Moving!

[mpatient]

Hi all,
I will be moving in a couple of months (only 5 miles away), and since my Biocube 32 will be broken down, I want to take the opportunity to completely clean the tank and redo my aquascape with new rock. Since I have little time, I want to cycle my rock now in a plastic tub. How do I go about this? I want NOTHING from my old tank in with this rock as it cycles as I have had tons of Aptasia. I intend on putting brand new live sand in once it is cycled. I am using about 20lbs of dry Marco rock scaped using E Marco 4000. I have already put it together and concrete is fully cured (love the new look!). I do have livestock and corals I will be transferring after the move.
Let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

 

[DeniseAndy]

Put the new rock into a tub and fill with tap water that covers it completely. Then add a powerhead and let it go. Do water changes every couple days for at least two weeks. Next, I would then empty bucket, add saltwater to the bucket to begin to actually cycle it. You can use a piece of krill, fish food, bacteria in a bottle stuff to begin the cycle. Make sure to do water changes and keep the tub dark (avoids algae issues). Also, make sure to add a heater if it is in a cold area. Keep adding something to grow the bacteria and you should be pretty cycled within a few weeks. You can check the cycle with the testing kits for ammonia, nitrate. I would also check phosphate with new rocks. Just to be sure.

Good luck with the move!