Dry rock

[mestorm121]

High reefers
I'm just now getting ready to set up my 125 and had a question about dry rock I want to start curing and currently I have it in salt water and a pump to circulate should I put something in there to start the bacterial?

 

[Dgunn]

I'm in the process of doing the same thing. I used Brightwell Aquatics Microbacter Start XLM which is a microbacteria source along with Quickcycl which is an ammonia source to feed the bacteria.

You add the bacteria first then the ammonia and monitor the Ammonia level, then the Nitrite level and finally the Nitrate level. I cycled the my rock for about a month along with some sand and I was finally able to put part of it in a 50 gallon breeder yesterday with my first fish.
It takes awhile, you need to be patient, there is a lot of information on the Brightwell Aquatics website.

here's a link to the entire kit and some information

Microbacter QuickCycl

Professional nutrients for fishless cycling and establishing strong nitrifying bacteria beds in freshwater and marine aquariums. Not your average ammonia source for starting the nitrogen cycle. Brightwell Aquatics MicroBacter QuickCycl contains the right strength of ammonium chloride along with...

www.marinedepot.com

 

[mestorm121]

Should I put a heater in with the dry rock?

 

[PacoPetty]

Put a heater in and add some bacteria. I have used Turbo Start 900 and Dr. Tim's and I have also used Microbacter with great success. I bought a bottle of Dr.Tim's ammonia to kick start my cycle and it was cycled very fast but I still tested for a few weeks before adding livestock. Also, keep it in a container with no lights. You do not need the lights to cycle your dry rock. Welcome and happy reefing!

 

[mestorm121]

I dont need to be fast because I still have about 2 or 3 months before I will have all the other gear for the tank so I am going to take it easy

 

[mrlavalamp]

looking for some advice in this topic.

Been cruising build threads and then searching a little.

Seems to me most people cure dry rock so they can add it straight to a tank with fish or shorten their cycle time, neither of those things concern me personally, even at the risk of "ugly tank syndrome" in the beginning (I kinda want to watch the process anyways).

I am still planning my tank, and haven't actually bought any rock yet, but I pick up the tank this weekend (a half cylinder 180 gallon, I CANNOT WAIT).

my plan:
Get tank set in place and purchase dry marcorock from BRS or dry rock from ARC reef
Assemble the dry rock inside the empty tank using epoxy to hold it into the shape I want.
put in sand
put in water and start cycling with dr. tims fishless system.

Are there any major pitfalls to this I am not realizing/catching? Again, I dont mind a little ugly tank while it cycles and getting any algae/diatom/cyano blooms would be expected (have already showed the boss what "bad" looks like and she doesnt mind looking at it either understanding it is part of the process).

Are there other benefits to tub cycling your rock besides hiding the ugliness and saving display tank cycle time?

 

[PacoPetty]

looking for some advice in this topic.

Been cruising build threads and then searching a little.

Seems to me most people cure dry rock so they can add it straight to a tank with fish or shorten their cycle time, neither of those things concern me personally, even at the risk of "ugly tank syndrome" in the beginning (I kinda want to watch the process anyways).

I am still planning my tank, and haven't actually bought any rock yet, but I pick up the tank this weekend (a half cylinder 180 gallon, I CANNOT WAIT).

my plan:
Get tank set in place and purchase dry marcorock from BRS or dry rock from ARC reef
Assemble the dry rock inside the empty tank using epoxy to hold it into the shape I want.
put in sand
put in water and start cycling with dr. tims fishless system.

Are there any major pitfalls to this I am not realizing/catching? Again, I dont mind a little ugly tank while it cycles and getting any algae/diatom/cyano blooms would be expected (have already showed the boss what "bad" looks like and she doesnt mind looking at it either understanding it is part of the process).

Are there other benefits to tub cycling your rock besides hiding the ugliness and saving display tank cycle time?

I did the same thing. I just put egg crate down before I put in my aquascape to keep it off my glass.

 

[TD82cat]

@mrlavalamp - In your case the only main benefit I can see from cycling in a brute container or something like it is the lack of light the rock will receive. In an aquarium even with no tank lights on it will still receive ambient light from the room. This can be enough to make the ugly phase more pronounced and maybe longer. If you are ok with that then certainly your method might be less labor intensive. Trying to aqua scape and epoxy/chisel wet rock isn’t nearly as easy as if doing it dry from the beginning.

 

[mrlavalamp]

I did the same thing. I just put egg crate down before I put in my aquascape to keep it off my glass.

Saw a recommendation about using silicone to adhere them to the bottom glass.

I was planning to put large marcorock foundation pieces down on the glass (with or without silicone, still not sure on that).

I saw others mention using eggcrate to keep sand sifters from destabilizing their rocks, I figured silicone them down would be as good if not better (no sliding).

I was thinking a ~2" sand bed would be enough to protect the bottom from any falling rocks (larger peieces should be epoxied together well).

Should I add egg-crate instead of silicone or direct on the bottom? I plan to have sand sifters and diggers in there like a pistol shrimp+gobie pair.

 

[PacoPetty]

Saw a recommendation about using silicone to adhere them to the bottom glass.

I was planning to put large marcorock foundation pieces down on the glass (with or without silicone, still not sure on that).

I saw others mention using eggcrate to keep sand sifters from destabilizing their rocks, I figured silicone them down would be as good if not better (no sliding).

I was thinking a ~2" sand bed would be enough to protect the bottom from any falling rocks (larger peieces should be epoxied together well).

Should I add egg-crate instead of silicone or direct on the bottom? I plan to have sand sifters and diggers in there like a pistol shrimp+gobie pair.

I have used egg crate in all of my tanks and I love it. I just don't like the idea of siliconing my rocks to the bottom.