Curing dry rock & simultaneous new tank cycle?

[Savant]

I have a question in regards to curing dry rock and cycling a new tank. I have read that dry rock needs to be cured in unlit, heated saltwater for aprox 4 weeks, is it possible to set up a new tank w/ssb, aqua-scape it with dry rock, then cure/cycle at the same time? I am not in a rush to add living things to the tank (73g) and I thought I might be able to use this "cure/cycle" time to procure the other pieces of $$ equipment (protein skimmer & lights). Also if this is possible, how long is it feasible to go w/o adding corals/fish.

What I'm working towards:

a tank with Shrooms, Nems, lps and Zoa
small fish- low numbers

Thanks in advance

S.

 

[Bluesaltwater87]

Well for dry rock what i will usually do is do the no light and heated cure way. mostly because it is a lot less of a pain in the you know what. but i go a little extra and put in a piece of raw shrimp in just to give it that little bit more help. but i have never done the cycle/cure way. i just went with what i knew worked.

 

[cdness]

I cycled my first tank (75G) with 75 pounds of dry rock from BRS. That's when I realized the weight recommendation was for WET rock which is heavier. I took some out and let it cycle. The issue with this is your bacteria cycle will be longer due to the stuff in the rock and no live bacteria. But use a table shrimp and let the cycle run. Just when it is finished, add fish slowly to not shock the tank with nutrients and cause another cycle.

In other words... If you are cycling a new tank anyway, just do it all in the tank. This way you can work on the aquascape at the same time

 

[Savant]

Thanks for the answers!
Thats what I was thinking, that because it was new there really doesnt seem to be a reason not to cycle/cure at the same time.

 

[JLight]

Yeah like cdness said you don't need to cure the dry rock separate from your tank if your tank is new. Aloe of dry rock has things that were once living stuck in all the nooks and crannies so it will raise your ammonia. I did 55 pounds from BRS in my 75 and it raised my ammonia to 1.0ppm which worked well when I used Dr. Tim's one and only.

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[BeardedReefer]

How long does live rock have to be out of a tank for all bacteria to die off and need recycling?

 

[JLight]

I don't know the answer to that to be honest. I know when you get dry rock is not really dry it's damp. So I think if you leave it out and let it dry completely you'll be ok

 

[Coraloliseffect]

When the ammonia spikes and the rest of your cycle. the beneficial bacteria will colonize on all surfaces. Including your dry rock +++

Martin mo 's book talks a method using pure ammonia to kick the cycle into high gear(must be pure no additives ). This in conjunction with seed bacteria (dr dims, piece of live rock, or eVen some active sand.) has worked well for me.

 

[Reefing Madness]

How long does live rock have to be out of a tank for all bacteria to die off and need recycling?

After the rock has completely dried out. But, if it even partially dries out, you will lose some of the bacteria that was on it.

 

[bavass]

The reason for the cure of dry rock for 4 weeks is to help bring the PO4 out of the rock. Its fine to add a shrimp and start the cycle. However some suggest to do a 100% water change after 4 weeks fill the tank and add another shrimp to see if it continues to cycle. That way you reduce the unwanted nutrients and the algae blooms will not be as bad