Ready to start my Rock Cycle...Need Help!!!!

3 weeks later....added rock to seed...What next?

So tomorrow I will start to cycle my rock that I picked up a couple of weeks ago for my 90gal reef set up. The rock has been out of water for an unknown amount of time. I have a 55 gal tank that I will use to cycle the tank. What do i need to know, and what equipment do i need to have to get this rock cycled. I have a heater, some small powerheads, salt mix, and i will get water from the LFS. Do i scrub the rock, do i bleach it? I need help..Thanx in advance...

 

Why don't you just cycle the rock in the 90? If you want to do it in the 55, fill it with water and heat the water. Add the appropriate amount of salt. Then add the rock and let it sit for a few weeks. You can add the power head, that will help. When the water parameters test 0 for ammonia, nitrite your rock has cycled and you can add it to the 90.

 

My stand is not finished and im waiting for my RO unit. So i would by just enough water from the LFS to cycle the rock. Do i need to do water changes? do i need to scrub the rock down first?

 

I dont think you have to use RO to cycle the rock...I may be wrong..but if not it would save a few bucks!

And yes you should scrub the rock first..get all the dead/decaying junk off of it

 

You could just use treated tap water (with salt and temp of course!)to cycle the rock, as long as your tap water isn't horribly polluted or anything. Thats what I used and it worked fine, if its been out of the water that long everything on the rock is dead anyway.

 

i would use ro cause any phosphates and silicates will be removed and not settle in the rock for future algae outbreaks.

 

I scrub my LR once a week when curing. Helps get any dead off and keeps things a little cleaner. You can suck up whatever dead debris come off the rock with a hose.

 

what to use to scrub...a stainless steel brush?

 

My multipurpose scrubbrush is shower back scrubber with soft plastic bristtles. My wife bought it for me, I broke the handle off to get in tight spots and been using it for two years now.

 

So i got water in the tank. Salinity is at 1.020, 80lbs of rock, rio hf pump going. Water got fuzzy yesterday so i added the emperor 400 w/ new activated carbon and filter pad. How long after the carbon has been added to the system should the water clear up? Its been almost 24 hours with good flow through the power filter. Am i missing anything else?