Fishless Cycling with Dead Rock

Hello Dr. Tim,

I recently saw your video on mrsaltwatertank.com and you convinced me that your process and product is the best.

I'm not quite there yet but my plan is to purchase dead rock from Bulk Reef Supply (Pukani and Reef Saver). I will also have a Refugium underneath the tank for more sand/rock. It'll be a 75 Gallon tank and I would like to do a fishless cycle (with your ammonia product)

What is the process like with this type of setup? Get everything inside the tank with sand, dead rock; pour the One and Only; then pour the ammonia periodically and wait for the parameters to level down?

Should I go to my local fish store and buy a couple pieces of actual Live Rock to put in the refugium to get things going even more? Do you recommend mixing in some Live Sand when doing your fishless cycle to add more beneficial nutrients?

Is it a quick process even with dead rock to go ahead and add fish a couple days after adding One and Only and then Ammonia?

Sorry for all of the questions. I'm like all new hobbyists trying to do things right from the beginning and hoping to get good procedures when starting from an empty tank. I find the benefits of using Dead Rock too good to pass but I want to make sure I can still use your products!

Thanks!

 

Dear sramos1104

Thanks for questions - please see my answers below

I have had a couple of people use the Pukani rock and say that they had high ammonia before adding any ammonium chloride - so make sure after you set things up and get the water flowing to measure ammonia and nitrite before adding any ammonium chloride.

The sequence I would suggest is this but it can vary depending on the depth of the sand bed you are going to have:
Build a base of live rock on the tank on the tank bottom.
Add the sand - I personally don't use deep sand beds and I just have a preference of having the rock on the tank. But you can also add the sand first and build up the rock from that. Either way is ok.

Attach your filtration etc. It is much easier to work with the tank NOT filled with water. You can move things around etc with less of a mess.

After everything is set up add the saltwater. I prefer to mix the salt and water in a clean trash can never used for anything else and pump it into the tank. Mixing the salt in the tank is a mess and you never get all the salt to dissolve for a long time.

Now start the filtration and let everything run for at least a day and overnight - don't rush it. Make sure everything is working, the heater is set correctly, the tank is level, the lights work etc. If you need to work inside the tank you can drain water back into trash can.

After you are happy with everything and the salinity is right measure the ammonia and nitrite to get a baseline. Now assuming your ammonia and nitrite are zero or near it add the bacteria (shake well) and add the ammonium chloride to bring the ammonia up to around 3 ppm (mg/L). If the ammonia was high before you ever added ammonia than you may have to change water to get the ammonia down - you do not want the ammonia to be over 5 ppm. Then add the bacteria. Make sure to have the skimmer off and the UV (if you have one). Keep them off for 24 to 48 hours.

Measure ammonia and nitrite the next day. The goal is to get the system to consume say 2 to 3 ppm ammonia in 24 hours. Give it a little time - the bacteria have a short lag period 24 to 48 hours and then you will see they start consuming the ammonia and nitrite. Do not blindly add ammonia everyday because this may cause the ammonia to get too high (above 5 ppm).

I do not recommend mixing live sand but adding a few live rock pieces is fine

Never add fish to a tank that you are also adding ammonia to. Either start with a few fish or start with ammonia and wait until the test kits tell you there is no ammonia and no nitrite. When you can add ammonia in the morning and 24 hours later there is no ammonia and no nitrite than you are cycled and can add fish. How quick is relative - the process will be a lot faster than not adding bacteria and should be cycled in a week or less.

No worries - you're welcome. Just don't rush things. You can use my product with live rock or dead rock or a combo of the two. Keep us posted.

 

Thank you very much for all of that information! I feel a lot better and I think I have a good idea on how to get things started. I'm still a little while away from actually starting my tank but I will be calling you down the road to place an order. I'll go ahead and order Waste Away and any other products you recommend when I'm ready to order. Again i appreciate all of your advice. You make things easier for a new person entering the hobby.

 

You're welcome.

I do want to make sure you get the right products.
If you want to seed your tank with nitrifier than you want One & Only Live Nitrifying bacteria. If you want to speed-up the curing of live rock and get rid of organics you want Waste-Away.

Good luck with the tank!