Xenia, Polyps & Light

[Grey Legion]

Ok, as a few of you may know I am setting up a 35G tank. I should be getting my box of LR this week but in the meantime I was given a few pieces as "gifts" so I would say I have 15 pounds in the tank right now (going on 2 weeks). One piece had a nice polyp on it, then I was given 4 frags of xenia which is very cool to me at least. My question is how badly do these guys need light ??, I left the light on one cycle for them and the sand bed turn brown !?! so the lights are now off, I am sure the tank went through a mini cycle of some sort but can I leave the lights off or do I need to turn them on for the xenia and polyp, If I must leave them on, how long is a safe time to aviod a brown algae outbreak ??

Thanks

 

[Krish]

You will probably have brown algae regardless. Diatoms are all a part of cycling and your tank has just been setup and seeing you are waiting on more rock, so you are more than likely going to have another cycle so in essence the Xenia's shouldn't be in there if they are sensitive to ammonia and nitrite. Infact, nothing should really be placed in there (livestock) until these two drop off completely and the tank has finished it's initial cycle. Just a thought...

 

[redrooster]

At this point I would run your ligts 10-12 hours a day and hope for the best. You are going to get some algae either way, and at least with the lights on the corals will have a fighting chance. No light+plus ammonia = death.

 

[Grey Legion]

I was told Xenia could do fine during cycle..I have no choice but to take that chance. It's good to know that I didn't do anything arong ( yet ) in regards to the brown algae.

Funnt thing about the xenia it is growing like crazy, It has expanded from it's frags and is now growing on the piece of LR I placed the frags on ?? so maybe it can't be all that bad ??

so last question here, when I do place in the new uncured LR what should I do before putting in in the tank also is it best to cycle with lights on/off or on for just s few hours a day ?? also I have a fuge set up with cheado in it should I keep that running with the light on ??

Thanks

 

[Meche]

when I do place in the new uncured LR

Don't do this. You need to cure your LR outside of your tank. I used a 30gal rubbermaid bin with a heater, a powerhead, and a black towel over the top. You need to maintain temperature, water movement, and no light (for algae growth). Also, if you have an extra skimmer you should put that in there too. If you don't have one, just do daily 50% changes or so. Some also inspect the rock every few days and pick off dead patches and scrub the rock with a toothbrush. It is also very important to wear gloves when handling the rock.

You will also need to do tests for ammonia and nitrates, the goal is to keep them at 0 with water changes. Keep this up until there are no more signs of ammonia (2 weeks or so for my batch of rock).

 

[Krish]

If your tank has already been up and running and has livestock in it, most people won't recommend adding un-cured rock in it afterwards. With all the die-off you will experience and the rise in ammonia etc won't be good for the tank's inhabitants as well as your tank will have to cycle all over again. Usually it's best to get all the rock you will be using at start up and cure it all together in the tank (atleast that's how I do it) but in your case where you are adding to what you already have that has been in the tank, like Brett (Meche) suggested, I'd cure it in a seperate container.

 

[Grey Legion]

Ok, I'll double check about the LR

I'll also get a container together to cure it in with a heater and a power head.

I'll also set up the lights on a timer for 10-12 hours of run time..

Looks like I may have been told some mislead info in the past as I am not prepared at all to cure live rock out side of the tank..

I'll have to get working on this ASAP..

what type of container would be wise to use, a new garbage can ??

 

[Meche]

Try to keep the vertical down. A garbage can may split, I don't now haven't tried one yet. I used one of thoes under-the-bed clothes storage containers. I got it at Target for like $7 or something. I would keep an eye out for anything that has a label that says anti-fungal coating or the like. I'm not sure it would have an effect, but IMO I would stay away from thoes.

 

[Grey Legion]

Makes sence, yet I have heard of many people using garbage cans to store water..no biggie I like ot be safe to so I will look for something like a cooler or that style of container..

Now should I mix up my SW in another container, put all the LR in the container I plan to cure it in then pour the SW over it until full ??

 

[Meche]

I just mixed it in the container to be used for curing, then went through the LR, rinsing and scrubing, in a seperate 5gal, then placed the LR in the curing container.

 

[jakleen]

you do not need light to cure you lr. just do a little water change in our bucket every 5 days. xenias also need iodine supplement. if you are planning to do water change everyday,then you do not need iodine,since the salt will provide it ,but if you do water change every month . then you have to provide iodine. good luck . jakleen