cure LR and Ammonia

martym · #1 07-30-2008, 10:15 PM

At what ammonia reading should I change the water curing my LR right now it is at .25 on the Salifert kit

a4twenty · #2 07-31-2008, 02:05 AM

i go by smell rather than readings, i usually do a complete change after a day or two then just wait and test every few days. if it gets stinky or the readings really start going up, change it again.

.25 is nothing to worry about yet. how long have you been curing it? are you use a heater too? keeping it in the dark?

Alberta-newb · #3 07-31-2008, 06:16 AM

Do you have any livestock or just live rock? If just LR I think it may be best to not do water changes as you want to get your population of nitrifying bacteria going (I have heard of people actually dosing with ammonia to speed up their cycle...not sure if I would try that myself). If you have livestock then I would start water changes to keep ammonia levels below dangerous levels (which depends on what you have)

Just my newbie opinion

Francis

martym · #4 07-31-2008, 12:44 PM

No live stock. Just setting up my system, it is curing in the garage, heat no light.
Thanks

a4twenty · #5 07-31-2008, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alberta-newb

.... as you want to get your population of nitrifying bacteria going

i agree, you need a little bit of ammonia, then nitrites to fully cycle the rock.

it sounds like you are well on your way, just test the water weekly ( or twice a week if you really want ) and if is get really high, do a WC.

Whatigot · #6 07-31-2008, 08:31 PM

my best experience with cooking rock (and I have cooked a lot of rock) has been when I water changed as often as i could.
I did this because I amde the mistake of cooking 50 lbs of cuban LR in my foye, so I changed 10% almost daily and my cycle took les than a week from the point that it started to smell up my whole top floor.