Looking for live rock rubble with coralline algae to speed up cycle

[JustAClownFish]

As the title indicates, I'm currently cycling my nano and looking for someone in my area (Riverside) that could sell me some live rubble/rock so I can speed up my cycle. I checked some LFS's but they do not sell quality rocks with lots of coralline on them. I'd come by and pick it up in a small container. It doesn't have to be much. It's only a 20g tank. Maybe 0.5 -1lbs.

 

[dodgerblew]

I've neglected cleaning coralline off my side glass for a while and in some spots you can't see in. I'm cleaning it off slowly and those shavings would work as well. You're far but I'd be happy to give you more then enough to seed your nano. If you go to your lfs see if they have any snails or hermits or even shells that have coralline on it and that'll help seed it too. Just make sure whatever you do the calcium parameters are where they should be

 

[JustAClownFish]

I'm specifically looking for some live rock as well. I want to put it in the back sump of my nano. Of course, scrapings would be great as well. Do you have the pink variety?

 

[dodgerblew]

Yes

 

[laverda]

I have lots of live rock fist sized and smaller for $1. a pound fully cured in west Anaheim.

 

[waterman78]

Only two pennies - IMO : adding cured rock into an existing water of uncured rock would more than likely cause the bacteria of the cured rock to die off and create a longer cycle.

How long has the cycle gone on so far?

- Larry

 

[JustAClownFish]

It's pretty much cycled now. Why would the bacteria on the rock die? The ammonia in the water is exactly what they want. I added cured rock and it sped up the cycle. Ammonia was around 2ppm and two days after adding the rock it went down to 0.50. On the third day, it was 0 ppm.

 

[waterman78]

It's pretty much cycled now. Why would the bacteria on the rock die? The ammonia in the water is exactly what they want. I added cured rock and it sped up the cycle. Ammonia was around 2ppm and two days after adding the rock it went down to 0.50. On the third day, it was 0 ppm.

How long did you cycle the display rocks before adding the cured rocks? Adding cured rocks to a cycling tank which has ammonia and nitrite present....again IMO would cause the beneficial bacteria to die off. And the opposite is also likely to trigger an ammonia spike...this may all be depending upon the amount of rocks being introduced.

However, this approach to cycling a tank just seems a bit too risky. "TIME....IT'S ON YOUR SIDE."

- Larry

 

[JustAClownFish]

A couple days but I did a 100% water change because I put a shrimp in there which I shouldn't have done. I should have cycled with pure ammonia. So basically I did the water change, added the live rubble and then dosed Dr. Tims ammonia. The next day it hit 2ppm and then within 3 days it went down to 0. I attribute that to the live rubble. I repeated it. I dosed one more time and watched it go down over the next 48 hours. According to Dr. Tim and other sources, the bacteria should be fine as long as ammonia doesn't reach 5ppm. That's when most of the bacteria dies.

 

[waterman78]

Personally, I opt out of using products to cycle because "TIME....IT`S ON YOUR SIDE.....YES IT IS.."

Okay. Have you also tested for Nitrite and Nitrates? I wanted to mention that nitrogen cycle doesn't stop at the ammonia levels....the cycle basically continues all the way through - - - even after adding livestock this cycle never really stops. The small bubbles underneath the sandbed of a mature display tank are nitrogen bubbles.

Just keep on doing what your doing, the cycle is definitely going in the right direction. Keep it stable and keep us all informed of the progress. Photos would also be helpful along with any discussion.

Happy Reefing!!!!

- Larry

 

[JustAClownFish]

Nitrite went down to zero after ammonia, three times. So I think the bacteria population is strong enough for one or two fish. Two fish will never produce as much ammonia as dosing pure ammonia. Yesterday I did a big water change, added two clowns, some snails and some Prime to protect them (just in case). I will keep adding Prime for the first couple days and then I will let the tank run its course so I can add corals in the future. I have done that with my big tank and no fish have died so far.

 

[laverda]

Do yourself a favor and defiantly give it more time to get more established before adding more. Having completed the cycle is just a small but major part of the equation.

 

[JustAClownFish]

I'm dosing NoPox to boost the bacteria population. My nitrate reading so far is ~5ppm. Glass is clean except for substrate and rocks. So far it's a way better start than with my main tank. The clowns seem fine. They swim in the back and display weird mating behavior. Sometimes they swim near the surface but ammonia and nitrite is 0. So I think that's just normal behavior.

 

[waterman78]

Is there a skimmer installed on your set up? Again, time....it will take some time for the tank to mature. - - - - - - > It sounds like you're more active with your tank than the micro-organisms. Each time we as hobbyists place anything in the tank WE'RE screwing with the ecosystem's success.

Please post a photo I would love to see what this tank looks like.

- Larry