# 130 gallon reef dead rock, ich and brown algae. hoping for an upswing in luck!



## joe pooh (Mar 2, 2017)

This had started as a question, but as i wanted to update, it is turning into more of a journal. 

i had asked around about re using live rocks after letting them die. the consensus was that the dead rock is covered in dirty badness and would have to be cleaned to reuse. what i got from the conversations was that the rock would have to be in other (not in the tank) water so all the badness leaches out into that water instead of the tank.

i left my dead rocks in buckets of water on the deck, it has been raining every day and i have been dumping and refilling the buckets. 2 weeks later...now i SHOULD have tested the water, but like a big dummy i put the rock in my sump. sure as rain, there is a horrifying brown dusting over all my sand and rocks the next morning. i had just changed 20% of the water so i left it for the weekend. to nobody's surprise it did not get better. i will be changing 20% today and then 5% daily for the rest of the week.

My question now is: 3 days later, is this rock still leaching brown death into my tank or is this a case of damage done, pray nothing died and clean up the mess.... or just take out the rock? it is a big rock so i am hoping to keep it.

i took it out. could not stop thinking about it. Hopefully not too late.

4/3/17 - the few frags i have in there are just fine. Still maintaining small water changes and i think i am getting less algae. the Anemone has not complained yet, but now the fish have ich. they are in a quarantine tank being medicated. i figure by the time the ich has died in the tank (1 month) then the water quality should be better.


----------



## Mick2016 (Jun 16, 2016)

Unless you have some sentimental attachment to this particular rock, I would probably not use it in the tank . . . especially if you do not feel confident that it is safe in the water. Find another rock you know to be OK. 

If you want to keep the old rock, find another use for it. You could place it behind the aquarium if there is no covering on the back glass so the rock can still be seen to some decorative effect. Or use it in an indoor planter . . . or bookend for your fish reference books on the shelf . . . or as a doorstop. :0)

Safety first.


----------



## joe pooh (Mar 2, 2017)

thanks Mick, safety first is right. the rock is out and to make myself feel better i bought another one at J&L. the algae is clearing up slowly. the frags are looking better than they have in weeks. now i just have to hope the fish will endure living in the 10g quarantine for a month while i wait for the ich to die out int he main tank.


----------



## joe pooh (Mar 2, 2017)

4/10/17 - lost a fish to ich today. the other one looks fine so far though. he still has 20 days to go in quarantine. always sad to see one die, but am glad it was the clown and not the angelfish. cleaning up my fish stuff i found an old pump i took out because it was not working in my old tank. washed it real good and tried again. works fine now so it is in the sump adding another 1250gph. i have 2 of these now in the sump and a smaller pump in the tank to prevent a dead spot in the back of the tank.

set up equiptment:
2x 1250gph pumps in the sump
1 skimmer, dont know how many gph, (hand me down)
4'x2'x2'2" (130g) aquarium
2 T5 florescent tubes 
and a strip of acitinic LEDs.


----------



## Mark Brown (Jan 21, 2017)

This might be a silly question but seeing as I'm not that educated, here I go. Do you think the ick came from the rock that was dead?? or from the fish being is less than "healthy" water weakening their immune system and it was always there??

Again sorry if I am totally out to lunch on this, I'm just curious. Also what is it the rock could have/did release after being cleaned for so long?


----------



## dino (Aug 29, 2011)

its generally a good idea to do a acid bath on old rock. but I doubt anything was alive out of the water and in the fresh water but would most likely happened was the rock still had a lot of debris and foreign material inside the rock and that was added to the tank causing issues. I have rinsed rock and it takes a long time to get rid of everything but that's my guess


----------



## joe pooh (Mar 2, 2017)

i talked to the guy at King Eds. he said it takes months to bring a rock back from dead. lots of water changes and running water in a separate container. not worth the time, even for the bunch of rocks i would like to bring back. i am going to put them around my garden. the ich came from the stressed fish in the poor quality water. the rock has been gone for weeks now and i am still trying to get rid of the brown algae. the Angelfish still has 2 weeks to go in quarantine so i am hoping i have the water conditions in control by then. 

On the upside, the few frags i have in there are starting to look better and even showing signs of growth. the anemone seems happy and is not moving. and the shrimp, crabs and snails are still active. 

i picked up a bit of macroalgea and put it in the tank. the urchin goes for it all the time, so now i use it like a stick and carrot to guide where i want the urchin to go. it knocks down some frags sometimes, but the rocks come out looking great.


----------



## joe pooh (Mar 2, 2017)

4/28/17 - added 3 sexy shrimp a week ago and they are hanging out with the anemone. they disappeared immediately but turned up a few days later under the anemones. they are really interesting to watch. I am considering Harlequin shrimp. anybody with experience with these guys, your comments are welcome.

the macroalgea i got has not grown at all. at least i don't think it has. i am looking to get more. perhaps the piece i have is too small. about the size of a fist.


----------



## Dietmar (Dec 15, 2011)

I don't think you want harlequin shrimp as they only eat star fish.
Here is what an excerpt from the net:

As its primary source of food, you will need to supply the Harlequin Shrimp with starfish (Asterias rubens for adults, and Linckia for juveniles). The adults may also eat sea urchins.


----------



## joe pooh (Mar 2, 2017)

Hello Dietmar, i was told about their diet at my lfs. Thank you for the heads up though. i don't have starfish so i would have to buy them to feed the shrimp.... and commit to not having shrimp or urchins. i have one urchin now, but he has pros and cons. i like how well he cleans the rocks, but is always knocking over the frags. i would not be heartbroken if he got eaten by a shrimp. I was at the VAHS auction and saw various freshwater shrimp. they made me want more shrimp. i did get a glass shrimp. it was hard to find him in the tank at first, but now he found his spot and is always in the same place...no it is not just its molted shell, I do see him move around a little.


----------



## joe pooh (Mar 2, 2017)

picked up a couple of clown gobies. a brown and a green. i never see the brown one and i see the green one for 2 seconds a day during feeding time. he comes out to eat and then disappears for the rest of the day. i think i just need more of them to see at least one swimming around.


----------



## joe pooh (Mar 2, 2017)

05-23-2017 - i was not using my quarantine 10g tank so i thought i would grow some sea monkeys for food. A week later forgetting this i brought home a clown goby. he looked okay and without a quarantine tank to put him in, (like a big dummy) i tossed him into the main tank. sure enough he passed around ich like it was candy. ich for everybody. i gave the tank i more good dose of brine shrimp and flushed the rest. had to take apart all the rock work to get all the fish out. my water looked terrible. when done i put it all back together, a 30% water change and the pumps back on. the next day i found the anemone i had split! now i have 2. the water looks good and the fish are in quarantine getting medicated.

Always (not most of the time) quarantine new arrivals.


----------

