Live rock is turning white -normal?

Hello Everyone,
I just set up a 70 gallon bow front aquarium, and I added 80lbs of live sand and right now only 9lbs of live rock on 03/24/12. I am not planning on adding corals,(maybe way down the road) but not now. My questions are, I have a LED combined light strip(10k/460NM,15w)and I do not know how long the light have to stay on in a 24hr. period? Also I know I need to add more live rock, but is 9lbs a good starting amount? Oh and one more question, at the beginning of the cycling process, I am noticing my live rock turning white, is this normal?
Thanks

 

Good morning and Welcome to Fish Lore!

I am not a salt tank keeper so while you wait for other responses, check out the link below:
Live Rock for Saltwater Aquariums

Aquarium Lighting

I hope you enjoy the forum!

Ken

 

Thanks Ken

 

You're welcome Lola,

I'm sure others will chime in before long.

Ken

 

I do believe you will need more live rock to start. Most people here say it is better to start off with the right amount of rock from the start. Seeing as you already have LIVE rock, you can get dry rock and eventually the live rock will seed the subsequent rock. This is also much cheaper

Are you using RO/DI water? I would suggest looking into it if not. It will make your life so much easier in every aspect.

As for the lights, if you aren't keeping any corals, I would say anything between 8 - 10 hours of light a day will be fine

 

I do believe you will need more live rock to start. Most people here say it is better to start off with the right amount of rock from the start. Seeing as you already have LIVE rock, you can get dry rock and eventually the live rock will seed the subsequent rock. This is also much cheaper

Are you using RO/DI water? I would suggest looking into it if not. It will make your life so much easier in every aspect.

As for the lights, if you aren't keeping any corals, I would say anything between 8 - 10 hours of light a day will be fine

+1 - I try to get at least a pound of live rock per gallon for a fish only

 

Hello Everyone,
My questions are, I have a LED combined light strip(10k/460NM,15w)and I do not know how long the light have to stay on in a 24hr. period?

+1 Mike. 8-10hrs a day should be fine. However, during the cycling, it is not necessary to run lights that long, it can lead to an algae outbreak as the cycle completes.

Also I know I need to add more live rock, but is 9lbs a good starting amount?

Generally, try and add it all at once. This reduces the chances of minI cycles later on (more live rock later will result in more die off etc, thus another cycle).
The alternative is to cycle the live rock out of the display later on, then add it to the display. Do it in a QT or similar, not in the sump.

Oh and one more question, at the beginning of the cycling process, I am noticing my live rock turning white, is this normal?
Thanks

What sort of white? I would guess that it is normal. It can be coraline algae die-off. It could also be excess calcium settling on the rock. Just a few thoughts.

Welcome to FL and welcome to SW!

 

First off I would suggest that you get the proper amount of live rock so that the tank will cycle, adding rock here and there only causes more delay for your tank to establish a steady amount of beneficial bacterias to have a sustainable tank in the future. Second the white is die off of the rock and could be lots of things and will continue to happen as the tank cycles, if you have mass die off then it is advised to scrub off the dead with a fresh and new tooth brush that you can use just for your tank do only use the saltwater that you change the water with.