Sparkypn Posted August 7, 2006 Report Share Posted August 7, 2006 I have just brought a used tank that has not been in use for several months. It had live rock in it that has been kept covered in salt water since tank was dismantled. Would this have kept the rock live? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tel Posted August 7, 2006 Report Share Posted August 7, 2006 rock would need a food source (decaying fish food or waste) and water movement or some other form of oxygenation, to stay live. prob gonna find your cycle is short tho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted August 7, 2006 Report Share Posted August 7, 2006 You'd be surprised, those bacteria will spring back into action pretty quick. I'd just do a 100% water change then start stocking it slowly, monitoring for ammonia and nitrite as you go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 What are acceptable levels of Nitrate before you start stocking the tank? And what should one stock it with first? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 5 or less is ideal, however many tanks run at up to 40. For fish, anything under 100 can work for a short time, provided you can reduce it to below 40 within a few weeks. For many corals, 20 or less is acceptable although some hardy ones will tolerate more. BTW don't confuse nitrate with nitrite, for nitrite, level must be zero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 Sorry to hijack your thread, Sparky, but I have a tank that has been set up for twelve days with live rock that has been taken out of another tank which has been running for quite a while. It was kept out of water, but was still damp. I didn't test the ammonia until it had been going for seven days, and it was zero then. At the moment when tested we have Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 10. Has this cycled in such a short amount of time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 Pretty likely the rock has remained cycled, just monitor nitrate & when that's stabilised you are ready to go. Start stocking slowly. What to stock first? Doesn't really matter from the cycling point of view as long as you build up slowly. From a fish aggression point of view, put the least aggresive fish in first so they can find their way around and get established. If you put the aggresive ones in first, they get to thinking the tank is theirs, and when you add a less aggressive one they attack it and death can result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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