[recoil]

OK guys. I hate posting this because no one likes to admit they are a moron but I'm going to publicly humiliate myself for the benefit of my future tank.

I have a 180G tank, two XP3 canister filters and one heater [going to get a second shortly]. I'm armed with the salt water test kit and hydrometer.

I went off and bought 180lbs of LR. For some reason, I thought "live" was a brand or marketing bit. I didn't think of it as actually "alive". I put house water into the tank and added the live rock. About eight hours later, I added the salt mix [hence my stupidity].

I'm guessing I killed off anything alive on the rocks. I don't see anything moving [but nothing is brown].

I've had the tank running for over a week now. Ammonia is fine. PH is fine. Nitrates was at 1 I believe. Salinity was a bit high so I've added more dechlorinated house water.

The LR I added was for the substrate. I dont have a big piece of coral or anything like that. Is there a way to repopulate the LR? How do I know if I truly killed all of it?

I have nothing but time and patience. I just started off on the wrong foot big time.

Ashamed LR killer.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

Thats ok dont be to hard on your self. there is a cure im hoping and all it takes is time,two to three weeks im betting.And that hole time all you have to do is"nothing".Lets just let that thing sit for a while with some good circulation. See if you can find a good chlorine test kit. I am betting on an amonie spike that will be off the charts and you may need to do a few water changes to keep it reasonable levels.As chlorine kills living things the major by product will be amonia.And that may do more damage than the chlorine did.It may be a long time if ever before you can put fish in there,and maybe never but its worth a try.I would say no lights for a while and start looking for a good protien skimmer.Test for chlorine and amonia and let us know whats happening.People have kept live rock in a closet for years and brought it back.how much do you have?

[recoil]

Maybe never? Wouldn't I just drain the tank and remove the substrate and start over again? I'm just trying to avoid that because I dumped 300+ into the LR [aka DR].

Steve

[CyberJester]

I would let it sit awhile and wait, chances are you did not kill off all the bacteria on the LR. IF there as any left it will slowly repopulate itself. Wait awhile and keep testing. Your tests will tell you what is going on it the tank and if the rock is cycling.

[TreeHugger74]

Did you say you already had substrate in before intro of LR? Couldn't you just remove the old substrate...get some new LS, and just wait a while like Cyber suggests, LR should then slowly make a come back. Expect a couple of months though.

[Salt-lick]

Don't be so hard on yourself, You might be okay.. these people with RB trusted can help you and give you advice along the way. Keep your chin up and listen to these guys and gals. Good luck!

[henwayrob]

listen to nativeman and cyberjester and give it time to cycle, the live rock probably isn't dead and should repopulate with the bacteria thats left, also you should look at getting the proper filtration, get a sump and a protien skimmer, canister filters collect detritus and become nitrate producers, and if your worried about bacteria in the live rock , one new piece will fix that.

[CyberJester]

[quote=henwayrob;27499]listen to nativeman and cyberjester and give it time to cycle, the live rock probably isn't dead and should repopulate with the bacteria thats left, also you should look at getting the proper filtration, get a sump and a protien skimmer, canister filters collect detritus and become nitrate producers, and if your worried about bacteria in the live rock , one new piece will fix that.[/quote]

Thats an excellent point henwayrob. So recoil don't get down and kick yourself so much. All it takes is one piece of LR to repopulate. So all is not lost by any means. Time is really the only factor here. The name of this game is patience anyways.

[lynnvangsnes]

I agree with everyone as well. Just monitor your water parameters...I would think that your ammonia would be on a sharp rise by now if there was a lot of die-off. You'd be surprised how hardy LR is. I also have to agree that you can still buy a few more chunks of LR and seed the rest. Perhaps some live sand to aid the seeding process...don't start over. You should be all right.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

Ok I had time to think about this and I think you are going to be ok. Heres why.the amount of clorine in the water is very minor and in situations where chlorine is not under presure it turns quickly into gas. I am sure that by now 99% of it is gone. so heres the plan if I had to do it.take one of those canister filters and take everything out and fill it up with a bag full of reef type carbon (no phosphates) and a layer of poly filter and start it running and I think in a few days you will be fine. And remember the poly filter will remove any chlorine and chloromine that are left in the tank along with most of the good trace elements. We can track it for a couple of days and if all goes well it will cycle or we can jump start it to cycle.

[recoil]

I'm going to take readings tomorrow and post them. I held off on getting a protein skimmer [was told to do that by the store].

What would you recommend for a skimmer and sump? At that point, do I turn off the XP filters?

I didn't know they made reef carbon. I'm glad you mentioned it. I will look for some. What's a poly filter? I'll investigate in the noob sticky.

Thanks guys! I can't wait to get this tank online [although I am prepared to wait however long it takes]. It should be a beauty!

Steve

[Tonz of fun]

Originally Posted by recoil

I'm going to take readings tomorrow and post them. I held off on getting a protein skimmer [was told to do that by the store].

What would you recommend for a skimmer and sump? At that point, do I turn off the XP filters?

I didn't know they made reef carbon. I'm glad you mentioned it. I will look for some. What's a poly filter? I'll investigate in the noob sticky.

