how long does it take

[supertech99]

Hey guys, looking for some help
I have been performing searches in the threads about how long it takes to seed new dry rock with bennificial bacteria before it becomes a viable source to seed a new tank with no success. I will be using some of the rubble out of my 75 gal sump to seed my 20L project sump but I need to know how long I should let my new dry rock that I will be buying "cook" in my sump to avoid a cycle in my 20L. I want to avoid a cycle all together and since my larger tank is doing very well now (aside from a broken heater that was quickly replaced) I thought I would place my new rock in my sump to get populated with pods and bacteria. Anyone have any Idea about how long this process would take?
thanks

 

[NeveSSL]

I don't know that you can avoid a cycle. Let me explain.

You can put base rock in your 75g and "seed" it with a bit of bacteria. However, by adding more live rock to your 75g, you are increasing space for bacteria on that rock. Bacteria will populate this base rock based on the load of your 75g.

Once you move the rock over, the bioload will likely be different. Your seeded rock will then have to adjust to this new and different bioload, causing a cycle. However, assuming your 75g is heavily stocked, it could be that your seeded rock has more bacteria in it than is needed to process the bioload in your 20g, then it shouldn't cycle, other than some bacteria dying off.

All of that being said, I don't know that it matters. IMO, there's really no way to know how long. Just put it in there as long as you can and then go for it and keep an eye on your parameters.

I know this probably doesn't help a whole lot, but I definitely believe it would be very hard to put a time frame on it. You could look up some scientific studies on the bacteria and how long they take to colonize. In theory, this process could be slower than a cycle since there won't be an abundance of food available for the bacteria.

Just a thought.

Brandon

 

[ZachB]

I put my dry marco rock in a rubbermaid container and cycled for about 3 weeks with 2 damsels. I didn't bother testing that water. I filled the 110 up and moved the marco rock and fish over. I used dry sand, too. I bought a bottle of bacteria from the critter and dumped that in. I've tested the new tank periodically, and I only noticed nitrite on one test, nitrate on another a couple times, and now I'm reading 0's on everything. So while I imagine cycling the rock with the damsels helped to colonize with bacteria, it was a very quick cycle. I'm getting the standard new tank diatoms and algae, which is normal. But as for it being safe for fish and corals, I've got no issue there.

 

[NeveSSL]

It also may have something to do with 2 small damsels in 150g of water volume, too.

Quite different from a 20g system, IMO.

Brandon

 

[ZachB]

It also may have something to do with 2 small damsels in 150g of water volume, too.

Quite different from a 20g system, IMO.

Brandon

Actually, I have 2 damsels, a maroon clown, a tomini tang, anthias, and a watchman goby in 105 actual gallons of water. Cycling goes through the same process, just on a different scale.

 

[NeveSSL]

Touche.

Brandon

 

[btb72]

Are you tryig to avoid the algea bloom and what not? If so I think that is going to be almost impossible

 

[supertech99]

just trying to speed the process considering I have a tank full of bacteria at my disposal, got fish living in my sump I want to try to move over quickly, I will be running it for a few months before i end up taking it into work anyway.

 

[Mikeyjer]

Since your leaving the rocks in your sump for a couple of month, that should give you enough time to seed your new rocks. But by moving it into 20L along with new sand will give you a mini-cycle but also depends on how much livestock you are putting into the system at once. When I moved my 55, I changed out all my sand with live sand from critters. I went through a mini-cycle that ****ed off my corals a bit but didn't bother my fish. Like Brandon have mentioned earlier, if the rocks are adapted to you existing system so do becareful since your moving it into a smaller system. More water volume is more forgiving then a smaller tank.

 

[supertech99]

thanks for all the advice guys, I need about 5-10 more lbs of sand so I think making some of that live sand is not a bad idea.

 

[Mikeyjer]

What you can do is put the new sand on the bottom layer and top it with live sand from your existing tank.