Cycling Questions

[Aveadonat]

Just setup my Waterbox CUBE20, and everything is setup. I got live sand and live rock. The skimmer is currently off, all I have on is my heater, Nero 3, Return pump, and some filter floss in the first chamber.

I have two primary questions, the first being should I keep my powerhead on for the first couple of weeks? I'm not really sure if it'll stir up the beneficial bacteria and potentially harm the tank, or if it really doesn't matter, but for now I'm keeping it on at about 10-40%.
My second question is when should I start the actual cycle? I plan on doing a cycle with a pair of clownfish, just adding the nitrifying bacteria and adding the fish after. I'm just wondering if it would be better to start the cycle as soon as tomorrow, or if I should wait around a week before doing it.

 

[brandon429]

Your cycle is done already, read this thread:

A thread tracking pure skip cycle instant reefs, no bottle bac

I'm at river city Aquatics in Austin rn Now this is skip cycle live rock If kept wet in saltwater it will not: Starve Get uncycled Fail to skip cycle Cause a mini cycle See all the coralline The bottom of the tank has pods and micro brittle stars, all healthy proof of being cycled with no...

www.reef2reef.com

do not buy or add bottle bac

dont add ammonia


dont test for cycle parameters or verify anything, just reef. We can see growths on your rock that prove the cycle is done.

 

[brandon429]

Technically it would be better to see the rocks in white light to make sure I’m seeing some small attachments like algae or coralline

but if that rock came wet from a pet store, that fits our thread above


if it was dry and thats just painted rock you’ll need to cycle

wet from the pet store = skip cycle live rock.

 

[Uncle99]

Live rock and sand…..READY!
Have fun.

 

[Aveadonat]

Technically it would be better to see the rocks in white light to make sure I’m seeing some small attachments like algae or coralline

but if that rock came wet from a pet store, that fits our thread above


if it was dry and thats just painted rock you’ll need to cycle

wet from the pet store = skip cycle live rock.

It was advertised as live rock but wasn't in any sort of water, felt a little weird but I talked to two of the people at that LFS and they both said it was live...

I'll attach some photos of the tank under white light

 

[Uncle99]

It was advertised as live rock but wasn't in any sort of water, felt a little weird but I talked to two of the people at that LFS and they both said it was live...

I'll attach some photos of the tank under white light

It doesn’t have to be in water during transport but should not have been bone dry as well.

 

[Aveadonat]

It doesn’t have to be in water during transport but should not have been bone dry as well.

It was basically bone dry, here's some images under white light however

 

[bushdoc]

If it was in water in LFS, then it might be Live rock, otherwise some LFS sell Dry rock, supposedly seeded with bacterial spores. I am not sure if I would trust this type of rock as being alive. Sure you can experiment and put fish there, but I wouldn't.
I gess you bought "Real Life Rock", which is a dry rock and I would treat it as such, so your cycle has not started yet.

 

[mrpontiac80]

It was basically bone dry, here's some images under white light however

Are you sure it wasn’t CaribSea LIFE rock? Life rock is dry rock, colored purple and has “bacteria” added to it to help speed up a cycle. This is what waterbox sells, and also what I’ve used…. But it is NOT live rock.

 

[mrpontiac80]

This is a pic of my Caribsea life rock packaging if that helps you identify it

 

[Aveadonat]

Are you sure it wasn’t CaribSea LIFE rock? Life rock is dry rock, colored purple and has “bacteria” added to it to help speed up a cycle. This is what waterbox sells, and also what I’ve used…. But it is NOT live rock.

I asked for live rock and this is what they gave me, I've heard of this type of rock though and in the back of my head was wondering if that's what it is. Is it worth chancing it and adding fish already or should I play it safe and add bacteria?

 

[ckuhny3]

Be patient. That is caribsea life rock from the looks of it. Don’t rush to put fish into a tank that isn’t ready for it

 

[Aveadonat]

Be patient. That is caribsea life rock from the looks of it. Don’t rush to put fish into a tank that isn’t ready for it

Thank you, even if it was liverock I was going to wait a few days to make sure there wasn't any chlorine or any impurities, and so that my temp/salinity was good.

 

[brandon429]

Since it was not obviously wet, buy the bacteria


send this thread of yours to the lfs Facebook page so they can make amends for being unclear on sales practices, agreed they don’t sound reliable in the matter.


live rock is as clear cut as our thread shows


dry rock is dry, there’s such a distinction, they’re not even sure themselves it seems.

 

[ckuhny3]

Thank you, even if it was liverock I was going to wait a few days to make sure there wasn't any chlorine or any impurities, and so that my temp/salinity was good.

I would wait a month before any livestock and ghost feed the tank or add ammonia . But hey that’s me

 

[mrpontiac80]

I asked for live rock and this is what they gave me, I've heard of this type of rock though and in the back of my head was wondering if that's what it is. Is it worth chancing it and adding fish already or should I play it safe and add bacteria?

It’s good rock though. Just not live. It kinda helps with the startup for looks since it’s already purple.

 

[Aveadonat]

Since it was not obviously wet, buy the bacteria


send this thread of yours to the lfs Facebook page so they can make amends for being unclear on sales practices, agreed they don’t sound reliable in the matter.


live rock is as clear cut as our thread shows


dry rock is dry, there’s such a distinction, they’re not even sure themselves it seems.

Does it matter when I use the bac and start my cycle? I was probably going to do it in a couple of days, but I'm not sure.

 

[Aveadonat]

Would running back to my LFS to get a small piece of live rock be a good idea? Just to have some sort of live rock in the tank, rather than it all being iffy when it comes to what bacteria is actually on it

 

[bushdoc]

Would running back to my LFS to get a small piece of live rock be a good idea? Just to have some sort of live rock in the tank, rather than it all being iffy when it comes to what bacteria is actually on it

This might be a better solution: https://tbsaltwater.com/product/pico-package/
LFS do not usually carry genuine Live Rock anymore, but they can carry some man made rock or Marco Dry Rock, which they keep underwater. It is better then just dry rock,it definitely have some good bacteria on it, but nothing beats genuine Live Rock like one from Tampa Bay.

 

[Aveadonat]

This might be a better solution: https://tbsaltwater.com/product/pico-package/
LFS do not usually carry genuine Live Rock anymore, but they can carry some man made rock or Marco Dry Rock, which they keep underwater. It is better then just dry rock,it definitely have some good bacteria on it, but nothing beats genuine Live Rock like one from Tampa Bay.

Thank you, I'll check this out.

My last question is if I do stick with the rock already in the tank, would a fish-in cycle work well, and if so is it better to do it sooner rather than later? Fish-in cycle seems the most appealing to me, although I am open to other suggestions.