Cycling a tank with live rock

[Mike7744]

I am cycling a tank with live rock. Should I take the rock out and give it a scrub in saltwater to remove debris or just leave it alone.

 

[Stephen8169301]

Welcome to R2R! IMO I’d get a baster and just blow it off how far are you into the cycle

 

[Dragonreef202]

Welcome it sounds like beginning of the cycle . Are you testing the Water as well

 

[vetteguy53081]

I am cycling a tank with live rock. Should I take the rock out and give it a scrub in saltwater to remove debris or just leave it alone.

I placed mine right in the tank. There are beneficial substances in the pores often. You can clean the rock with Gentle blasts from a turkey baster but for dust removal. Focus on the cycle itself. You may be able since its seeded rock skip the addition of ammonia chloride but add a small amount of food to increase ammonia , then you will want to monitor ammonia , When your ammonia is steady at zero for 5 days and Nitrate is steady at 20 or below- You are cycled. Ignore nitrIte Unless sky high
The tank will go through two phases in which ammonia will rise then fall and nitrate will rise and fall which is normal. When fish are added, the bacteria population will increase with the new bio load, converting waste to nitrate.

 

[bushdoc]

Few months ago I ordered Live rock from two sources, one was TBS, which was shipped in water, with lots of critters, including some crabs, feather dusters etc. This type you can put directly in DT, although I would recommend to keep it in a container for few days and examine for pest hitchhikers. The other Live rock was an Australian one and it arrived in wet paper, with lots of decaying matter. I kept it in brute container for over a week and scrubbed decaying matter few times.

 

[brandon429]

Where did the rock come from

 

[Mike7744]

Where did the rock come from

Gulf live rock

 

[brandon429]

that rock shows up with the maximum degree of bacteria you can have in reefing + animals the ocean procures onto the rocks that reef tanks usually won't keep long term

its ok to brush off or rinse off any decaying matter outside the main tank so that when you set the rock in the larger tank you're not wasting up the water inside, try to insert cleanish rocks into the actual reef for wait time of ten days and you can change water a few times in the leadup

you aren't waiting ten days to gain bacteria, it's full already, you're waiting ten days for dieoff from ocean organisms to cure down to the approximate levels a reef tank will keep long term. If that was my rock and it had a bunch of algaes and tunicates attached as they sometimes do I'd scrape those out with a knife not a brush, to effectively remove them ahead of time, the rock is mainly what you're in it for

clean up the rock manually, set it in some water and be doing water changes for ten days then it's ready for use. you won't need to test things with this kind of rock, just go by smell. if your water smells normal with the rocks in it after ten days begin reefing that's good enough.

 

[Mike7744]

that rock shows up with the maximum degree of bacteria you can have in reefing + animals the ocean procures onto the rocks that reef tanks usually won't keep long term

its ok to brush off or rinse off any decaying matter outside the main tank so that when you set the rock in the larger tank you're not wasting up the water inside, try to insert cleanish rocks into the actual reef for wait time of ten days and you can change water a few times in the leadup

you aren't waiting ten days to gain bacteria, it's full already, you're waiting ten days for dieoff from ocean organisms to cure down to the approximate levels a reef tank will keep long term. If that was my rock and it had a bunch of algaes and tunicates attached as they sometimes do I'd scrape those out with a knife not a brush, to effectively remove them ahead of time, the rock is mainly what you're in it for

clean up the rock manually, set it in some water and be doing water changes for ten days then it's ready for use. you won't need to test things with this kind of rock, just go by smell. if your water smells normal with the rocks in it after ten days begin reefing that's good enough.

That sounds great I'll do that, My rock has some barnacle looking things on it that are alive will they survive the die. Off from the rock. I would like to keep them.

 

[brandon429]

I say keep them, a reef tank/that rock will handle some death if they dont make it it would be mainly huge stands of algae or tunicates or weird sponges I would scrape off with a knife, a couple barnacles are ok in my opinion

 

[JoJosReef]

I say keep them, a reef tank/that rock will handle some death if they dont make it it would be mainly huge stands of algae or tunicates or weird sponges I would scrape off with a knife, a couple barnacles are ok in my opinion

Maybe give the tunicates and sponges a judicious look! I have a bland (but interesting) brown tunicate with a hole on either side that has survived and grown for over a year, and I have white ball-shaped sponges that are sitting at the back of the rocks in the shade that have grown for over a year!

The sponges in direct LED light and some of the black sponges and red tunicates didn't last long. Those don't seem as hardy in aquariums.

Barnacles did alright until nuisance algae got the best of them. I still see a few feelers out occasionally, but most of them didn't make it past 6 mo or so.

I broadcast Reef Nutrition liquid foods of all sizes 5x per week for filter feeders.