Thanks guys! I can't wait to get this tank online [although I am prepared to wait however long it takes]. It should be a beauty!

Steve

How much money do you have for a skimmer?

[NATIVEVAMAN]

Poly filters are fiber filters that work by absorbing chemicals. I just looked at the bag and it doesnt say who made it.It comes in a white plastic bag at any lfs.For your 120 i would look for one that is rated for 200+ gallon systems more if you can afford it.Any plan for a sump should include a refugium so you want to get as big as you can fit under your tank.

[dfurbee]

Please be easy on yourself. I thought starting over, was what I needed to do. Glad I did not! I set my tank up in January, made several mistakes; had to change CC to LS, take out an UGF, it seemed like it was one thing after the other. After about four months, bought some inverts, and watched most of them die. I though had bought from the wrong place. Then bought some more, and 4 green chromis, all of the fish died Was talking to the girl as the LFS and took my water in to be tested there; what a suprise that was, my pH was 6.8!!!! I literally fried my fish and inverts. Did a massive water change, PM'd a person on this site, bought a HOB refugium (sort of like starting over); and things got better. Last week purchased a RO/DI unit, and did another large water change; and let me tell you that most of my algae is gone, and the water is crystal clear. I now have ab out 6 soft coral frags, 2 green ricordias, 2 anemones, 2 clarki clowns and several very happy inverts. So please be nicer to yourself, the people here will help, and all you have to do is ask. Wish you the best of luck; and soon, you too will have a beautiful tank! Deb

[recoil]

I can spend whatever it takes [protein skimmer]. I believe in overkill. It'll offset my noobness while I'm getting up to speed!

I appreciate all the kind words guys -- and the opinions. This is a great site! Next I need to investigate refugiums. The LFS didn't mention those at all.

Steve

[Salt-lick]

Refugiums are a great natural way to filter the yuckys out of the water... I am now just learning of these..

[recoil]

So I'm reading on the site and I just came across something. Most of my LR for the substrate is CC. The LFS gave me CC and LR. Maybe that's why my ammonia hasn't spiked up. I had more CC than LR. I'm thinking the LFS thought the LR would populate the CC.

I was reading the other thread that LS is better than CC. Should I take this time to remove the LR/CC and put in LS?

Steve

[Salt-lick]

When you say CC i assume you mean crushed coral, I have head allot of things about people saying crushed coral is bad or crushed coral is better for DSB, so I would get big pieces of LR and get LS if you can. Anyone else want to chime in on that??

[ncdiablo]

Hey there from a fellow Steve (technically I am a Steven but close enough and also I too am somewhat a reef noob) (Ask my wife and you can find out I too maybe a Mr. Stupid, Mr. Lazy, Mr. Takeoutthedamntrash, Mr. Cleanthedamnkittylitter, Mr. Gomowthedamngrass).

Look at your mistake this way it happened at the very beginning which means you didn't kill your precious corals and fishies with this mistake.

If I can make a few suggestions too I would say leave the live rock in there and let it cycle and there should still be some surviving bacteria and it just means your cycle will take longer.

I personally would remove your sand at the bottom. Now this isn't based on experience but from what I have read (see I am still a noob so it's about other's experiences). That while cycling you will want a bare bottom.
The reasons:
1. algea and diatomaceous (sp?) blooms that will make the sand look nasty.
2. you can clean things that have died and fallen off much easier to help keep your spikes down a bit better.
3. once your spikes are over you can lay the sand down around the live rock that will make your live rock more stable.

Anyways good luck to you from 1 steven to another.

My tank should begin cycling in 2 weeks here so I will let you know my mistakes along the way unless they get too numerous to mention.

However these guys here at RB have been wonderful and filled with information and are a great resource.

Steven

[NATIVEVAMAN]

I would go for a ls bed at least 4 inch's deep.It will provide a happy home for all the critters that do the denitrification work,some of thse critters will not even populate areas of crushed coral.also if you do get some sand sifting critters(something I dot recomend for a dsb)they will be much happier and find more of what they want to eat.LS actually has more surface area for the critters to populate.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

DSB article - CALFO

[NATIVEVAMAN]

Aquarium Frontiers On-Line: October 1997: Without A Backbone

[ncdiablo]

I am using argonite. Which is very good for reef systems too. You should check into that as substrate for your system.

[Cela Vie]

First of all, we all make mistakes in this hobby which can bring us down because of the lost time and $$$ and the potential for disaster (which is all in our mind). Don't fret. A little more time and $$$ can fix a lot. More importantly is patience and research. Asking questions before hand can and will save you a lot of both time and $$$. Can you post a pic to see what you've got set up so far?

In either case, this is what I would do: Take out the CC and replace with live sand. It'll give you another chance to aquascape the live rock you have in there now. BTW, I think you have enough live rock for now, but you will need to get some more, which will be good especially if you need to re-seed the "old" live rock. Also, if possible, use RO/DI water from now on. There is no need to dechlorinate or treat it in any way (besides adding salt before a water change). I think your live rock (and you) will be okay.