Help with Dry Rock. Experts needed lol

[Jordan Siehr]

But wont there be enough dead stuff on the rock for it to start the cycle? Like BarbH said? And how to I break up dry rock (any rock for that matter) in a controlled manner? Like not just smashing it with a hammer and losing frags lol.

 

[Loki]

Yes there should be enough die off from the dry rock. When I cycled my tank this time I didn't use a fish or shrimp. My cycle took right at 8 weeks.

 

[Loki]

Why do you want to break it? If you order from bulkreefsupply you can tell them what size pieces you want.

I would use a hammer and a flathead screwdriver or chisel if you have one.

I also sawed some of the "ends" off of my rock to make a flat bottom to give them more stability.

 

[thewackyreefer]

I'm not sure what "die off" on dry rock is being referred to...the rocks are literally dry with nothing on them. Sorry if I missed something there.

Buy a bottle of Brightwell Microbacter 7, use as directed for a new tank and call it a day.

 

[Loki]

The rocks I got from BRS had quite a bit of junk on them. It was enough for it to break down into ammonia. Maybe I am wrong and the ammonia came from another place but I didn't add it.

 

[Jordan Siehr]

I am going to get 16lbs of "Reef Saver" from BRS. How do I specify rock size when I purchase it?

 

[Loki]

Two ways. You can call and place your order, or when checking out online there should be a box where you can enter information.

 

[Jordan Siehr]

Okay thanks!

 

[Saltwatertaylor]

Hmm, it sounds like the rock isnt dead if it is causing your ammonia to spike. Ammonia is commonly caused from fish waste. Thats very odd to have high ammonia with no fish yet though.

 

[Loki]

Ammonia is from any decaying matter. The rocks aren't power washed or anything just dry. There can still be old dry sponges, dead coral, crap from sitting in the dirt/mud. When I got my rocks in there was quite a bit of gunk on them. They weren't nasty or anything but I wasn't surprised that they caused the ammonia. I ran my skimmer for the whole cycle and it pulled a lot of stuff out of the water. It always smelled like salty dirt. So I assumed it was stuff from the rocks.