Cycling with fresh live rock

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OoooDRAGONoooo

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Hi,I have done lots of browsing the internet and have finally put together my first saltwater tank.the tank is a replacement for an internal window.it is 1mtr high,1mtr long and 25 cms wide.about 5 cms of fine sand,40 kilos of homemade rock,(crushed aragonite and white cement), it 2060 led light, 3 power heads.40 litre sump with filter sock,skimmer,heater,led lighting for refugium section in the middle,phew,the temp is 25 oc and I've just added Prozac,ocean reef salt.now I need help! Can I cycle the tank with some small pieces of live rock taken from fish store,it will be out of the water for 15 mins only.i would put it in the refugium section if this is ok.your advice on where to go from here is greatly appeciated
 
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It will help but make sure you dont introduce any bad things when u get it like aptasia or mantis shrimp hitchhiking in rock. I just added pure ammonia to start my cycle but you could use a raw shrimp. Make sure you get Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate test kits to keep up with cycle and read read read on this site.
 
clownfish06 said:
It will help but make sure you dont introduce any bad things when u get it like aptasia or mantis shrimp hitchhiking in rock. I just added pure ammonia to start my cycle but you could use a raw shrimp. Make sure you get Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate test kits to keep up with cycle and read read read on this site.
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Ty for your advice,if I put the live rock in an extra salty solution for a couple of hours,would that kill of the unwanted lodgers?
 
Removing critters from fresh live rock

Removing critters from fresh live rock

If I soak live rock straight from a reef tank in a very salty solution for a couple of hours will it remove the unwanted pests,so I can then put it into a new reef tank to start the cycling process?
 
My calculations indicate your tank's about 66 US gallons. If that's correct, and you've rock in it that you've made yourself out of crushed coral/shells/etc.. and cement, realize that you must cure this material before use. Note that "cure" isn't the same thing as "cycle" in reference to homemade rock.

What you specifically need to be concerned about is a lot of residual alkalinity from the concrete/cement, and possibly phosphate that's a common additive in cement products.

To cure it, remove it from your tank, place it in a trash can, fill it with purified water, add a circulation pump, and allow it to stand for at least a couple of weeks, changing the water out in its entirety every 3 days or so. If you have a pH meter, you can monitor the progress of the cure by testing the water just before you change it. To start with, it's typical to see pH 11 or 12, but after multiple changes it should drop to under 8.5. At this point, it's ready to aquascape with and cycle the tank.
 
Homemade rock

Homemade rock

dkeller_nc said:
My calculations indicate your tank's about 66 US gallons. If that's correct, and you've rock in it that you've made yourself out of crushed coral/shells/etc.. and cement, realize that you must cure this material before use. Note that "cure" isn't the same thing as "cycle" in reference to homemade rock.

What you specifically need to be concerned about is a lot of residual alkalinity from the concrete/cement, and possibly phosphate that's a common additive in cement products.

To cure it, remove it from your tank, place it in a trash can, fill it with purified water, add a circulation pump, and allow it to stand for at least a couple of weeks, changing the water out in its entirety every 3 days or so. If you have a pH meter, you can monitor the progress of the cure by testing the water just before you change it. To start with, it's typical to see pH 11 or 12, but after multiple changes it should drop to under 8.5. At this point, it's ready to aquascape with and cycle the tank.
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Hi , yes I did as u said soaked it for about 3months changing water every 3 to 5 days,ph is good .im just bringing up the salinity slowly now.i want to start cycling with the afore mentioned live rock,I want to put it straight in but I'm worried about introducing something nasty,any thoughts please,?
 
To get rid of any pests all you have to do is soak the rock in pure water. No salt. Any inverts that are in it will kick themselves out of the rock and die. Inverts die very quickly in fresh water. 15 min or so and you should be good. I have done this and it always worked for me.
 
Live rock issue

Live rock issue

martouf13 said:
To get rid of any pests all you have to do is soak the rock in pure water. No salt. Any inverts that are in it will kick themselves out of the rock and die. Inverts die very quickly in fresh water. 15 min or so and you should be good. I have done this and it always worked for me.
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Hi,ty for response,so u r saying that after soaking it in freshwater,it will be still ok to cycle my new tank. And possibly seed my unseeded rock ( over time of course)?
 
I wouldn't soak LR in freshwater, as this defeats the purpose of calling it LR. There is really no need go overreact due to possible hitchhikers. If everyone was so concerned, there would be no-one using liverock at all.
 
Live rock now in

Live rock now in

acabgd said:
I wouldn't soak LR in freshwater, as this defeats the purpose of calling it LR. There is really no need go overreact due to possible hitchhikers. If everyone was so concerned, there would be no-one using liverock at all.
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I put about a kilo into the sump yesterday,straight from another tank,there were quite a few different things moving around on it,some small lice like creatures,a tiny slug or snail which attached to refug glass wall and a tiny starfish .both have disappeared now.theres some small patches of what I think is coralline algae(reddish blotches)oh, and something like a jelly limpet with a tail stuck itself to bottom of sub,very small
 

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The first time I bought live rock I saw "bugs" and thought they were pests so I soaked it all in fresh water....silly first mistakes when new to the hobby.
 
Soooo whats the point in buying live rock if you want to kill off everything on it thinking there may be a pest ? QT the live rock in a container and cycle the tank tank with ammonia then add the live rock to seed your tank with life....the critters and bacteria you paid for.
 
There could be some desireed hitch hikers as well in there. Just look at the rock real well. Take a look at Tampa Bay Live Rock, he has a whole tutorial on the subject of the good and bad guys.

As C.rob said, you are paying for "live rock". So either inspect it real well, or QT it for 30 days, or 72 days if you want to be extra sure.
 
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