Cycling questions

[Dustinba]

So before I buy everything I want to make sure I do it right the first time. I have been reading and reading for the past few weeks about cycling get how it works and why it is done.

But after I put the sand in and live rock, does the process start automatically? Or do I need to buy chemicals or anything to put in after I raise the water temperature? Just a little confused on how the process actually starts.

[tomreefer]

as long as you are starting with live rock you are fine. The rock will have some dying stuff so will start the process by putting ammonia in the tank than converted to nitrites than finally to nitrates. However, you may want to keep an eye out for ammonia and keep alive some hitchhikers if that's the case you need to do small water changes in the process if your ammonia gets detected otherwise let it run. You may see a very short cycle since you are acquiring live rock depends on how much bacteria is actually present. I hope im making sense. lol

[Goldndoodle]

Did you put in LIVE rock? Or BASE (dead) rock?

[tomreefer]

he said he is using live rock I think anyway lol

[Goldndoodle]

Someone in a different thread shared this LINK. Good info there, well worth the time to read it.

I asked if LIVE or BASE, because sometimes people who are new to the hobby don't understand that LIVE rock has to come out of a tank of water, and BASE rock is dry. Sometimes they think "rock is rock" and why pay $7, $9 or $11 per pound for the wet stuff, when I can by the dry stuff sitting on the floor for $3 per pound.

I just started up a 120gallon tank last weekend, and needed over 100 pounds of rock - decided on BASE rock for 2 reasons - 1) price (again $3 per pound - the rock cost me $300 not $700 - $1100) and 2) dry rock weighs less then wet rock, so you actually end up with a large volume of rock.

After the rock, sand, water & salt were in the tank, and the temp up to where it should be, I seeded the BASE with a couple of pounds of LIVE to start getting some bacteria in the tank. Every morning when I feed my current nanoCube, I drop a couple of flakes of food in the 120 g tank as well. Something needs to decompose in there to make the cycle keep moving along.

[tomreefer]

True. I bought all dry rock and dosed with pure ammonia

[coralsnaked]

BASE rock is dry.

No---Base rock can be dry rock or live rock. Base rock refers to a less pourous rock that is used as the base of your rock formation and is covered in a more pourous rock. Base rock is usually heavier per cubic inch and will support less biological bacteria

[dkeller_nc]

Originally Posted by Dustinba

So before I buy everything I want to make sure I do it right the first time. I have been reading and reading for the past few weeks about cycling get how it works and why it is done.

But after I put the sand in and live rock, does the process start automatically? Or do I need to buy chemicals or anything to put in after I raise the water temperature? Just a little confused on how the process actually starts.

The bacteria that establish the biological filter in a saltwater tank are everywhere, you actually couldn't avoid introducing them if you wanted to. Many of the bottled bacteria products advertise a faster start to the cycle, or even an "instant" cycle (that last claim is definitely deceptive, don't believe it). It's not clear to some of us more experienced aquarists that this is really true.

If you start with truly "live" rock (rock from the ocean that's sold wet in an LFS or a net retailer like Premium Aquatics, Tampa Bay Saltwater or Drs. Foster and Smith), there's already an established bacteria base. There may and probably will be a short, low-concentration ammonia spike when you set the tank up, but it will be brief. If you start with all dry rock & sand and add a dead shrimp or fish food to get the bacteria going, your cycle will take about 4-6 weeks, depending on temperature.

There's one thing I'd warn you about when purchasing dry rock; please understand that this is my opinion. Don't buy so-called "Real Reef Rock". This is a man-made product that is definitely not "real" or "reef rock". Essentially, this is concrete mixed with aragonite rubble, dyed an artificial purple on the outer surface to look like coralline algae, and is briefly aquacultured in a closed system for a brief period of time to establish some bacteria.

It's expensive for what it is, and you're far better off simply purchasing some dry reef rock from a company like Bulk Reef Supply. If you want to start your tank off with live rock, buy some Manado rock from Premium Aquatics, or some Gulf of Mexico live rock from Richard at Tamp Bay Aquatics. I always recommend this to beginners - there's a tremendous amount of fascinating micro-life that come out on rock like this, and you're missing out on one of the main entertainments to owning your first saltwater aquarium if you start with dry rock.