My 225 Gallon Set-up

Not getting anal but the island on the left came from rock I was curing for about 3 - 5 months and the island on the right came from my 125 setup. Half the black sand was live and half wasn't(40lbs of the sand had the bacteria in it but I don't know how true that is.

Once again you are correct.

 

Update

I added pellets to the tank to try and see a cycle jump off and after a couple days here are the results:

Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
pH - 8 8.2

From Ant's and Pickup's theory, I shouldn't have cycle. Should the pellets set it off or that much bacteria was still in there. How about the rock being exposed to the air until I filled it up. Shouldn't there been some die off?

 

live rock is a 2 step filter u have aerobic and anerobic bacteria with in you rock. one is present at or near the surface of your LR and the other is with in your LR (if im wrong someone pls feel free to correct)
cycle is from the harvest of live rock mostly, for example it has sponges, corals, and other living things on its surface that make it stink.
if you pick up a piece like i did at the store and it smells bad its gona cycle, thats one way to tell if its gona cycle.

 

I got that much. I was referring to the tank cycling overall. Not just the rock. So basically I have to add a fish or two to double check.

 

its not gona cycle.

 

I hate myself because you are right. Even with 270 gallons of fresh RO salt mixed water?

 

that is correct. my tank was setup with 1/2 of the rock from the previous owner and 1/2 dry rock form my old that that was left out in the sun for 2 months or more. I scrubbed the chit out of it then put it in the sump with the "good" rock and ran it for a week like that while I got the plumbing done. Incidentally, the sand was from someone else's tank that was washed by them and then left to sit in buckets. the guy who brought it to me said it made his car smell like a "dead Whale"! I washed the tar out of it with a fine mesh colander and tap water, then put it in my tank one scoop at a time. then the rock went in. the water was 100% fresh when I started as the water that the rocks soaked in was contaminiated with r134a refrigerant and chiller compressor oil.

given all that, I barely saw any spike at all. I have even brought online a coil denitrator that is cycling and I havent noticed any spike caused by it so somewhere the bacteria are being processed.

you will be good dude. I had 2 fish in mine from day 1 and had it not been for ICH beign introduced into my tank, I would have had SPS 2 weeks ago.

 

nice ! that alone is alot for a person to go through !

 

Cool. Thanks for the input.

I am not worthy of you!!!

 

I am not worthy of you!!![/QUOTE]


lol man ur a trip ! just trying to help save you cash and time man