Did I get robbed?

[ND120883]

120 bucks for 20lbs of rock with some bacteria on it?

Its only a 35ish gallon tank. Sheesh.


So I got that and 4 damsels, aquarium shop guys are telling me my tank should cycle in 3 to 4 weeks as it is. Is this legit?



Thanks,



nathan

[Drumachine09]

That seems like a good price to me, if it is live rock that is. It is 10 dollars a lb here.

[Chrona]

Depends on the quality of live rock, but 6 bucks a pound is about right. Welcome to the money-pit known as fishkeeping :) (in particular saltwater fishkeeping, lol)

[cocoa_pleco]

6 bucks/lb is fair. Its 4-8$ here

[Drumachine09]

Wanna see something cool? (possibly). Turn off the lights in your SW tank. After about an hour- two hours turn your lights back on and see all of the little stowaways and critters that came in on your rocks. On my coral forum, someone found an octopus a little bigger than a golfball, and it looks pretty cool. Inform us of what you find!

[cocoa_pleco]

I cant believe how many weird things come about. In my old salt tank, i saw bugs that ran FAST that look exactly like crickets.

That'd be sweet finding one of those mini octopuses. too bad they only live for 2 months

[Drumachine09]

The average life span for a dwarf octopus is 6 months.

[unleashed]

So I got that and 4 damsels, aquarium shop guys are telling me my tank should cycle in 3 to 4 weeks as it is. Is this legit?

1. Your 4 damsels will soon turn to one
2. Most tanks will take about 6-8 weeks to cycle

[cocoa_pleco]

The average life span for a dwarf octopus is 6 months.

wow, longer than i heard!

I want one, but the price tag for something that

A) for sure will die quick, no matter what
and
B) probably was at the LFS's for a few months, so technically 5 months to my tank makes it not worth it

[ND120883]

Okay so what I deem ridiculous is actually ballpark in terms of live rock pricing. Fair enough.


Does live rock die? Or will the critters so to speak on these things last for a while?

[Chrona]

Okay so what I deem ridiculous is actually ballpark in terms of live rock pricing. Fair enough.


Does live rock die? Or will the critters so to speak on these things last for a while?

They last and reproduce for as long as you maintain the tank :)

[ND120883]

That's good. This was one of those n00b expenses that I had no clue about, and then i saw the price and was like :help:.


It's all good now though. Is it deathly important to have the blacklight going, I haven't set it up yet. From what I understand it helps alot though, and I intend to get it up and running soon.

[cocoa_pleco]

new stuff always comes about. If you have really high ammonia it will die, but eventually new stuff will come. I had my LR i week with no lights when i was moving stuff, and i still have 90% and its growing

[Chrona]

That's good. This was one of those n00b expenses that I had no clue about, and then i saw the price and was like :help:.


It's all good now though. Is it deathly important to have the blacklight going, I haven't set it up yet. From what I understand it helps alot though, and I intend to get it up and running soon.

Blacklights won't do anything but make all the particles in the water stand out. What you need are 10000k and actinic fluorescent lights, though it's not required if you are only keeping live rock. The stronger lighting is for corals, etc.

[2manyfish]

Does live rock die? Or will the critters so to speak on these things last for a while?


Rock cannot die as it was never alive in the first place! :hmm3grin2orange: The bacteria that lives on the rock (hence the name) will live, reproduce and die. They will experience their normal life cycle on the rock and within the tank as long as the tank doesn't crash for some reason. The creatures that also come in on some rocks may or may not survive. Copepods and bristleworms will live out their natural life span and will reproduce. So will some snails, rock boring clams, limpets, crabs, sea squirts, anemones (ugh, dreaded aiptasias) etc.... There are other creatures that will not live for long in your tank. Things like barnacles are doomed, there are some worms and corals that will only live for a few months before they are gone. Enjoy them all while you can!!!

When you said blacklight did you mean moonlight?? Moonlights are not needed but can be nice if you can afford it. Blacklights are not something I would use on any tank at all....

[CaptainKid]

1. Your 4 damsels will soon turn to one
2. Most tanks will take about 6-8 weeks to cycle

There is really no set time that a tank will take to cycle. 6-8 weeks might be the case for some, but not for all. If we're talking Nitrogen cycle alone, this can happen in as little as a week or two, depending on what goes in, at the start. Some will say a cycle takes 1-4 weeks, other will say 4-6 weeks, and some will say 6 months. This is all based on that individual's experience. My salt tank cycled in under 2 weeks. Half the time it took my freshwater tank to cycle. Why? Because I started the tank with tons of really good quality live rock and live sand. A lot of my LR came from a very established tank... loaded with good bacteria, micro-critters, etc...As did the sand. I tested water daily, watched the Ammonia spike, then the nitrite....very quickly, then drop just as fast. All other rock I added, I made sure was fully cured or at least pre-cured, since I didn't have any fish in there in the beginning. After 2 weeks, water chem. was stable. After 3 weeks, 3 small engineer gobies were added and lights upgraded. After 4 weeks, Algae bloom was in full effect, added a cleaning crew (including Lawnmower Blenny). 1 Week later, after RO/DI water change and cleaning crew happily munching... Algae is damn near gone.

