Bio pellet reactor to cycle dry rocks?

[Spiderguardnano]

Hey guys so I'm planning on getting some dry rock for a new build i was wondering are
You guys thoughts about running a biopellet reactor to
Remove phosphates?

 

[CodyRVA]

I use pellets to yes remove phosphates, but... you don't need pellets to cycle rock, and i'm not sure if there would be much of an advantage in doing so?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Randy F also recommended gfo. Even in just the bucket or bin with good flow.
I honestly dont know enough about biopellets.

 

[Spiderguardnano]

Or gfo would be a good option during the curing process of t
Dry rock

 

[FlyinBryan]

Nothing! You want that biologic process to take place! For long term tank health it has to cycle for a bare minimum of 30-45 days.

To kick off the bio-party add a couple large pieces of shrimp or just add gobs of food the first few days. No additives no anything, just a heater and a power head. NO filtration whatsoever, no bio-pellets, no gfo!

At day 30 test ammonia, if you read ANY you have too much! Let it sit for another 15 days.
Good luck!

 

[CodyRVA]

Agree with @FlyinBryan on needing the biological process. I've never heard of anyone running pellets or GFO while cycling or curing rock. The days taken to cycle is misleading though, this is going to depend on your tank volume. A 10G nano will cycle much faster than a 220G, but ultimately be patient!

 

[Spiderguardnano]

Not worried about the cycling ammonia process in worried about extracting the phosphates out of the rocks

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

yup, agreed, the gfo recommendation was more for used rock.
Randys test was to use rodi test po, place rock in water, wait a couple days test for po. If exess po is the concern.

 

[CodyRVA]

Not worried about the cycling ammonia process in worried about extracting the phosphates out of the rocks

You don't need to worry about that until you're adding waste (fish waste, food waste, etc) back into the water column. And in that case yes you can use GFO/Pellets, or both. I run both, in small amounts. Running either, or both, too heavily can strip your water column of nutrients and have an adverse affect on the system.

 

[FlyinBryan]

You HAVE to have those phosphates generate, break down to nitrates, nitrites, and then ammonia. This HAS to take place.
Phosphate removal later. Thats easy.
Also, please do much more research, at least a month or two before doing anything.
I ask for the sake of the fish, corals, the hobby, and, your wallet. Seriously.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

+1 on above. excess Po is our fault. not generally the rock. again unless used.

I personally dont run GFO or pellets. I use too many corals, diverse macros, diverse bacterial sources, Light fish bioload and feeding however.
But thats my experiment so far.

 

[tankstudy]

Generally, I test for phosphate before even cycling. If dry rocks are leaching phosphates, it can be anywhere from a couple weeks to 6 months or even longer depending on how much phosphate is bound to it. When I buy dry rock, if its not reading zero phosphates, I just chunk it. I like to buy from vendors who remove it for you.