cycling without live rock

[JR's Reef]

Can you do it and if so how? I about to redo and recycle my tank but dont want to add LR due to pest if I dont have to.

 

[oceanparadise1]

I know of a couple ways


Add a fish like a damsel(not the best way thou)

Throw in a cocktail shrimp

add a cup of seeded live sand

 

[phil_pl]

i would go with the shrimp and the seeded sand myself depending on the system
i run HOB filters and i established my filters on another tank before i started the new one, didnt have any spikes when i added fish

 

[roshi719]

Yup seed the bacteria with a cup of sand from a buddy's tank and throw in one or a few cocktail shrimp, depending on tank size. I would put the shrimp in a media bag though as it will make removing them easier down the road.

 

[roshi719]

Main thing is you need:

1. a source of bacteria (sand or can dose bacteria ie. microbacter7)
2. a source of ammonia to feed the bacteria (this is what the decaying shrimp does)

 

[AlexStinson]

if you use uncured live rock the curing process should eliminate pest, i would assume

 

[roshi719]

if you use uncured live rock the curing process should eliminate pest, i would assume

You would think so, but most of the unwanteds can live through some harsh water conditions.

 

[JR's Reef]

Thanks yall. Going with all dry rock and the tank size is a 100g with a 20g under stand conected to the sump. The 20 has live sand in it but cant move it up cuz its black and dont want black and white sand. Think I'll add a few peices of LR down there to help get things started.

 

[PLNelson]

I would also recommend giving all of the dry rock an acid bath. Just to be on the safe side. I added a piece of rock that had been out of a system for about a month, and completely dry, to a new system, about two weeks later, it has algae growing on it. all the other rock in the system was acid bathed, and is still free of algae

 

[Russellaqua]

You would think so, but most of the unwanteds can live through some harsh water conditions.

Totally agree. Many things can survive that kind of stress, just not fish or coral. I've seen peanut worms survive for weeks in rock that took a month to fully cure at an LFS my cousin used to own.

 

[kirkleigh84]

What do you meen by acid bath. What do you put in the water?

 

[dbarker]

What kind of acid and what procedure would you use in an acid bath? Thanks, Debbie

 

[UC / Apsley]

definitely don't use Lysergic Acid Diethylamide :tongue:

 

[PLNelson]

Muriatic acid. It's used to clean concrete. I'm not sure of the proportions, but do a search and you should be able to find it.

 

[Blackhawk Fan]

I just bleached all my rock and it killed everything. I had a terrible encrusting gorgonian pest that is now history.

 

[beaslbob]

Can you do it and if so how? I about to redo and recycle my tank but dont want to add LR due to pest if I dont have to.

Simple. You add macro algae and let the macro "cycle" the tank. What happens is the macro consumes the ammonia directly preventing the ammonia and nitrIte spikes. With a much safer initial nitrate spike that drops down after a few weeks.


just my .02