[Unlved]

I just added new live rock to my tank and the ammonia level went from 0ppm to 1.0ppm should i be worried or is this normal? should i do a partial water change to lower the ammonia level? what can i do to control this?

[BubbaWPB]

How much live rock did you add and how big is your tank? Was the live rock allegedly cured?

[Unlved]

I added 25lbs of live rock to a 50 gal corner unit. the live rock was cured. wasnt sure if it is normal for the ammonia to spike after adding live rock

[BubbaWPB]

Even careful transport from the LFS can cause some die-off. Nitrogen spikes aren't surprising when adding live rock... Regarding whether or not you should change water, you didn't say if you already had some live rock and/or live sand in your tank or if there any animals in your tank yet.

If you already have fish and invertebrates in your tank, watch your ammonia, nitrites and nitrates very carefully and change water to keep the levels relatively low. If you already have live rock/sand in your tank, you may not need to change water...just keep a close eye on your levels.

If this is a new setup without any critters yet, just check it every few days... the ammonia spike will induce the nitrifying bacteria to grow faster and speed up your cycle.

[Unlved]

yes i have 3 fish 2 stars 3 hermits and snails.. no live rock prior the tank did go through the cycle process already it has been up and running for about 3 months now.. so should i proceed with 10% water change?

[BubbaWPB]

A 10-20% change couldn't hurt... and keep an eye on the nitrogen compounds... if the ammonia continues to increase, I'd take the rock out and cure it in a rubbermaid tub or something.

P.S. "Inner Redneck" from Boca??? That just isn't right!

[Unlved]

HAHA we all have live some where... just south of boca not actually in boca just easier to say that.. .

Thanks for you help, much appreciated. actully got the live rock from a local place for 3.00/lb and nice colors on it.. check out my profile pic for the end result as of 5 mins ago

thanks again...

[BubbaWPB]

Nice tank... I got an A. plasticus (common name = plastic clownfish clip), too. Big Al's?

[Unlved]

yeah the clown fish clip came from big al's international marine fish is where i got the live rock from... great price and allot of colors on them. how do you like the fake anemones got those frfom big al's too haha, what other stores do you hit?

[Unlved]

http://www.intmarinefish.com/ check it out when u get a chance good prices..

[BubbaWPB]

I haven't been to Big Al's since Wilma blew through. I just got a call from them last week that they are open again - apparently they had some major damage. I don't go down there too often - they really are a warehouse store (like Sam's and Costco) for aquarium stuff . Just like other warehouse stores, you can find great bargains, but if you go in search of something specific, they won't have it in stock.

Since you can't go in the back room at Big Al's you don't know if they have holding/curing tanks for the live rock. The stuff in the bins moves pretty fast, so who knows how cured it really is. The cheap stuff is allegedly from Haiti and usually has some good color on it - the color also implies that the rock was never totally dead from shipping - or that it has been curing long enough for the coralline to grow.

There are a few places up this way that I hit most often - Tanks A Lot in Lake Worth and Coral Sea on Military between Belvedere and Okeechobee are the two I go to most often. Less often I've been to Jewels of the Sea on Jog & Forest Hill, Mark's Ark (just moved to Military and Lake Worth Road), Crystal Reef on Northlake and Ocean's Below on US 1 just south of Northlake. I went to some place down in Delray or Boca that was supposed to be one the best and oldest in the county (I can't remember the name), but it was filthy and they had dyed anemones. I won't shop where they sell dyed animals.

[Unlved]

yes i agree with you about big al's they are more of a warehouse store have not bought any fish from them, have you tried barrier reef off of glades and boca raton blvd? nice place and it has been there forever.. got my damsels from petco. not thrilled about there fish either but there really is no place close to get good fish from. and i hate ordering fish online, never done it dont want to try it.