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View Full Version : probably a dumb question but... Will off the charts high levels of ammonia kill lr


spit.fire
07-24-2011, 02:29 AM
just wondering if stupidly high levels of ammonia will kill the bacteria in liverock?

reefwars
07-24-2011, 03:00 AM
nope , you wont be able to use the lr for another system untill the reading turns out at zero but with time(almost a month depending on the quality of lr)the lr will consume all the amonia and covert it.


if your planning on taking the rock out of the tank that has a high level of amonia and adding it to another tank i would not do that you have to wait for the rock to cycle now.

amonia will kill off alot of the life in the rock but bacteria itself will be fine as long as salinity and temp are stable.flow must be present as well.


heres some reading material on the nitrogen cycle


http://www.reefcorner.com/Manual/nitrogen_cycle.htm



hope this helps

spit.fire
07-24-2011, 03:26 AM
what if i remove it one piece at a time and put it into a system with ALOT of live rock?

reefwars
07-24-2011, 04:25 AM
would depend on the size of the rocks and how established the other rock is....def playing roulette though and def not worth the chance of crashing your other system....theres no harm really if theres no fish or corals.



why not cure the rock first why the rush?? rushing is what kills tanks and patience is the game nothing happens fast in a reeftank but disater..



to cure the rock its quite simple just aquire a rubbermate or large similar bin or even another tank....fill with salt water at 1.025 keep temp around normal using a heater.no light is needed.use a powerhead to maintain flow.change out water frequently as it will smell rancid.keep an eye out for amonia once the amonia is non readable and the smell is gone you can start to safely add small amounts at a time to your established tank.


adding rock that has a really high amonia source is very very sketchy and i def would not recommend it as its sure to briung death to your fish and inverts.adding rock that comes from a low amonia souce or small dieoff is still border line but can be done in small amounts only if the system its going in is established with a low bio load and has a very good quality of lr to quickly covert the amonia.


make a wise choice and cure the rock seperately before doing this trust me been there done that and its not a good idea

spit.fire
07-24-2011, 05:17 AM
i think thats what im gonna end up doing, i kind of want to boil all the rock to kill the leftover bristleworms

i guess theres no harm in sitting on 120lbs of liverock till it cures...
especially since i have about another 100lbs sitting in rubbermaids pre cured right now anyways

i just want it to be clean and be cured so i can sell the dang stuff after i rescape my tanks

intarsiabox
07-24-2011, 05:24 AM
Bristle worms are great scavengers and eat all the food that the fish don't get. I would leave them if it is possible in your situation.

spit.fire
07-24-2011, 05:33 AM
Bristle worms are great scavengers and eat all the food that the fish don't get. I would leave them if it is possible in your situation.
there are literally thousands of them which is why i want to get rid of them, and the majano anemones....


i do have a few bristle worms in my nano tank if i ever decide to put them back into my reef tanks