Cycling with dead/dry rock.

I ordered 40 lbs of fuji pukanani (sp) from BRS, im going to add about 35lbs or maybe all 40 to my 29g biocube and it already has arragonite sand in there, im then going to add x galons of salt water, and a damsel to try to get it to cycle, but my LFS said since the rock is totally dead/dry that I wont even cycle for a couple months?

Is this true? Advice/tips?

Also anyone near/around illinios willing to send me some coraline scrapings or some LR rubble with coraline on it, ill pay for shipping/ect if you would be so kind.

Thanks in advance!

 

I don't think so, but I may be wrong. I will be watching this one close as we are in the same boat here. You wont be disappointed with your rock!

 

Ive had my tank up and running now with that same rock for 3 weeks now. Ammonia, Nitrite and nitrate have all spiked, and ammonia is now at 0 and nitrite is sitting at 1ppm. I'm doing ghost feedings in my tank just to help keep some what of a bio load in there while its cycling. There apparently was enough dead organisms on the rock for it to start cycling on its own because withing the first day I was seeing high amounts of ammonia. I put in roughly 80 or so pounds into a 90 gallon tank.

 

I would agree to a point with ultra. Your tank will continue to cycle as long as you increase the bio load. You are better off with a heavy cycle and filling with a bio load to match then having a small cycle and then over stocking and then recycling again and again. The LFS has some bacteria to help with it too. I have even heard of some people using urine to introduce a larger amount of ammonia to start a large amount of bacteria.

 

so the cycle will begin no matter what once i introduce a fish correct? im not worried about how long it will take to end, he explained it to me in a way that it wont even begin really for a long while.

 

I started with all dry base rock and dry sand on Aug 1st, added 3 jumbo raw gulf shrimps to start the cycle. As of today the cycle is nearly complete, the ammonia finally hit 0 and the nitrites dropped from 1.0+ to 0.25 in the last 3 days.
It takes a bit longer to cycle but you dont get any surprise tank inhabitants.
you can speed the process along by adding a cup of sand from an established tank if you care to or even adding a few pounds of cured liverock, but that would defeat the attemp to avoid surprises by using only dry rock

 

Just an eco-tip. Cycling with a fish, no matter how hardy they are is always painful for the fish. You could cycle your tank with a 1lb piece of live rock, and save the fish.

I went all live rock from a huge (800G) system. Add in live sand, and your tank can cycle very quickly, without fish. Besides, chances are you won't keep that damsel once your tank cycles, why not skip it and just use something else?