This is just my experience.

As for LR. I paid $6.00/Lb for Pukani rock and about $7.00/Lb for Brazilian Shelf Rock. It's expensive, that's for sure, but worth the expense. The rock I started the tank with was Fiji Premium from an established reef tank. This rock was given to me as part of the package price I paid for the entire setup. The rock came from the personal tank of the owner of my LFS.

Over the course of 1-3 weeks after my tank was setup... I found 5 small sand sifting starfish. I still see them from time to time... they're doing great. I've also seen a couple brittle stars... but they seem to be hiding, or eaten.

Just my 2 cents.... :19:

[novice]

insted of wasting money on fish to cycle your tank i herd that you can use a fresh shrimp dead of course but its got to be clean no addid chemicals on it just leave it in your tank for a few weeks until its been broken down {nearly all gone} then check the water paramiters and thats making sure its down to the levels that are good well thats what ive read eney way lol eneybody else herd of this way of doing it

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x228/marineman75/BABY.gif

[2manyfish]

Yes, you can use a piece of raw shrimp in the tank to cycle it. Works on freshwater tanks too! It's just another method of the fishless cycle. In saltwater tanks you can often just cycle the tank while the live rock cures. Some things will die regardless of how well the rock is taken care of or shipped (like sponges). The death of these animals/plants will start the cycle while the bacteria that is still on the rocks will begin to do it's thing. And of course you can jump start your salt tank with material from another already established salt tank.

[Drumachine09]

I cycled my tank with a raw shrimp. It also works with shrimp skins in a mesh bag.

[ND120883]

Fantastic. Lots of great information guys, I appreciate it.

[cocoa_pleco]

I just used the live rock way. You let the LR die off, then it rots and cycles the tank. You will most often get 90% of the LR back, so its not a big worry.

[ND120883]

So while we're on the subject of live rock, does my tank have to cycle completely before cool "LR hitchhikers" start growing and making themselves visible? I don't see jack on my LR now, even when i try to sneak up on it in the darkness.

[cocoa_pleco]

mine took a while after the cycle to start up. Before, i could onyl see the algae and a odd aptasia, but now i can see tons of stuff i dont even know

[ND120883]

Ya i've had the LR in for about a week now...there are funny lil patches of purpler/lavendarish stuff starting creep over my LR now. That's all I can see.

[ND120883]

purple*
starting to*

[unleashed]

Ya i've had the LR in for about a week now...there are funny lil patches of purpler/lavendarish stuff starting creep over my LR now. That's all I can see.
its coralline. dont worry about it =)

[cocoa_pleco]

I have TONS of that purple stuff. Its a good sign i think

[unleashed]

I have TONS of that purple stuff. Its a good sign i think
its a sign that you have high levels of calcium. Although coralline looks nice, be advised that any sps and lps corals will have to compete with each other, and the coralline

[cocoa_pleco]

its a sign that you have high levels of calcium. Although coralline looks nice, be advised that any sps and lps corals will have to compete with each other, and the coralline


darn, not so good then, but thanks for the info!

[unleashed]

darn, not so good then, but thanks for the info!
its not too bad. its a good sign that you have a healthy calcium levels. i know some people who's rocks are bright purple and have heaps of sps/lps as well. All you really need is a Ca Reactor and regular kalkwasser doses.

[cocoa_pleco]

thanks! i'll look into that

[Drumachine09]

Cocoa shouldnt be worrying about SPS though, he only had 45 watts with 15 being actinic, and SPS need more, correct?

[unleashed]

soz

didn't realise he had low lighting

Always good for future reference though =)

[ND120883]

K.


SPS?
LPS?
Ca Reactor?
Kalkwasser doses?


Sorry guys, n00b here.

[unleashed]

K.


SPS?
LPS?
Ca Reactor?
Kalkwasser doses?


Sorry guys, n00b here.
SPS = Small polyp stony corals. Acropora etc

LPS = Large Polyp Stony corals. Brains, bubble corals etc

Ca Reactor = a device usually placed in the sump and contains contains calcium media. the media gradually dissolves and releases calcium into the water column.

Kalkwasser = Simply German for Calcium Water. It is calcium hydroxide dissovled into freshwater and the "kalkwasser" is slowly dripped into the sump to provide calcium

[Drumachine09]

Now, i have heard that if you use a crushed coral substrate, then you dont need to dose calcium. ive also heard you can use crushed coral in a calcium reactor.

[unleashed]

Now, i have heard that if you use a crushed coral substrate, then you dont need to dose calcium. ive also heard you can use crushed coral in a calcium reactor.
crushed coral substrate does provide calcium for the aquarium. however, it does not dissolve fast enough to meet the demands of lps and sps corals.

A calcium reactor speeds up this process.