Cycling Rock

[sg1.025]

The last time I ordered fropm TBS, i was surprised at the quality and the health of everything that came. I am sad to say that during the cycle process, most of what looked good died.

My question is, since i'm setting up a new 48x48x36 tank with no fish for a while, will it be OK to cycle the rock IN the tank vs somewhere else outside?

I'd like to preserve as many hitch hikers as possible.

 

[HowardW]

You should actually get very little dieoff during the initial cycling process with TBS rock. You just need to keep tabs on the water paramaters and make sure to do numerous small water changes to keep ammonia under 1.0 and preferably under .5 until the tank cycles and ammonia and nitrite read 0

 

[Jocko]

That's strange. Nothing died from my cycle. Heck the ammonia levels barely went up at all the whole time.

You would generally never cycle TBS rock outside of the tank. Even if you were putting it in an established tank you should put it right in. So, in short, definitely put the rock into the new tank right away. If the rock is subjected to less than ideal conditions in buckets or tubs for a while, you would probably lose alot of life.

I'm guessing from your question that maybe this is related to the experience you had last time? I hope so, cause that would mean you should be able to look forward to a much better experience this time!

 

[Fountainhead]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8129281#post8129281 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jocko
Even if you were putting it in an established tank you should put it right in.

I'm not sure I'd make a blanket statement like that. It would depend on the size of the tank, and the amount of the rock. I don't think I'd ever add uncured live rock (TBS or other) to an already established tank unless it was a very small amout of rock in a very large tank.

sg1.025 - By all means cycle the rock in the new tank. That's the best way to do it. I think the amount of die off can vary quite a bit. Certainly some here have noted cycles with large and frequent water changes trying desperately to keep it under 1.0, while others (such as me ) never changed a drop of water and never saw ammonia above .25. The quicker the rock get to you and in the tank, the better.

 

[sg1.025]

ok... maybe i forgot to say, this will be a new tank that i'm setting up, so, only sand a rock will be in for the first month or so.

 

[ybenormal]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8132316#post8132316 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sg1.025
ok... maybe i forgot to say, this will be a new tank that i'm setting up, so, only sand a rock will be in for the first month or so.

Then the answer is "absolutely!" Set up your skimmer, powerheads or whatever you have for circulation and treat the tank as if it had fish in it. Keep a close eye on water parameters, do water changes as necessary and everything should be fine.