still suffering from a diatom outbreak, but the snails and tang are helping to make that more presentable.

thanks for the ongoing help and support.. its been invaluable!

Lisa

[romunov]

Diatom outbreak. Maybe you should consider a RO...

[ubasst]

hey great turn around good luck with the reef.where did u get the black perculas by the way??

[romunov]

Diatom outbreak is due to Si in your water... So water quality IS important!

[x Mouse x]

I'm trying to find somewhere that sells RO/DI water over here, but haven't had any luck as yet.. I'm now at the point of considering using Distilled water :?

My black perc's I got from a lfs in Perth Australia - I was originally going for the orange ones (as I had several kids badgering me for a nemo), but fell in love with the black ones...

Lisa

[ubasst]

gonna get my black perks tomm im so happy :)