Upgrade time! New 6 Footer!!

[RandoReefer]

YIKES! Pretty colors! LOL... Grand idea with the panel inside the door. I've been thinking about cutting out one of the sides of my stand to implement something along the same lines.

Let's get that cycle rolling already!! (D**mn you, live rock curing process..)

[Craigdillman]

Yea took a while to plan out what i wanted, i didn't want to have to reach under the stand every time to put it on feed mode or read the temp

yea, how long will the curing take in the bucket? Also should i do a WC on it or just let it go

[Craigdillman]

So In theory i should have a minimum cycle then is that correct? Once i add it all to the tank

[RandoReefer]

Normally a cure should be around 4weeks. You should be doing weekly water changes to start removing and driving down those HIGH levels. Once you see the levels taper off to zero or near zero, do one last water change and wait a couple more days and test again. Keep the water at 80degrees throughout the process and if you know anyone with a small piece of LR they could lend you, you should add that to your bucket to seed the bacteria. (You can also use live nitrifying bacteria additives i.e. Biospira... but a piece of established LR is cheaper.)

The curing process and the tank cycle are two separate things. In essence, the curing process decomposes and removes any organic matter that was once living on the rock. Although it does start the growth of nitrifying bacteria, the main goal is to rid the LR of decaying matter that could leach ammonia and phosphates into your DT.

Depending on the rock you used, your tank should cycle as normal. Seeing how high your test results are, I would assume there was quite a bit of organic matter still on the rock. Some types of LR will continue to leach phosphates into your tank for up to 6months or more! For example, pukani live rock has been reported with such high periods of leaching.

If you can physically see any decaying matter in the crevices of the LR, you should manually remove them as best as possible. There are other types of LR (BRS Reef Saver) that come "organic matter free". These types of rock should see a quicker cure time (maybe 3weeks) if seeded with existing bacteria. Also, people have reported a shorter tank cycle with this type of rock. (Your sandbed choice will also factor into your tank cycle.)

In the end, its all about establishing that bacteria colony and ridding the rock of old organic matter.

[Craigdillman]

Yea i got a 29 gallon full of live rock i can seed it with just not sure when to add but i figured at least when the ammonia comes down i can add some rock too it,

Also i did rinse the rock and take any "chunks" of stuff of the rocks.

My plan was to let these rocks get down to 0 amm 0 nitrite and then maybe seed it, then add it to the 125, scape it, then add sand and water and let it go and hopefully speed the process up and avoid crazy levels in the main.

Also would it be beneficial to add some GFO to the bucket to pull phosphates or should i wait till cycle over or not at all?

Edit: all the rock is from reefers and LFS dry rock so its all been in a tank before ( no copper or med use)

[RandoReefer]

You are on the right path! Some people seed during the curing process, some even seed the DT to kick start the cycle. Some ghost feed.... its really up to you.

I've heard of people using GFO during the cure...Personally, I would rather save the money and the GFO media on my DT instead of the cure bucket. If you have patience and a good water change schedule for your curing bucket, the levels will decrease naturally on their own.

Best of luck brother!

[Craigdillman]

Thanks for all the help, Yea i think ill just wait and start the GFO in the reactor in the main

[Craigdillman]

Well cooked rocks are down to 4ish ppm ammonia and still over 160 for nitrates and off the chart for nitrites .. Is it worth doing a water change or will that do anything?

Also tested the P04 and wowza will that drop at all ? id rather not put like 3ppm of p04 into my new tank?

I think im going to drop a bag of GFO into there beside the powerhead

[modder man]

Changing the water would be more harmful for the cycle than beneficial at this point. You want the good bacteria to build up to break down the bad stuff. If your remove all the nasties there is nothing for the beneficial bacterial to grow on.

[Craigdillman]

Ok and what u think about gfo

[Fizz71]

(modder man) +1

Everything you're testing is in the water, what we actually care about is in the rocks. I'm assuming that once you're done cycling (since it's in a bucket) you'll probably be tossing ALL of the water. At that point the nitrates and PO4 will go bye-bye although it MAY leach more out even with the 100% water change...but we'll deal with it then.

Either way you don't want to do a water change now because you WANT nitrite in the water to feed the growing population of aerobic bacteria and even the nitrates will help the anaerobic bacteria increase in population deep inside the rock.

I wouldn't worry about the PO4 yet even though it'd be nice to know for sure where it came from so we could avoid it later, but I wouldn't waste the GFO.

[Craigdillman]

Ok thanks that makes a lot of sense

[Craigdillman]

OK so rocks have all tested Oppm for ammonia and nitrites and about 10ppm for the nitrates, im going to throw some live rock from my established reef in there to help seed it.

Moving the tank upstairs today pretty jacked, all the equipment is in just waiting on the lights

pics to follow

[Craigdillman]

All right got the tank inside (just needs some dusting off) getting all the equipment dry fit and its getting close now all I need is the lights to come in and I think i can get this thing rolling without them for now right?

[austings]

Cant wait to see if full of water! you have organized quite well too.

[Fizz71]

Looks good...but far too clean. Is that tank on the right for ATO?

PS...Thank you for wearing pants when you took those shots.

[Craigdillman]

Yes pants are a must lol, and the right tank is going to be an ATO tank

[Craigdillman]

So just to clarify these rocks are not live now right they are just cured? So it will still cycle normally ?

[JRR1285]

Going off of your previous posts it sounds like your rocks were fully cycled in a bucket? If so your tank COULD be ready for live stock. If the tank has the rocks in it and is full of water I would add some ammonia to get it up to 3-5PPM and then see if in a 24 hour period both Ammonia and Nitrite read 0.

Edit:

I see that your rocks are currently cycling in a bucket. You could keep going with that or move it to the main tank and continue that way as well.

[Craigdillman]

Yea they have been in a bucket, my question was cause im going to be aquascaping soon so wondering how long the rocks can be out of water while I'm rockscaping them

[JRR1285]

I don't think them being out for a little while for some rockscaping would cause much harm. You also don't have to worry too much since the only thing you are trying to keep alive is the beneficial bacteria. If a little dies off I don't think it would set you back much if at all.

[mrpergo]

I just got done aquascaping and I filled the tank about a third did rock more water more rock. When all was done I added my sand, for the hard to get to areas I made my own funnel out of a gal milk jug and I piece of 1" pvc or 3/4" taped it to the spout of the gal jug and cut the bottom off and poured my sand through there to get in the nooks and crannies.....lol

[Craigdillman]

Yea true ok that makes sense, well aquascape and sand in this week and we should be wet soon

[Fizz71]

Even an hour out of water is not a big deal as long as it's kept wet. Working with a little water in the tank like mrpergo said is best. I did my landscaping about 2/3 full and it involved drilling and rocks sitting on a table for 5 to 10 minutes at a time.

Since the tank is empty it's not a big deal. You might get a spike of ammonia for a day or two or nothing at all, it all depends how well cultured your bacteria is at this point...the more ammonia that was present during the cycle/curing process the more bacteria you're likely to have.

Edit: I just read YOUR edit from a few days back...so I'm removing most of this post since it was answered. At this point "seeding" isn't really necessary...you are probably "cycled" and ready to go.

[Craigdillman]

Trying to plan the mounting of the lights got a few options
Off the wall or build a frame coming from behind the tank what you guys think?
I have 3 of the 6"x20" heatsinks

Any picture would be awesome too

My last build I have them hanging from the wall and it worked out good but want to keep my options open