525 Reefer Cycle Questions

[Old Glory]

I have had a tank in the past but its been 8 years since I started one from scratch. I am in the process of gathering materials for a 525 Red Sea Reefer. (https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/old-glorys-reefer-525-xl.314071/#post-3870122).

When setting up my tank I always thought of it as establishing a viable and significant bacteria population rather than cycling the tank. Said another way the goal is to grow bacteria. The cycle is how that bacteria breaks down waste.

So my efforts to establish a bacteria population have included purchasing dry rock from BRS and Marco - Pukani 65 lbs; Fiji 25lbs; Tonga shelf 30 lbs; and Marco base rock20 lbs. The rock has been curing in barrels for 4 weeks with heaters and pumps. After 4 weeks I transferred it to a 100 gallon tub with fresh salt water, heaters, and pumps. The rock has some dead stuff on it so for the first 4 weeks I didn't add anything to it. I wanted to cure the rock and clean it up. I did add Birospira after about a week of curing.

After I transferred to the tub I started adding pelleted food to keep feeding the bacteria. The rock has been in the tub for almost 4 weeks now so just about 8 weeks total. I have not tested the water yet. I just received my kits and will start testing once I transfer to the tank which will be Monday.

Besides testing is there anything else I should do? I will be adding Dr. Tim's once the rock is in the new tank. I was hoping to cure the rock and establish a strong bacteria population while the rock was in the tub and I was waiting for my tank to arrive.

Thanks!

 

[brandon429]

you've done really well. completely totally unassisted cycling involves dry substrates and water, and time, and the bac will still get in and self feed after a good 60-90 days depending on conditions. this is how we cycled fw tanks back in the 80s, nothing fancy in a bottle avail other than start right. you have boosted the cycle a bit by feeding, the bio spira, having organics on the rocks, and bacteria already gets in and 30 days underwater would be able to pass a digestion test of 1 or 2 ppm ammonia. 60 days is a home run, nothing else needs to happen now. you could even stop feeding and the bac would still take over, that's nice to withhold some organics in prep for early algae battles but in the end you are doing great.

The system can carry a basic bioload as of now, that's enough submersion time and anything beyond is just sweetening the deal/

 

[Old Glory]

you've done really well. completely totally unassisted cycling involves dry substrates and water, and time, and the bac will still get in and self feed after a good 60-90 days depending on conditions. this is how we cycled fw tanks back in the 80s, nothing fancy in a bottle avail other than start right. you have boosted the cycle a bit by feeding, the bio spira, having organics on the rocks, and bacteria already gets in and 30 days underwater would be able to pass a digestion test of 1 or 2 ppm ammonia. 60 days is a home run, nothing else needs to happen now. you could even stop feeding and the bac would still take over, that's nice to withhold some organics in prep for early algae battles but in the end you are doing great.

The system can carry a basic bioload as of now, that's enough submersion time and anything beyond is just sweetening the deal/

Awesome thanks for the reply. The tank is coming Monday so I hope to have it set up and leak tested by the weekend so I can add salt water and the rocks!

 

[johnzena]

Following up on what Old Glory has done, I am about 6 weeks into researching reef tanks for the first time and gathering supplies for my first build. I have purchased a 75 gallon tank and I am diy-ing overflows and sump. Getting a jump on my rock cycling would be awesome. So my first post on this fabulous site is how do I accomplish this. I am being very patient and researching, reading and reading and researching. I dont see my tank up and running for another 2 to 3 months but to have my rock cycling beforehand would be a home run. Would you be so kind as to explain the process.

 

[Old Glory]

Following up on what Old Glory has done, I am about 6 weeks into researching reef tanks for the first time and gathering supplies for my first build. I have purchased a 75 gallon tank and I am diy-ing overflows and sump. Getting a jump on my rock cycling would be awesome. So my first post on this fabulous site is how do I accomplish this. I am being very patient and researching, reading and reading and researching. I dont see my tank up and running for another 2 to 3 months but to have my rock cycling beforehand would be a home run. Would you be so kind as to explain the process.

Hi like I said in my post I mixed up some salt water and filled two trash barrels with rock and the salt water. I added a heater and a pump to rack one and just let it run. The rock I used was dry rock from BRS and the Pukani and Figi rock came with lots of dead stuff attached. I lightly brushed the exposed dried up sponges and other organic materials but there still was plenty left in the crevices. This stuff will start to decompose and break down into ammonia. I seeded the barrels with Birospira to help speed things up. The Marco rock was very clean.

After 4 weeks of letting it cure I transfered it over to the big tub. It has been in the tub with salt water and heaters and pumps running for about 3 1/2 weeks. I ghost fed to keep the bacteria active and growing. That's really it. If I were to keep it curing/cycling for a longer time I would switch the water every two weeks...at least partially.

 

[johnzena]

Excellent. I will set it up. Thank you.