dry rock cycling

Discussion in 'Live Rock' started by swagonwagon, May 2, 2012.

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  1. swagonwagon

    swagonwagon Plankton

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    So I have undertaken the task of upgrading my 60 gallon to a 110. Among other things, I am needing to add rock. So while I finish the rest of my projects pertaining to the new build, I just began cycling the new dry rock that will be going into the new tank. My current set up has about 65 pounds of live rock. Now my question would be should I add some of this live rock to the dry rock that is curing to seed it? The dry rock is reef saver from BRS and does not appear to have much former life, which of course means not much to fuel the cycle.
     
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  3. cosmo

    cosmo Giant Squid

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    you don't need to cure the dry rock from BRS, just add it and the live rock to the new set up and done. Or if ya wanna get it going ya can add some LR rubble to a bin with it and get it to become LR before adding.
     
  4. PghSteeler

    PghSteeler Tassled File Fish

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    I cant speak for the reef saver rock, but I ordered the Pukani and it had enough on it to cycle the tank even though it looked cleaned. 2 months later I found a decent sized crab claw that dropped out of a hole somewhere and is decaying lol
     
  5. swagonwagon

    swagonwagon Plankton

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    Well that is my idea. I mean to start off the rock with some bacteria already on it so that the new tank off to a good start. So I think that I will go ahead with some of the Live rock and seed the dry rock. Thanks for the response.
     
  6. Mr. Bill

    Mr. Bill Native Floridian

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    IIRC, the reef-saver is man-made, hence the name- it is not taken from a reef, and therefore, would not contain any organics from former lifeforms.

    That said, I agree with Cosmo- you can seed and cure it outside the tank, but it can be done inside the tank, as well, which personally I believe would be better so the resulting bio-filter would be adjusted to your tank's nutrient intake.
     
    Last edited: May 3, 2012
  7. swagonwagon

    swagonwagon Plankton

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    I would love to seed and cure it in the new tank but the current setup has fish and a few coral in it already. The new tank is going to be going in the same location as the current one. So it would be impossible to cure it inside the new tank. Also any recommendations on using the sand from the old set up? It's about a year old and does have some build up in it.
     
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  9. steve wright

    steve wright Super Moderator

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    how deep is it?
    if it was mine ,I would discard the sand, save a cup full, and use that to seed a new dry sand bed
     
  10. jesmontb

    jesmontb Flamingo Tongue

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    what the point in adding a cup full from the old tank?
     
  11. PghSteeler

    PghSteeler Tassled File Fish

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    That one cup with contain an uncountable number of bacteria species, worms, pods, all kidns of beneficial critters that would seed the new sandbed to help make it live fairly quickly. Reusing the entire old sandbed is not always the best idea because it becomes very striated and if stirred up can release nitrates and other stuff into the water you dont want there
     
  12. swagonwagon

    swagonwagon Plankton

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    So I have been thinking about it and I will most likely just pull out a cup or two of the old sand and use that, and just replace the rest. The sand bed is about five inches and pretty well saturated with algae growths both red and green. I have just put the first coat of paint on the new stand so I am getting close to making the big move. Now just need a bit more sand....