Cycling The tank with Rock.

Glipzcom · Dec 4, 2006

Ok I am super scared of this first step. I have been putting it off because now I need to buy something that has the posibility of dying (live rock)
Questions I think i need answered:
What else do I need to do?
What tests do I do and how often?
Do I run the lights in a normal day cycle?
Should the water temperature be higher since im just doing rock?
Should i be running the protein skimmer and hang on filter?
What am I forgetting?

I was thinking of ordering live rock from Premium Aquatics. I kinda decided to get like 20 pounds for my 44 gallon tank. And then buy livesand and base rock from somewhere here in the bay area. The price with shipping comes to just under 9 dollars a pound. seems high. But all the stores here in the bay area I saw were charging 6 bucks a pound for "live rock" that looked like they were just dead coral with some algee on it. People say premium sells good stuff. But still 9 bucks?!

I just mixed up the water and salt last night in the tank. I know your supposed to add the sand first, but it takes soooo long to process 44 gallons of water with a RO/DI unit. I figured i could mix it all up in my tank (dont have room for a giant garbage can to mix in) How much should i leave free for displacement? I mean 30-40 pounds of rock and a bunch of sand (not sure how much sand i need) seem like they are going to create some major displacement.

coral reefer · Dec 4, 2006

Glipzcom said: ↑

Ok I am super scared of this first step. I have been putting it off because now I need to buy something that has the posibility of dying (live rock)
Questions I think i need answered:
What else do I need to do?
What tests do I do and how often?
Do I run the lights in a normal day cycle?
Should the water temperature be higher since im just doing rock?
Should i be running the protein skimmer and hang on filter?
What am I forgetting?

As is the case for any live rock, things will die, the object is to lessen the amount of die off associated with cycling, shipping and transferring live rock
from place of collection to pet shop to your tank! Many of the organisms that have and will die off will be replaced by the same or different organisms so not to worry about the live rock.
You need to get something to start cycling the tank. Damsels, a piece of Shrimp from your local supermarket, or if you are daring like myself you could try a Clown, Trigger or Grouper! Now becareful though as you have to make decisions as to waht you plan on having in your tank and do you plan on a reef tank...that will dictate what fish you place in your tank for the cycling process.
As for the testing, you really don't need to test anything other that salinity and temp., pH and alkalinity can also be checked priodically. It is inevitable that you will have ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, so testing that will not change anything as you know you will have it as part of the cycling process. You can test for them down the road to see how far along the cycling process your tank is. Doing tests can be good during the cycling phase as it will help you get into the habit of testing as well as get you familiar with the procedure of the different test kits.
Your lights don't need to be on for the duration that they would
if you had coral and inverts-also this will spur microalgae growth. A good idea is to start with a couple hours and gradually increase the duration over a period of a few months. If you have metal Halide bulbs, this will help to break them in to their real color.
Temp should be fairly constant during the cycling process 78-84 degrees. I would try to treat your tank during the cycling process as if your tank were a mature established tank...<helps to develope good habits>
Keep the Skimmer running all the time-crucial for the removal of detritus/decaying and dead organisms. You should notice your skimmer picking up alot of nasty stuff from the water column.
Be sure not to add anything to your tank once the cycling begins and wait til the tank has completely cycled before adding any more fish and especially corals and inverts.
Also, I wouldn't do any water changes while the cycling is taking place.
Make sure that when placing your rock in your tank, you have it set up so that it doesn't come toppling down by inverts, or fish in your tank to damage or kill any livestock below.
Set your live rock and powerheads up in a way that you get good water flow in between your rock work and throughout your tank to eliminate dead spots.
I would have a 4" deep sand bed for the best denitrification in the benthic areas of your tank(substrate).
Keep feeding of your fish(if you go that route in the cycling process) to a minimum.
Clean your skimmer frequently for proper elimination of detritus.( once a week or sooner based on bioload and skimate collection)!
Well, this should help you with a beginner's understanding and hopefully I stated it fairly simple for you to grasp and lay the groundwork towards a successful and enjoyable tank and fascinating hobby!!!
Click to expand...

Glipzcom · Dec 4, 2006

Thanks. I think i can do all that. Allrighty I must get going. Sounds like I should probably just buy the cheap live rock from the local store to start. And as things get going better. then introduce more expensive live rock.

Sound good?

Birchell · Dec 31, 2006

That is what I did in my nano. I didnt want to pay shipping so I got the white rock localy. Later I got a rock with alot of purple on it, and it seeded the tank really fast. After the 6 month mark the tank was loaded with coraline, and I dont add anything to the tank. The main point of live rock is that it is loaded with bacteria, and worms that will help out alot with cleaning the tank. Everyone starts with crappy rock sometime, but as the tank matures it will get covered in algae, coraline, sponges, ect..... Youll know when the rock is maturing because it will start turning a grey/green color, lol or this is what my rock did after 6 - 7 months in the tank. Hope this helps,

Michael

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