Can use tap water directly?

[sam_always]

Hi bro and sis,

Got a few questions to ask bro and sis. Can i use tap water to wash my LR, sand, tank and etc? or much use salt water to wash? Do i need to use anti chloride stuff to dechloride the tap water?

[Nitro]

Ans is no to the washing of LRs you will kill all the living things inside the rocks but for sand and tank yes before setup.

[sam_always]

thanks bro... one more question.. do i need to filter the tap water b4 mix with salt?

[Nitro]

Good to let the water that u r going to use to stand overnite, to remove chlorine. For me, I skipped that cuz I compensate by adding chlorine remover once I do a partial water change, abt 1/3.

[giantbicycle]

oh , so what can i do now if i had wash my life rock with water direct from the tap. what can i do now..

[Achilles Tang]

Well... if you wash them briefly with tap water, the osmotic shock will kill off a bit of beneficial bacteria and a few microlife on the LR.

If you soak it in tap water... well... I would say you may have killed all life in/on the LR.

I suggest putting it back in sea water/an established saltwater tank for bacteria to recolonize the LR. Overtime, the rock will become inhabited enough to function as a natural biological filter.

[giantbicycle]

Thanks AT .. anyone has recomandation on live rocks(how to choose) (what kind of live rocks) ..

[Golden Tooth]

Smell the rock.

[iLIKEfish]

yea if it smells likes sh*t...better not buy, lotsa decomposing stuff...

[Nitro]

Hi, if can, try to avoid those rocks with small round holes, abt the size of the letter 'O' on ur keyboard. It might indicate that there are "unfriendly" worms in them... bristtel worms, paololo worms etc. These worms are not really good. If they r big, they can hurt ur pets.

[Tanzy]

Bristleworms aren't bad as long as they don't get too big. They help process detritus and are crucial members of the sand bed fauna. It's not that often that you get 1 metre long palolo worms .

[sam_always]

is it better to buy cured LR then uncured LR?

[NormanH]

cured rock is definitely better, but i won't believe the sellers. Better to cure it yourself.