Seeding dry rock from existing reef ?

[ibob991]

Hello,

I am wondering if using the sump of a current reef tank is possible to seed dry rock and bio media (marinepure) without risking the chance of transferring bad things such as bubble or hair algae?

 

[redfishbluefish]

Your sump isn't Vegas! What happens in your sump doesn't necessarily stay in your sump! If you wish to "seed" your DT, I'd suggest using any one of the nitrifying bacteria products.....Bio Spira or Dr. Tim's One and Only come to mind.

 

[brandon429]

I would also add that since we all source our snail shells and frag bases and frags from systems that are not sterile, this initial planning will soon take a new course. Everything you listed is unavoidable eventually via happenstance

Better to have a rock solid plan on how to deal with the inevitable


Vs relying on continually recirculated options for cyano, hair algae, and dinos/today’s new scourge risk, consider using work threads in planning

Work threads = collections of other people’s tanks getting cured of stuff for twenty + pages. R2r has good ones for the above ails


What you can certainly affect with careful isolation, planning, and timing is most fish disease

But not substrate capitalists, nope. All you can do is take control over your rocks by force until they’re covered in coralline and coral flesh to do it for you, and not keep a hands off sandbed that slowly fills with compacted waste.

 

[ibob991]

Your sump isn't Vegas! What happens in your sump doesn't necessarily stay in your sump! If you wish to "seed" your DT, I'd suggest using any one of the nitrifying bacteria produces.....Bio Spira or Dr. Tim's One and Only come to mind.

I am attempting to seed dry rock for a new tank, so if I am following your advice then the answer to my question is no, correct?

I would also add that since we all source our snail shells and frag bases and frags from systems that are not sterile, this initial planning will soon take a new course. Everything you listed is unavoidable eventually via happenstance

Better to have a rock solid plan on how to deal with the inevitable


Vs relying on continually recirculated options for cyano, hair algae, and dinos/today’s new scourge risk, consider using work threads in planning

Work threads = collections of other people’s tanks getting cured of stuff for twenty + pages. R2r has good ones for the above ails


What you can certainly affect with careful isolation, planning, and timing is most fish disease

But not substrate capitalists, nope. All you can do is take control over your rocks by force until they’re covered in coralline and coral flesh to do it for you, and not keep a hands off sandbed that slowly fills with compacted waste.

I don't quite follow this response, I understand that eventually the tank may be introduced to these types of things along the way but no reason for me to start a brand new tank with problems.

 

[redfishbluefish]

I am attempting to seed dry rock for a new tank, so if I am following your advice then the answer to my question is no, correct?

If the live rock you have has stuff on it you don't want in your new tank, I would NOT use it to seed your tank. If you can find "clean" live rock, that would work just fine. Otherwise, use on of the bottled nitrifying bacteria products.

 

[ibob991]

If the live rock you have has stuff on it you don't want in your new tank, I would NOT use it to seed your tank. If you can find "clean" live rock, that would work just fine. Otherwise, use on of the bottled nitrifying bacteria products.

Let me try and describe this better, as it seems I was not clear in the op. I am starting a new nano tank with dry rock, let's call this rock A. I have an already established reef that is going to be shut down due to many circumstances and shortcomings. What I would like to do is seed rock A using that tank, however I would not want to transfer any issues from that tanks to the new one. I would place Rock A in the sump of the existing reef for a week or so to seed it. The rock in the current system would not be placed in the new tank.

 

[Blitheran]

ibob if read your last statement correct “what I would like to do is seed rock A using that tank, however I would not want to transfer any issues from that tanks to the new one”. If I read that correctly you don’t want what is in tank B to be in the new Tank A how ever if you seed your rock A with tank B what ever is in that tank will transfer over

 

[redfishbluefish]

Either way, you would be exposing that nice new clean rock to the potential of picking up the monsters and nasty things in your existing tank. Again, simply dump a bottle of Bio Spira in your new tank and BAM!, you're seeded. No potential of any nasty things popping up.

 

[ibob991]

Alright it seems to be safe I will go the bottle route, thank you guys for your input.