Circulating live rock and dead rock

Discussion in 'Live Rock' started by siidman, Nov 17, 2013.

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  1. siidman

    siidman Bristle Worm

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    I'm going to be starting another reef aquarium after taking a few years off because of work. Unfortunately I've forgotten most of what I've learned in the past. I have to leave out of state for a month and so my plan is to pick up about 110 lbs of live rock from a guy I know and put it in a rubbermaid with another 80 lbs of base rock with a heater and a powerhead hoping that it will start the process of turning the base rock into live rock and killing off any hitch hikers and also keeping the live rock "live." Is my thinking correct here or am I missing something or anyone have any other suggestions or recommendations??
    Thanks
     
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  3. Marshall O

    Marshall O Giant Squid

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    Your plan sounds fine, except that if you don't feed the rock at all, then it really won't be all that alive once done.
     
  4. siidman

    siidman Bristle Worm

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    How do I feed the rock? Would putting some cycle type stuff in with it be sufficient?
     
  5. Marshall O

    Marshall O Giant Squid

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    Just a pinch of food every few days or even a week. Something for the bacteria to consume is all.
     
  6. Mr. Bill

    Mr. Bill Native Floridian

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    +1

    Since you will be gone for a month, I'd recommend the typical raw cocktail shrimp cycle; the shrimp will slowly decay, providing ammonia for your biofilter for the duration.
     
  7. oldfishkeeper

    oldfishkeeper Giant Squid

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    I don't think that your method will for sure get rid of hitchhikers on the live.
     
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  9. siidman

    siidman Bristle Worm

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    Would a bottle of cycle or a bottle of purple up be beneficial?
     
  10. Camkha1234

    Camkha1234 Great Blue Whale

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    I used microbacter7 for my rock and it worked well. Some people claim that their rock cycled in a week or two, but I would cycle for the full month or longer, depending on the test results you get. I've heard not to use purple up as they don't list all of their ingredients on the bottle.