https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-microbiology-of-reef-tank-cycling.214618/
it takes a boring hour to read that but ill tell you this
your personal boundaries of what you are willing to do to succeed in reefing cannot be same after, bc that's too many rules being broken and then ran through a bunch of other peoples tanks as proof.
that thread is about skip cycling, when you can and when you cant
that rock above, wherever you're getting it from, buy lots and then add some corals its all skip cycle rock and that's a narrow definition, you stumbled upon some goodies
its not big secret, all we managed to ramble about in there simply says if you ever set bacteria into rocks, and keep them wet, they keep the bac forever.
no feed no support no heating no cooling, wet.
and in that lies the secret of being invader free...you are allowed to pull your system apart and make it invader free at any time, and the bacteria tolerate that forever, as often as you need. so why would anyone endure a months long cyano invasion if the 1 hour alternative was avail? because they don't believe in the microbiology of cycling, they invented extra boundaries and they must adhere. but you'll have taken the tank apart, cleaned out the simple invader, put it all back just like day one skip cycle here, and in skip cycling actually is the fountain of youth. the better you get at reefing, less skip cycle cleaning. any aquarium you'll ever see on the web that is invaded with something, some form of hesitation to access is at the heart of the issue. so plan opposite for your up and coming tank.
the accessible system never crashes, never gets invaded, it does as we will.
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