Cycling Water w/ live rocks

[zip_case]

I just a little confused and perheps you guys can help me out. I've heard that when cycling your water you can use your live rocks. Then some people are against it because they say it will kill the life that's in the rocks...

What's your input on this little matter?

-Z

 

[Tybond]

Cycling the tank with live rock is becomming more and more common because it has been proven that the cycling of the tank can be performed without the use of fish such as you probably have been hearing some say "put a damsel in to start the cycle" This is a cruel thing to do since the algea and life on the LR will do the same thing.
I cycled my tank with LR and it was fine. My LR had a few noticible polyps on it and all survived the break in. I heartly beleive this is the best way to cycle your tank.
I own a 55g reef and the way I done it was to run my lights for only 6 hrs a day for the first week to help keep down a major algea bloom. the bloom is inevitable and is just a basic part of any break in. After the first week, I extened the lighting period to 10 hrs a day and after the second week I had a brown dust forming all over the sand bed. This is the Bloom you are waiting for. At this point I added 50 hermit crabs to my tank to clean the sandbed which took only a few more days. (I was told to add 1 per gallon of tank water capacity) At the end of the third week, I added my first fish to the tank. It was a damsel but my ammonia levels and nitrite were allready at zero before he went in.
I let him go for 1 week and started adding my 1st corals at right about the 4th week and I haven't had any deaths yet. this has been 8 months ago now.
Be sure to run your skimmer and any pumps for circulation wide open durring your break in 24/7. IMO this helps speed up the cycle also. Also as a little kick start, take a pinch of flake food and drop it in your tank at day 1. This will start the ammonia spike since there wont be anything to eat the food. It only takes a pinch.
also make sure you use live sand from an established reef in your substrate. If your Local Fish Store doesn't sell it, find someone in your town who has a reef and buy some off them.
add the live sand over a thin layer of fine sand and cover over with more sand. The live sand doesnt have to be spread over the entire surface just pile it up in a few places. Make sure when you add the live sand to get water in there as soon as possible to keep from killing the critters that will be in the sand. you only need to add enough water to cover the bed as you go so you can fill up to the point your working at.
There are a lot of ways to set up your sand bed in a reef and all have there good and bad points and each have there sworn followers and debating non beleivers.
Research the different ways and choose the one you like the sound of the best.
I used a 6" deep Sand Bed of oolite sand, arragomax, crushed coral, reef rubble and live sand.
There are plenum sand beds where a person places a screen over a layer of the sand to keep sand sifters from disturbing the lower layer of the sandbed where certain types of bacteria grow.
Some put PVC pipes in the bottom (as I did) to support the reef structure and keep it so critters can fully move about the sandbed.
Others just place their LR directly on the bottom glass and fill in around it with sand.
Keep researching and you'll get it going in no time.
Actually your already doing one of the best (and hardest) parts of setting up a solid kick butt reef. That is, your taking time, checking things out, asking questions, checking those answers, asking a few more questions. Trust me, Take your time and ask all the questions you can think of.
When you set your tank up, you'll have it down right the first time.
Happy Reefing!
ty

 

[Nameless]

I agree with Tybond that it's very possible, since I did it, but I differ on some of the details.

First, you don't NEED a sand bed if you don't want one. The reason live rock works to cycle your tank is that it has both the dead stuff on it and the bacteria to eat it up. Whatever you use for substrate, the bacteria from the live rock will spread to it without the necessity of buying live sand. Of course, I prefer sand, but it's not necessary.

Second, I don't use hermit crabs. Ron Shimek has said, and it makes sense, that hermit crabs will decimate the 'critter' population of your reef. So when I got my algae bloom, I bought some snails, and they made short work of it.

Third, some small stuff on your rock will probably die, but IMHO, it's still a better way to cycle.

Finally, if I were you, I'd use UNCURED rock to cycle with. You'll have more 'food' for the bacteria, and you typically have more life in uncured rock....

 

[VkeSu]

I wish someone could have given me that info 4 years ago! We had crushed coral, with frequent water changes, we've never had trouble. Now...with the known benefits of sand, I'd do that. I would still go with cured rock because I'd be afraid of a few UNWANTED pests on the uncured...would mantis shrimp make it through the cycle? A newbie has no idea what is good or bad stuff on live rock starting out. Geezz after 4 years I'm in doubt sometimes myself!!

 

[Tybond]

I know you can set up a system with no sand and thats what I was refering to when I said there were many ways to set up the reef to begin with.
I was just giving the discription of the way I did my tank when I started mine.
The snail Idea is a good idea. I added a refugium to my system soon after setting it up and added the infauna from Inland to get things kicking. I agree that the hermits will eat pods and such because I notice a decline in mine after putting them in. The snails may very well be a better idea.
As for mantis shrimp, YES they WILL survive.
I have one in mine that hitched a ride in a piece of LR when I set mine up. He is a tough little guy and fast! I am still trying to get him out.
The reference to using uncurred rock might work just the same but I think it would add time to how long the tank would take to cycle. Plus your house would smell while the rock cured. IMO.
ty

 

[reefhope]

Did any of you who used LR to cycle your tank do water changes during the cycle or after the cycle and how much water did you change?

I ask because when I setup again I plan on cycling with LR. Thanks!

 

[maroon clown]

i had a question regaurding the bed itself, i read that ty mixed sand with cc and some other stuff- currently i have just #0 cc, would it be good to mix in some sand with that? i dont know if my tank is fully cycled because i just upgraded from a 6 to 12 gallon tank so i had to move everything over, probably started a small cycle. prior to that, my 6 had been established for 3 months.

 

[esmithiii]

Tybond: Use a blank line between paragraphs. It makes it much easier to read.

Nameless: You can cycle without sand, but I would highly recommend using sand. There are many benefits to a sand bed, and why not start it cycling at the same time! Putting the sand in later is a pain.

I cycled the tank with cured liverock. I did no water changes, and the spike went away in about a week. Now my tank is almost covered in coraline and it is about 3 months old. I upgraded from my 55 and used some of the water. I had both tanks up and running for over a month and every time I did a water change on the 55, I dumped the water in the 180. I guess that qualifies as a small water change (10 gal at a time.) I guess.

Here is the order I used on my upgrade:

<ul type="square">[*]Set up tank on stand. [*]Set up plumbing and rubbermaid sump.[*]Placed frame for liverock in tank[*]Added dry sand to tank[*]Mixed water in large trash can[*]Pumped water to tank. [*]Repeated last two steps until the tank was full[*]Added some pieces of LR from existing tank and some sand[*]Waited 1 week[*]Ordered 180lbs of fiji LR[*]Put LR in tank[*]Started protein skimmer. It went nuts![*]Waited 1 month[*]Built and installed acrylic sump[*]Transfered Sand, caulerpa to sump[*]Broke down 55, transfered 90lbs additional rock from 55 to 180, moved livestock. 55 now empty[*]Waited 1 months, moved empty 55 to garage (My wife was POed that it took so long![*]Cyano was gone after 1st month[*]Waited 2 months, tank is incredible[*]I still have some diatoms, but that is subsiding
[/list]

Ernie