Ok Help with Cycling!!!

Ok I'm lost. I think I'm following too many schools of thought. I'm trying to cycle my 75Gallon tank and cure live rock at the same time. But I think something isn't working out. This is what I'm doing.

I threw about 100 LBS of uncured live rock from the sea into a new 75 Gal fishtank. Filled it with water and started pumping water into my fuge at about 1000 GPH. I also have a protien skimmer attached to the system. When I last checked Ammonia was at 8ppm and prob higher but my test kit doesn't check any higher than that. Nitrites and Nitrates are 0. But all my live rock is turning mostly black. I want to do a water change but people have told me that if I do a water change it will prolong the cycling period probably indefinately. I think all my rock is dying!!! What should I do? I know ammonia at 8ppm is prob massive..... This must be killing everything if it hasn't already done so.

I could start over Again.............. :-[

 

It probably will kill most everything off. When you place LR into an unestablished tank than the ammonia will build and soon do its thing. If you place some LS into your tank, let it cycle for a few weeks, then slowly and properly collect and place your LR in then you should be able to keep most LR life alive.
Or you can leave things the way they are with the LR to cycle out (might take a month), leave the lights off, don't do a water change and be patient and much of the life will return with time.
Sounds like the refugium flow might be a tad high. Myself, I prefer a slow flow allowing nutrients time to be consumed by the refugium plant life.
Patience! I guarantee if you can give it at least 4-6 weeks you will be rewarded later with a healthy reef tank.
If it were my tank I would let it cycle for a month and when ammonia reads 0, nitrates 0 then I would add some new, properly collected LR to the existing LR and expect no die-off.
I would start my lighting at around week 3 and slow my refugium flow to about 1/4-1/3 of 1000gph. Also I would ensure I have a strong closed-loop flow or at least good power head flow in the display. Currently I have 800-900gph in a 20 cube w/ less than 60gph into and returned from a 10gl refugium.

 

Good advice has already been given so I have nothing to add. Good things come to those who wait.

 

Ok so I shouldn't worry then? All the rocks turning black are ok?

 

I wouldn't worry about it but I'd like to see a picture of your "black" rocks. Is it the rock itself that's turning black or is something black growing on them?

 

I seem to have lost my camera. I'll try and get some pictures soon.

 

You might want to place the rock a piece at a time in a bucket of seawater and scrub the surface a few times during cycle. This will help to speed the cycle and remove decay. The black is probably dead algae. You should also take a salinity reading from the collection site and mimick it. It is probably 1.026 though most of us keep reefs lower.

 

You keep your salinity lower than natural sea water? Why?

My water should be perfect. I get the live rocks, corals and water all at the same place. I did scrub some of the black stuff off... wow what a diffrence. Allot of the stuff was like a black dust it could just be vacumed up. I used a powerhead to blow the gunk off in a 20gal water cooler. Everything looks allot better now. /whew. Thanks

 

to be honest with you I don't know. From what I understand natural reefs are around .026 and most salt manufactures recommend mixing salt @ .023 though I mix mine closer to .024 and have not been real accurate at that. I could be wrong though as I am using one of those needle hydrometers.
Glad you are getting a break and its looking better. Let it cycle the longest you can stand it.