New to dry rock only start up

[Grey Guy]

I bleached all my dry rock for a week. Rinsed and dried in the sun. Now I have it all in my tank with ro/di salt water, with lots of circulation. I plan to let this run in the dark for about 3 weeks. Do water changes. Get the salinity right
and decide what to do after that. Will this work?

 

[Jaden9933]

I bleached all my dry rock for a week. Rinsed and dried in the sun. Now I have it all in my tank with ro/di salt water, with lots of circulation. I plan to let this run in the dark for about 3 weeks. Do water changes. Get the salinity right
and decide what to do after that. Will this work?

You’ll need to introduce some form of ammonia, such as a frozen cube of brine/music shrimp. That way, nitrifying bacteria can begin to populate the rock. After you see ammonia and nitrite deplete, and nitrates rise, the cycle is “complete.” From here, it is usually best to add a fish or two to ensure your tank can handle the bio load. Of ammonia and nitrites stay undetectable, I would then conclude it’s safe to add corals. If you want to be extra safe, wait until you see coralline algae growth

 

[Jekyl]

Agree with above that a source of ammonia is needed. Plenty of products available online or at your LFS. Can even get ammonia from the hardware store.

 

[dedragon]

i would also add fritzyme 9 or 900 it works extremely well in fast cycling a tank. Later i would try to find a trusted reefer you can get like a couple pounds of Live rock from to diversify the bacteria.
Ammonia is fine either way in a bottle (like brightwell microbacter quikcycl) or a food source (like mysis)

 

[Grey Guy]

You’ll need to introduce some form of ammonia, such as a frozen cube of brine/music shrimp. That way, nitrifying bacteria can begin to populate the rock. After you see ammonia and nitrite deplete, and nitrates rise, the cycle is “complete.” From here, it is usually best to add a fish or two to ensure your tank can handle the bio load. Of ammonia and nitrites stay undetectable, I would then conclude it’s safe to add corals. If you want to be extra safe, wait until you see coralline algae growth

Yes, I plan to use Dr. Tims method to cycle my tank, but I thought I should wait a few weeks to be safe.

 

[Jekyl]

Yes, I plan to use Dr. Tims method to cycle my tank, but I thought I should wait a few weeks to be safe.

Taking it slow is the right method.

 

[MaxTremors]

Yes, I plan to use Dr. Tims method to cycle my tank, but I thought I should wait a few weeks to be safe.

I would add it as soon as you get the temp and salinity correct/stable. While these products work incredibly fast, you might as well start maturing your tank.

 

[Jaden9933]

I would add it as soon as you get the temp and salinity correct/stable. While these products work incredibly fast, you might as well start maturing your tank.

I agree! The sooner you start cycling, the sooner you can add fish and coral

 

[happyhourhero]

I would also start monitoring phosphates and begin dosing if you are consistently getting 0. I had to dose 500ml before I could get a consistent reading over time. If you have mined dry rock, it soaks up crazy amounts of phosphate and this contributes to why you see so many new tanks with dinos.

 

[themericks]

I agree wholeheartedly with happyhourhero. When I started with dry rock I accidentally let phosphates bottom out for a while which led to a month or two long battle with dinos.