Sounds to me like you are simply starting to "cycle". It's almost impossible to get fully cured rock that won't cycle on you to some extent. With this in mind, you mentioned that you were going to add more rock later on? I would suggest, if possible, to get all the rock you need now and put it in the tank. This way it will only cycle once. This should be done before adding any critters to the tank.
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150 gal Custom. Born 5/7/07. 50gal, 29gal, 20gal Sumps. 30gal Frag Tank. ETSS 800 Skimmer, Deltec APF600 Skimmer. PFO Solaris Lighting on Display and Frag Tank
Yes, the white "growth" you are seeing is die off. It is normal. It will go away in time, but if there is a lot, it's usually better to siphon it out.
Yes, you had uncured live rock. When you get it home, unless it's been removed from a long established tank and shipped in water, it's going to be uncured. The LFS kind of told you a "half-truth".
Don't feel too bad about all this, it's not really a mistake. You just need to wait for the tank to cycle. This usually takes 2 weeks to a month, but can run longer.
Lastly, you'll find out very fast that many LFS are clueless when it comes to reef systems. It's best to verivy all there advice, and get multiple opinions.
I too had a slight bit of film forming on my LR when it was cycling. It was on the top pieces so I siphoned some off the rock, then took them out and gave them another good swish in a new batch of saltwater to get the stubborn detrius off. No worries, like previously stated, your levels will return to normal after the cycle is over. In the mean time, just sit back, hoard $$$ for all the goodies you will inevitably buy and admire what you are creating
__________________ My personal life might be all out of whack, but at least my parameters aren't
30 gal
45 lbs LR
60 lbs LS
orbit lighting system w/ 2 96 watt dual daylights (10,000K:6,700K) and dual actinics
lunar lights
bak pak 2r+ skimmer
Cascade 700
2 hydro koralia 3's
I think i will stick with the live rock and let nature take its course and hopefully i can turn it into something beautiful in time.
Little bit peeved the first i did i made a mistake as i hae tried to be pretty through with my reading up! Suppose i will have to put this semi-cured rock down to experience.
Should i be water changing whilst the rock is curing as the levels are quite high now the die off is occuring - surely if it get too high the organisms on the rock will die aswell?
you should be doing small water changes during the cycle to prevent killing all the good things on your rock, but it looks like your ammonia should be on its way down now that the nitrites are showing up.....
__________________ My personal life might be all out of whack, but at least my parameters aren't
30 gal
45 lbs LR
60 lbs LS
orbit lighting system w/ 2 96 watt dual daylights (10,000K:6,700K) and dual actinics
lunar lights
bak pak 2r+ skimmer
Cascade 700
2 hydro koralia 3's
Linear Mode
