cycling dead rock
- Thread starter cintec
- Start date
Hey Cintec - it depends on what you mean by "dead". If it is dried live rock, it might have lots of organic material (sponges, dead coral, and other things) on it that will decay. If it is "dry" rock, like Marco or BRS Reef Saver that is mined and has never been in the ocean, cycling is simpler. What do you have?
bat21
New member
I cycled with new dry rock. I used Tim's bottled bacteria to help. But I was convinced by my LFS to cycle with a damsel because the rock would have no die off and no huge spikes of ammonia or nitrite. It actually worked fine. But if I did it over, I would just feed the tank or use a cooked shrimp. If your rock was live, then absolutely don't use a fish because of what the above poster said about decay.
The benefit of dry rock is you are guaranteed not to have any bad hitchhikers. Which is why I did it. But you also need to realize your cycle will take longer than with live rock. Probably something like 6 weeks. Since you are starting with zero bacteria.
The benefit of dry rock is you are guaranteed not to have any bad hitchhikers. Which is why I did it. But you also need to realize your cycle will take longer than with live rock. Probably something like 6 weeks. Since you are starting with zero bacteria.
whosurcaddie
New member
Be aware of phosphate leaching from the dry rock. Be sure to test your phos levels while you go through your cycle. If you haven't already added the rock to the display it will save you a lot of time and money to cycle the rock in a separate container and then add it to your display.
This way if the rock is leaching its easier to take measures to rid the rock of phosphate outside the tank.
This way if the rock is leaching its easier to take measures to rid the rock of phosphate outside the tank.
If using dry live rock, first thing to do would be to pick off as much dead and decaying stuff as you can - a lot of it will be dead sponges. Get into all the nooks and crannies, and get everything off that you can manually with tweezers. You can then either cycle the rock in the aquarium, or another option that I prefer, is to cycle rock first in a separate container like a brute trash can with saltwater, a heater, and good circulation (one or more powerheads, etc.) You will get a lot of crud coming off the rock, depending on how much stuff was left, so that is why I advise the trash can route - less stuff to deal with in the DT. 3-4 weeks likely, testing for nitrate and phosphate toward the end. You'll could do several water changes during the process but these aren't mandatory, maybe some toward the end of the process. It would be a good idea to vacuum out the crud that comes off the rock and collects at the bottom of the can. You can check the rock often, removing more stuff manually that gets loose after getting wet/decay, and rotating it. Use the pumps to blow stuff offf the rock. Top off the container like you would a normal tank, keeping salinity steady, but obviously there is more flexibility here without organisms. When your nitrate and phosphate reach acceptable levels, you can add them to the display tank. Be very careful with photoperiod and phosphate/nitrate levels once you add to the DT, as adding lighting can produce stronger algae blooms as unseen organic material inside the rock continues to decay. You can add bacteria products at this point if you wish, but they will largely be a waste of time/money when cycling dead live rock, as you really need the time for organic material to slough and decay out of the rock - whatever you miss manually will just take time to do this. Bacteria products will perhaps keep levels lower, but since you need to wait 3-4 weeks anyway (maybe longer) - the reason to use those products, speeding up the cycle, is largely lost.
I would cook the rock.. basically you just get rubbermaid containers with powerhead and heater for each container. Fill it with saltwater 1.026 and cover it 24/7 days a week. Every week do a 100% water change. Only problem with this can take 2 months. However, benefits are worth it in the long run. I do this now with all my tanks and the best method.
Thank you I don't have a rubbermaid but I do have plenty of old salt containers would this work, the setup is a nano 14gallon.
I was planning on starting the cycle in 3 weeks time but I can get started on cooking the rock now.
