Re: Cycling methods

[kevin]

Thanks Djokher for taking the time to right all that out. Putting in something alive after a few weeks isn't too bad. I will be taking my time adding the bioload as well. A few clowns at first, tangs last, corals in 4-6 months? I bought Cree LED lighting that needs to be completely re wired so I still have work to do while it cycles.

My tank is in my dinning room and I have directional pot lights in the ceiling, tank lights are in the works and should be up by next weekend. Funny thing about my ceiling pot lights is they are lighting my tank and giving an awsome shimmering effect. So it is getting a little light and hopefully I will not have to deal with a huge algea outbreak!

[Greatwhite]

The "add live rock" stage is VERY fun at night.  I used to sit with a headlight (LED with an elastic headband) and look all over the rock for hitch hikers.  It's amazing to see how much life there is after dark.  I found that the red light didn't spook critters as much as white.

I also like to add some hermits and snails 1 or 2 weeks in.  Not a lot.. just "enough" to help clean the rock.  They live in sludge in nature, so a little spike during cycling doesn't really hurt them much.  Then in another week, I add more .. and then more a week later until my basic cleaning crew is all there.  At the end of my crew, I get some nicer hermits... I love my scarlet leg guys.

[kevin]

I have been into aquaria since I was a kid. Had a 10 gallon and kept a goldfish alive for years. Later in life got back into it and got a 75 gallon with Oscars; I always wanted salt water for this very reason! It is how we started on this planet, from the ocean. It is the evolution of life in a glass box! My tank is empty right now and i'm staring at it! lol.

I find the live rock creepy, the stuff I started with was right out of the box full of decaying coralls and dead stuff. I rinsed and scrubbed it thouroughly in salt water and it sat for a few weeks stinking up the place like crazy! So really, it's not fully cured, but this rotting will still help provide amonia to cycle correct? I'm gonna grab some peices of live rock tonight and some food and throw it in. I wear gloves when I handle the stuff; freaks me out that something is gonna fly out of it and rip my face off! lol.  I watch too many horror movies.

[bt]

How many water changes should I do weekly during the cycle?

I say none, but it's one of those things that there is never a consensus on and I've never heard of a convincing reason why one way is actually better than another.

[Darth]

. I rinsed and scrubbed it thouroughly in salt water and it sat for a few weeks

so you let the rock just sit out for a few week? I would assume it is dry by now, I would rinsie it and put in the tank, the proper way to cure rock is keep in a container with a powerhead and heater, and do water changes weekly the decaying life on the rock will help start the bacteria colony, if the rock is now dry any beneficial bactgeria is now gone, you can also cure the rock in the tank (pre-livestock) do water changes for about a month till you have 0 ammonia readings etc. Your dry rock now is only beneficial for giving bacteria a home to grow on, but whatever was live is now long dead 

[kevin]

Oh yes, I'm aware of that. There couldn't have been much life on it when I bought the box. It was outside of Az's shop for a few days and almost dry when I bought it. There was black dead corals rotting on it. I loaded most of the rockscaping portion with base rock and intended to seed it with my last 50-60 lbs. giving me a total of 160lbs or so in a 125 gallon. 

[Darth]

and for water changes, I personally would do 20% per week but that is just me I am sure others can give their insight, you are on the right track so far 

[kevin]

Thanks, I will let it run two weeks and start weekly water changes. Does amonia not kill off live rock?

[Greatwhite]

Oh yes, I'm aware of that. There couldn't have been much life on it when I bought the box. It was outside of Az's shop for a few days and almost dry when I bought it. There was black dead corals rotting on it. I loaded most of the rockscaping portion with base rock and intended to seed it with my last 50-60 lbs. giving me a total of 160lbs or so in a 125 gallon. 

You would be surprised what can survive on/in that rock in horrible conditions...  A few days in a dark, damp box is nothing... As long as it's moist on the outside, it's still wet inside and critters will be waiting patiently for water.  Crabs (good and bad) will just find a little nook to slide into, and you won't even see them until they want to come out.

I LOVE that stuff.   I used to look for pods, worms, snails... I'd lose track of time, hypnotized by the amount of life on the rock.

When I set up my refugium in my sump, my attention went down there for a while.

However.. Back on topic.   As mentioned, you will want to AT LEAST rinse off whatever dead material has appeared while the rock has sat dry (the smell must be HORRIBLE).  It's going to take a little while in a tank with some good flow to have it wash off and stabilize in the tank, but it WILL bounce back - especially after putting some fresh live rock in there.

[kevin]

It did stink pretty bad. I scrubbed them pulled off tons of draf stuff. The water was pitch black! Pretty gross. No one else notices the smell but me? Probly cause I worked with it, its a distinct smell. Can't smell it now with water in the tank 

[Greatwhite]

It did stink pretty bad. I scrubbed them pulled off tons of draf stuff. The water was pitch black! Pretty gross. No one else notices the smell but me? Probly cause I worked with it, its a distinct smell. Can't smell it now with water in the tank 

Be sure to be running the skimmer, and keep a close eye on it while that crud rots off.  The skimmer will remove what it can.

[kevin]

I will, thanks. I've been tweaking it for the past 3 days. It's an older red sea model, not the best but I will be upgrading it before I get corals.