I need a few small pieces of LR in Austin

[Euclid]

I thought it'd be nice to end my summer with a little vacation this year so I went out and bought a ticket to Paris. No plans, no travelmates, no schedules, nothing. Just me and France and 3 weeks of fun. I found a friend who said he'd love to watch my fish while I was gone. I went over everything that needed to be done in great detail and he seemed to get it. I called him about half way through my trip and he said that 2 days after I left, EVERY SINGLE one of my fish was dead. He made up some crazy story about how water was shooting out of the tank and the lighting was smoking and on fire and all this crap, but I know what really happened... See attachment to see what I saw when I got back.

Anyway, the tank was unplugged for about 2 weeks and my tank is pretty dead now, so I'm looking to throw some small pieces of LR in for a while to help get her back up and running. Does anybody in Austin have some spare liverock that they'd let me have/borrow/buy to help get me back into the game?

Thanks so much everybody!

[RNall]

I live in San Antonio, the live rock thing isn't practical.... but if you would like, I could send you a bat....you know, for the guy that watched your tank....

[SaltyJim]

he said that 2 days after ...

How did it get so bad in 2 days? The tests you have there must be from after you got back, right?

Maybe there *was* another problem...still sucks to come home to. Wish I could help with the LR, but I could get you some cheato.

[AlexKilpatrick]

Yeah, sounds like there has to be a story here somewhere. What happened?

[RNall]

No reason for all that USMC training to go to waste behind a desk.... :ph34r

[hammondegge]

i have some rubble you can use, and probably a rock or two.

[Euclid]

Anything alive will help, really.
Yeah, overfeeding wouldn't cause an ammonia spike big enough to kill everything in only 2 days I wouldn't think... unless he fed them like half the package of frozen krill. He's being very sketchy about the whole thing, I really don't know what to think. Oh well, it's in the past, just time to start over again anyway.

What do you guys reccomend as far as bringing this tank back to life? Start out with some liverock and then what? what kind of livestock should I introduce first and when?

hammondegge, thanks so much! Could you PM me a number or something so we could facilitate that. I could come pick some up from you or you could come up here and check out the setup and let me know what you think if you're ever up here if you want - I'm in West Campus. Just let me know!

[caferacermike]

I have quite a bit to donate. About 10-20 lbs. not the prettiest stuff and one piece might even be 10 lbs or more by itself. It's been resting in my sump for about 4 months after being evicted from the display.

[GaryP]

The bacterial population of the tank is probably fine. I wouldn't worry about that. They had a lot to feed on. Just do some water changes and you should be good to go. Just start stocking the tank again slowly.

[Euclid]

What kind of livestock should I start out with, Gary?

[GaryP]

I can't say there is any particular fish that you should start with. Your tank just went through a cycle, just like when it was new. If your test results are repeatable, I would say that its good to go. Just don't go out and buy 5 fish and drop them in at one time.

Some people will tell you damsels or chromis. Personally, I think they are the spawn of the devil and would rather quit the hobby then put them in my tanks. Just go get something you like and gives you a warm and fuzzy as well as being appropriate for you tank.

[Euclid]

like lobsters?! :D

[GaryP]

I suppose you could have a lobster. Most people are disappointed in them because they are mainly nocturnal.

[Euclid]

I'd like to give a HUGE thanks to caferacermike! Mike, you are the **** man and I realllllllly appreciate all your help! I got it all in the tank and it makes such a huge difference, looks so much better now!

Also, could you PM me the light guy's info? I'd like to pick up one of these this week probably.