Cycling a Tank Question

A

Aquaman101

New member
I'm considering buy my dryrock and sand several weeks ahead of my tank.

If I put the sand and rock in a large bin, with the appropriate lighting and water, etc to complete the cycle, when it comes time to move the rock and sand to the tank, while the bacteria survive for a bit while I aquascape the tank, then fill it up with new water?
 
As long as it doesn't dry out you'll be fine. Personally, I'd just cycle the rock. Sand is messy enough already, and really should be put in the tank after the rock is positioned to prevent any burrowers from causing rock slides in the future.

You can easily seed the sand with a cup or two of sand from a trusted friend or LFS, and you really don't even need to do that if you don't want to. It will be live soon enough on it's own.
 
Do them both together! There's probably a bunch of crap in that sand that will initiate a new cycle when you add it to the already-cycled rock!

Anyone who's had a tank for a while, especially if they've changed the rockwork or sand at some point, will know that there are mini-cycles that happen. I just moved some rocks from my sump to my display and redid half my rockwork, and my tank went through a mini-cycle that lasted about 2 weeks.

Also, no need for any lighting when you're cycling rocks/sand :) Just make sure the temperature is correct and that you've got some flow moving around the rocks.
 
Hey since we are talking g about dry rock... in the years passed, I have always purchased live rock from the fish stores. I have been out of the hobby ten years now and my wife and I are in the design phase of a 280 gallon tank build. Should I just buy all my rock dry, make sure it is rinsed clean, put it in my tank with some tank starter and let it cure right in the tank for a while before adding any livestock or corals?
 
Yes. Just make sure it has adequate water flow. I would suggest buying some real live rock (perhaps 10% of the total) to seed the dry rock with inverts and such.
 
How many pounds do you think I should get in there. Is it still about a pound per gallon rule or can I get away with less. I do not want it crowded. I want room for corals and clams and some space for fish to swim
 
If you're going for the minimalist look (tank 75% or more empty space) I'd start with half a pound per gallon. For a more traditional look, a pound per gallon of relatively porous rock is not generally too much, I have 100 lbs of rock in my 90g. Keep in mind that as long as it is completely dry rock with no biomatter on it, and it is from a safe supplier that doesn't leech phosphates or what have you, you can add more later, even if there is livestock in the tank. Obviously it won't contribute to your biological filtration for a while but it won't cause a cycle.

I would additionally point out that actually more rock usually means more room for corals, generally, the issue is rock surface area, not water volume.
 
Robgixxer said:
Hey since we are talking g about dry rock... in the years passed, I have always purchased live rock from the fish stores. I have been out of the hobby ten years now and my wife and I are in the design phase of a 280 gallon tank build. Should I just buy all my rock dry, make sure it is rinsed clean, put it in my tank with some tank starter and let it cure right in the tank for a while before adding any livestock or corals?
Click to expand...

:fish1: Hi, if I was setting up a new system, and could afford it, I would use the highest quality live rock you can find. I just love all the life and biodiversity that comes with a really good live rock, as to me the dead rock so many people seem to be using these days will never have all the biodiversity in their tanks, as a tank started with a very high quality live rock, unless they add a good amount of said live rock to their systems. :fish1:
 
Picked up a couple of batches of live rock for our first tank. I have to echo the comments on the biodiversity. New critters continue to pop out, even after more than a month. We think we have at least three bristleworms (the good kind so far), a few odd slugs and snails, several small starfish and perhaps a bristlestar. Fun for my daughter to check them out!
 
FireViper said:
Picked up a couple of batches of live rock for our first tank. I have to echo the comments on the biodiversity. New critters continue to pop out, even after more than a month. We think we have at least three bristleworms (the good kind so far), a few odd slugs and snails, several small starfish and perhaps a bristlestar. Fun for my daughter to check them out!
Click to expand...

My challenge is that I am so paranoid to get live rock from my LFS. I'm afraid I'll be dealing with pests from the get go. I learned that lesson from my last go round.

If I do get a bit of live rock, how do I ensure it has no pests? Do I QT it for a while my dry rock is curing? Then add it to my dry rock?
 
Unless you are going to quarantine every single coral you bring into your tank, your fear is probably misplaced. My feeling is, some "pests" are inevitable, and you deal with them when they come.

Now, if you think your lfs has particularly crummy live rock, I'd just buy from an online vendor.
 
Aquaman101 said:
Forgot to ask, If I start with completely dry rock and sand, where does the bacteria come from?
Click to expand...


Seeding a new aquarium with material from an established one and "˜bacteria in a bottle' are all tried and true measures that will speed up the process. When my son started his latest FW tank he swapped out some ceramic noodles in my FW tank for some new Seachem Matrix for this purpose - I sent him home with my seeded noodles in a small container of aquarium water.

This isn't really necessary however, if you don't mind the process taking longer. Airborne bacteria will seed the tank all by itself with nothing else added. Having said this there is nothing wrong with adding "˜good' bacteria and that is exactly what I do when I setup any new tank with whatever is at hand.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Tastee said:
Seeding a new aquarium with material from an established one and "˜bacteria in a bottle' are all tried and true measures that will speed up the process. When my son started his latest FW tank he swapped out some ceramic noodles in my FW tank for some new Seachem Matrix for this purpose - I sent him home with my seeded noodles in a small container of aquarium water.

This isn't really necessary however, if you don't mind the process taking longer. Airborne bacteria will seed the tank all by itself with nothing else added. Having said this there is nothing wrong with adding "˜good' bacteria and that is exactly what I do when I setup any new tank with whatever is at hand.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

:fish1: You are absolutely right about the air born bacteria seeding the tank, but there is so much more to establishing a tank then just bacteria. :fish1:
 
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