live rock did I kill it

[Mad Mead]

I'm not new to fish tanks have my last pack of figure eight puffers all 8 of them. I enjoyed every min of water garden care. I"m new to Fully Salt water tank though. Very Happy so far, but like every new parent my nerves are getting the best of me. What is a good way to know I have messed things up all ready? Is it true that live rock turns purple when it dies? my tank is a biocube 14" I started it 3 days ago with live sand one bag and 4lbs of live rock. i used tap water and mixed in the salt and mcanditioner let it set for a day then add it to the tank. the hydrometter reads at a in between 1.023 and 1.022. I was told i didn"t need to check the ph yet. the temp is at79.9 so have i done al right. due i need to change 40% of the water on day 5 to help the filtering?
thanks for any help
Mad Mead

[Ryan seymore]

Nope dont stress over the live rock what you have sounds like a very good thing. the purple on your live rock is called coralline algae its an encrusting type of algae that everything in your tank can benefit from with the right lighting and keeping your phosphate levels low best at an unreadable level when you test your tank and your nitrite levels as low as possible this algae can grow in all types of colors depending on the current you have and filtartion system your tank will look beautiful in no time
also you wont need to do any water changes untill you start adding live stock.
just let everything settle for a few days and take some water out of your tank in a small container just big enough to fit your hand in and rinse all of your sponges and be sure to not let them dry out because it will kill the good bacteria and may cause your tank to start all over being its still so new. after you start getting your fish just test your levels
once every one or 2 weeks and do small water changes 10-15% depending on what your levels are when you test yout tank and just top off you water levels from evaporation as needed. Hope this helps you and im sure you will get more than one reply and some things people say can be different so dont get stressed just take your time be patient
and do what sound best for your setup.I hope this helps you.
Good luck!

[Ryan seymore]

I forgot an important piece of info.. Lighting is a big part for coralline algae. some forms of coralline grow in different levels of lighting and water quality is a huge factor in maintaining
its growth rate and also it has to be introduced to your tank before it will grow.
Here is a link i found for you i thought may help you.
How to Grow Coralline (coraline) Algae in a Saltwater Aquarium - How to Grow Coralline (coraline) Algae in a Saltwater Aquarium

[Mad Mead]

Thanks so much for your reply. its nice to ask a Q and then get an A. I have my lights set up on a timer for central time. i hope that wont be a big deal. I'm still reading up on things. But i love to take my time so i'll have time to look things up. All you personal info help so much more then a book. Was again thank you Ryan for your reply and I'll look at the site.

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

Hi. Just thought I would add that usually, tap water is a bad idea. There's just too many nasty things that could be in it. Source water quality is a huge issue when it comes to marine tanks. I think an RO/DI filtration system should be on the list of critical equipment needed for marine tanks. There are plenty of problems to deal with when setting up or maintaining a marine tank. Source water shouldn't be one of them.

Live rock and water chemistry go through some funky things during the cycling stage.
Additionally, 4 lbs of rock is not near enough to sustain healthy bacteria colonies. Somewhere along the tune of 1-2 lbs per gallon of water is the standard.
If you haven't checked out this sticky already: Setting Up a FOWLR Aquarium, give it a thorough reading.

[Original Fin]

I'm in agreement with all the replies so far.

Purple rock is a good thing!

[KingAmir]

I'm not new to fish tanks have my last pack of figure eight puffers all 8 of them. I enjoyed every min of water garden care. I"m new to Fully Salt water tank though. Very Happy so far, but like every new parent my nerves are getting the best of me. What is a good way to know I have messed things up all ready? Is it true that live rock turns purple when it dies? my tank is a biocube 14" I started it 3 days ago with live sand one bag and 4lbs of live rock. i used tap water and mixed in the salt and mcanditioner let it set for a day then add it to the tank. the hydrometter reads at a in between 1.023 and 1.022. I was told i didn"t need to check the ph yet. the temp is at79.9 so have i done al right. due i need to change 40% of the water on day 5 to help the filtering?
thanks for any help
Mad Mead

Being Saltwater Aquarium is a good move from Freshwater aquarium Hobbyist. I would recommend you to buy a book called 'saltwater aquarium for dummy' from dummy book publisher. It is a completely guide to become a successful reefers. Do keep in mind setting up a saltwater aquarium need to be patience. Good Luck!

[Original Fin]

Keep in mind, that advice is coming from someone who just crammed 20 something fish and three anemones in a newly cycled 90 gallon tank...a perfect example of what not to do, so I'd be skeoptical of any book that leads to decisions like that.

Not a flame on King, I'm sure he's just following instructions, but in this hobby it pays to consider multiple sources of info. Books included. Anything written more than 10 years ago will have some good info, and a lot of stuff that's already outdated.

[Mad Mead]

Thanks for your add on. my tank is set you with a filter set up in the back of the tank. I would have to replace that one with a better one. I only used 4lbs in fear that I could kill in the start. i like to start very slowly with new things. I was only going to start with water and live sand for two week. then but live rock in for the next two weeks. But the guy at the store said that would be very slow to go that rout. once again thanks for your help.
Mad Mead

[Mad Mead]

Thanks For your help means the world. The things i put love and time in I want it to go better then the best. So thank you