Dry rock order of operation

Scubasteve11 · Feb 25, 2019

New reefer here. Hoping to get a little help with a few questions around correctly curing/cycling newly purchased drydrock (BRS reef saver). I've quickly learned this is a very expensive hobby so I'm trying to take it slow and get as much right the first go around as possible.

My initial thoughts are to cure the rock in a brute trashcan with rodi saltwater with a heater and powerhead (basically just a good cleaning and soaking for a week or so), and then dry the rock, aquascape and add to tank, cycle tank with a bacteria starter...

It would be great to hear your guys thoughts on getting this started off right!

Big G · Feb 25, 2019

Welcome to R2R! Sounds like you've got a good plan. Consider starting a build thread in the "members tanks" area. It's a great way to collect and document your progress.

Scubasteve11 · Feb 25, 2019

Big G said:
Welcome to R2R! Sounds like you've got a good plan. Consider starting a build thread in the "members tanks" area. It's a great way to collect and document your progress.

Thanks. I'll definitely get a build thread going soon.

Philipgonzales3 · Feb 25, 2019

I was under the impression that you did not need to cure this rock. Same rock I used. Just threw it in the tank and off to the races I went.

eggplantparrot · Feb 25, 2019

Better yet, cycle it in the brute for a month if not more in total darkness. Add a bunch of fish food so it grows a LOT of bacteria, then dump the high nitrate water and put rock into tank with new water. New dry rock is a magnet for algae, cycling for long time with no light will help curb that

Hemmdog · Feb 25, 2019

Scubasteve11 said:
New reefer here. Hoping to get a little help with a few questions around correctly curing/cycling newly purchased drydrock (BRS reef saver). I've quickly learned this is a very expensive hobby so I'm trying to take it slow and get as much right the first go around as possible.

My initial thoughts are to cure the rock in a brute trashcan with rodi saltwater with a heater and powerhead (basically just a good cleaning and soaking for a week or so), and then dry the rock, aquascape and add to tank, cycle tank with a bacteria starter...

It would be great to hear your guys thoughts on getting this started off right!

Don’t let it dry after you put it in the brute. No lights, just some starter bacteria . I use Dr. T one and only when cycling new rocks. If your going to cement rocks together do it before you put them in the brute. Let it cycle for 2 months. You will have success.

samnaz · May 9, 2019

Scubasteve11 said:
Thanks. I'll definitely get a build thread going soon.

got that build thread goin yet?

PatW · May 9, 2019

I agree with the above. It is better to cycle in the Brute. Testing the water for phosphates with the Hanna ULR tester would be a good idea. It will tell you if the rock is leaching phosphate. At the end of cycling, just move the wet rock into the display tank.

Scubasteve11 · May 9, 2019

samnaz said:
got that build thread goin yet?

Need to! On my list of things to do

Scubasteve11 · May 9, 2019

PatW said:
I agree with the above. It is better to cycle in the Brute. Testing the water for phosphates with the Hanna ULR tester would be a good idea. It will tell you if the rock is leaching phosphate. At the end of cycling, just move the wet rock into the display tank.

Great point about checking phosphates during the cycle.

Kaludar · May 9, 2019

Philipgonzales3 said:
I was under the impression that you did not need to cure this rock. Same rock I used. Just threw it in the tank and off to the races I went.

I'm using reefsaver as well and I was just going to cycle everything at once in the tank. Did you have any issues with algae since you didn't cycle yours seperately?

Sallstrom · May 9, 2019

Why not just put the new rocks in the new tank and save some time and effort

There might leach(leak? Not sure of the right English term) some phosphate from dry rocks, some add more phosphate than others. You can quite easily remove that phosphate from the tank water with some granular remover if you need to.

When you add light, there will be algae. You could hold your thumbs and wait for them to go away(they don't always go away by themselves), or you could add a good team of grazers cleaning the rocks for you.

There are a lot of ways of doing a startup for a reef tank. Just don't expect to follow a manual and get the expected result. It's a living ecosystem and you'll never can say for sure what turns it'll take

Philipgonzales3 · May 9, 2019

Kaludar said:
I'm using reefsaver as well and I was just going to cycle everything at once in the tank. Did you have any issues with algae since you didn't cycle yours seperately?

Not anything outside of the norm from what I hear. Had diatoms and some cyano but nothing too significant so far. Phosphates and nitrates have been low also.

cracker · May 9, 2019

All great advice above. However several things come to mind.
" I personally" like to soak new dry rock in a darkened barrel & power head for at least 2 weeks in new salt water, no bacteria yet ! Then test for Nutrients No3 & Po4 . As mentioned, Iv'e found dry rock can hold a lot of phosphates .This can lead to bad algae issues down the road . If it isn't too high add your bacteria in a bottle & proceed with the curing. Don't forget to ghost feed a little . I don't know how much time You have & this can take a while. Good Luck !