How long before my cycle starts...

[Gribbliest]

Hey all,

So, I now have everything up and running in my new tank. I've never used Dry Live Rock before, and was wondering how long I should expect to wait before I read any Nitrate in my tank...

What should I expect over the coming weeks? Is there anything I can do to kick-start this?

200gal system, 180lb of Carib-Sea arag-alive, plenty of rock (I forget the weight right now)

Pointers and advice gratefully received!

-G

 

[Radman73]

Hey all,

So, I now have everything up and running in my new tank. I've never used Dry Live Rock before, and was wondering how long I should expect to wait before I read any Nitrate in my tank...

What should I expect over the coming weeks? Is there anything I can do to kick-start this?

200gal system, 180lb of Carib-Sea arag-alive, plenty of rock (I forget the weight right now)

Pointers and advice gratefully received!

-G

What kind of rock? If it's Pukani or some other sort of dry rock that was once wet, I highly recommend curing it or cleaning it outside of the tank vs inside.

 

[tankstudy]

Hey all,

So, I now have everything up and running in my new tank. I've never used Dry Live Rock before, and was wondering how long I should expect to wait before I read any Nitrate in my tank...

If your not adding any bacterial supplement, it could take weeks to months.

What should I expect over the coming weeks? Is there anything I can do to kick-start this?

If your not a fan of waiting forever to grow sufficient amounts of bacteria, you can buy the bacteria and just dump it in to your system. Really speeds the cycle up.

 

[Gribbliest]

Fiji Dry Live rock and Dry Tonga Shelf.

Out of interest, what's the logic behind curing outside of the tank?

 

[Gribbliest]

If your not adding any bacterial supplement, it could take weeks to months.



If your not a fan of waiting forever to grow sufficient amounts of bacteria, you can buy the bacteria and just dump it in to your system. Really speeds the cycle up.

I am happy to wait, I don't want to rush - was just intrigued. I was planning to supplement bacteria, but wondered if I need to add anything for the bacteria to feed on - or whether there should be enough in the rock to get things started...

 

[Radman73]

Fiji Dry Live rock and Dry Tonga Shelf.

Out of interest, what's the logic behind curing outside of the tank?

Some rock can come loaded with dead organisms and bound phosphate. Curing or cleaning it can remove the majority of these organisms. I used Pukani but bleached and then gave an acid bath.

 

[tankstudy]

I am happy to wait, I don't want to rush - was just intrigued. I was planning to supplement bacteria, but wondered if I need to add anything for the bacteria to feed on - or whether there should be enough in the rock to get things started...

If your using dead rock or rock that was once covered in organisms, the bottled bacteria will use that for the cycle.

Now if your tank is void of anything dead, you'll need to add a source of ammonia.

 

[Radman73]

I am happy to wait, I don't want to rush - was just intrigued. I was planning to supplement bacteria, but wondered if I need to add anything for the bacteria to feed on - or whether there should be enough in the rock to get things started...

Almost certainly enough in the rock to get you started. Not always a bad thing but I still had soft tissue on/in my Pukani when I got it. Plenty of people have put that rock straight into a new tank and been fine. Some have been not so fine. Personally, I'd clean the rock but wouldn't blame you for not doing it.

 

[Gribbliest]

Almost certainly enough in the rock to get you started. Not always a bad thing but I still had soft tissue on/in my Pukani when I got it. Plenty of people have put that rock straight into a new tank and been fine. Some have been not so fine. Personally, I'd clean the rock but wouldn't blame you for not doing it.

This stuff is VERY clean compared to what I've used in the past. I don't see anything on it... I've committed now, so I guess we shall see where this leads!

 

[Gribbliest]

If your using dead rock or rock that was once covered in organisms, the bottled bacteria will use that for the cycle.

Now if your tank is void of anything dead, you'll need to add a source of ammonia.

I'll give it a week or two, if I'm not registering anything, I'll throw a little frozen food in there and see if that kick-starts things!

 

[Cessna89811]

I cured my BRS Pukani in bleach water for a month. Now my 50+ pounds of cycled Pukini is in a tank in my garage with heater, powerheads for circulation for the past 4 months. I have not made up my mind what tank I am going to buy! RS Reefer 250 (65gal) or 350 (91gal). I love taking plenty of time to plan..

 

[Gribbliest]

I cured my BRS Pukani in bleach water for a month. Now my 50+ pounds of cycled Pukini is in a tank in my garage with heater, powerheads for circulation for the past 4 months. I have not made up my mind what tank I am going to buy! RS Reefer 250 (65gal) or 350 (91gal). I love taking plenty of time to plan..

I went for the 750XXL. I LOVE the build quality of this system!!!

Keep taking that time

 

[Cessna89811]

wow!!

 

[Gribbliest]

Well, I registered nitrates 2 days ago. Diatoms everywhere, seems we have lift off!

 

[Gribbliest]

NO3 of 4PPM on 8th December, now back down to 1.5PPM.
PO4 @ 0.08PPM on the 8th, reading slightly lower at 0.07PPM today.

Now gonna start adding a little food for the cleanup crew I added a couple of days ago to see if I can keep that NO3 up a little!
I have hair algae starting on all of the rock, pods literally everywhere, and the cheato in my sump is growing quickly!

It 'feels' as though it's already cycling nicely. Anything I should be watching out for? (It's a long time since I last started a tank!).

 

[Tallison]

You might have a bit of a Nitrite spike. I honestly stopped testing for nitrites and nitrates and went by the simple rule that if I dose up to 1ppm ammonia and its gone within 24 hrs then i'm cycled and good to go. Just needed a water change then added live stock after that