Setup ... Dry rock and aqua-scaping question

[BummersReef]

Forgive me if I ask stupid questions. I have been reading forum posts and trying to condense it all in my brain. And LFS is far away so hard to ask questions as I think of them!

We have a 120 gallon acrylic tank with a gorgeous stand and canopy that we are getting ready to "start." I will have sump, skimmer and RO thingie questions but what I am currently trying to sort out is the ROCK issue. Here is what I want:
- to use as little non-coral-reef-friendly rock as possible (I have looked around and think the BRS reef saver rock looks pretty good as far as that goes ..??...)
- to save money
- to do the aquascaping (design) only once right at the beginning because I have an acrylic tank and don't want to be bumping and moving rock in there and scratching it all up

so this is my hoped-for plan/idea:
- get about 80 (100? more?) pounds of the reef saver rock, some epoxy/glue and putty and use that rock for the entire reef/rock scape. Set it, glue it, secure it exactly as I want it to be in 10 years
- maybe get a few pieces of live rock from LFS and put it in the sump or just lay it in the tank (to be removed when all the cycling etc is done)
- get a bottle of ... something (I can't remember brand names) that is supposed to start your cycle going, that has the bacteria you need to kick the whole thing into gear
- get my sand and water from the LFS (I think we will want a RO system but don't need to get that right away ... too much plumbing involved for now)
- lay down the sand and then pour in the water
- add heater, water flow blower thing and let it go for a long time!! (yes, weeks, a month or two?) get the sump running as part of this too ...
- test regular until it cycles all through

(oh I hope this isn't a really stupid idea)

Can I do that? I know it will take a LONG time for the rock to actually begin to look like live rock and have color and all that. But I don't really mind waiting. (my kids may not like that but oh well) As I am waiting, I can save and plan for some really good LED lighting and get a good protein skimmer and sort out the RO issue

Do I have to mess with curing the dry rock? Can't I just let the curing and cycling follow each other?

sorry if this is just plain stupid ...

Carla

[davehead86]

You need to read the beginner articles at the top of this section. They are going to answer tons of your questions.

Your rock setup idea and basic plan is solid. However I would just say skip buying live rock from the LFS (local fish store) and cycle the tank yourself. Go buy a few raw shrimp from the market and toss them in a filter bag and then toss that into the tank. Let them start to rot and the bacteria will start as it is supposed to. You can also "ghost feed" the tank at this time and have that little extra food help establish the tank and finish the cycle.

Read the articles on cycling.

[BummersReef]

so I don't have to "cure" and cycle as two separate steps? I want to minimize any transfer of rock into and out of tank. (I am slowly going through the above articles, very helpful, thank you!!) I know I need to check the dry rock before it goes in and pull off any sponges or other organic dried stuff .....

ok so I am looking through all the newbie articles listed and I can't find something that says "cycling" .. but did find how to set up a new tank condensed, very helpful.

[davehead86]

Originally Posted by BummersReef

so I don't have to "cure" and cycle as two separate steps? I want to minimize any transfer of rock into and out of tank. (I am slowly going through the above articles, very helpful, thank you!!) I know I need to check the dry rock before it goes in and pull off any sponges or other organic dried stuff .....

ok so I am looking through all the newbie articles listed and I can't find something that says "cycling" .. but did find how to set up a new tank condensed, very helpful.

No you dont need to cure dry rock that you bought from a store. Thats all good to go. Curing refers to the process that reefers who buy rock from other people and need to start over.

Read all of this ... every post. Sk8R is very knowledgable and brings up a lot of points in that thread. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2075632

[BummersReef]

Thanks Dave ... off to read


also, did go up to LFS today and asked about just using dry rock and cycling with just that (no live rock). They told me it would take 6 months to cycle with no live rock. Can that possibly be true? 6 months?? I'm patient but that's just crazy

[Pmj]

I used Reef Saver from BRS and one small live rock from my old tank (literally like 4 inches square), and then use pure ammonia from Ace hardware and sprinkled some flakes for a few days at first. Tank was cycled in less than a month. I even dosed ammonia twice back to 2 PPM to make sure it was going away quickly.

Make sure you actually test so you can see your levels and watch them fall. It's great to understand and be confident that you are good.

Reef saver is great imo, looks great and fits nicely. I used water weld to glue stuff together.

[davehead86]

Originally Posted by BummersReef

Thanks Dave ... off to read


also, did go up to LFS today and asked about just using dry rock and cycling with just that (no live rock). They told me it would take 6 months to cycle with no live rock. Can that possibly be true? 6 months?? I'm patient but that's just crazy

Not a chance in hell. They just want you to buy their stuff. I highly recommend you vet all the information you hear at that store here before you take any of it to heart. It may just be a store where you purchase livestock and dont go for advice.

If it makes you feel better you can go ahead and buy a piece of liverock and a bottle of bacteria. Its not necessary but it wont really hurt. You just have to be aware you may get hitchhikers from the liverock. There could be nothing wrong with it or it could be covered in algae that can grow out of control in the tank. Look closely at the pieces you buy and make sure they are pretty clean looking.

[BummersReef]

yeah I was really shocked when she told me 6 months. This is a very well respected place and we've used them alot over the years. Kind of freaked me out. If they will tell me that craziness, what else will they tell me?

I am going to order 80 lbs of the reef saver dry rock and get 40 of their live rock and also live sand I guess, to be safe, I guess. LOL

on to aqua-scaping issues!

tank is 5 feet long but not very wide. Want tangs ... need to make things tall with room for swimming yes? maybe a couple island and a bridge and a cave in there somehow

[davehead86]

Originally Posted by BummersReef

yeah I was really shocked when she told me 6 months. This is a very well respected place and we've used them alot over the years. Kind of freaked me out. If they will tell me that craziness, what else will they tell me?

I am going to order 80 lbs of the reef saver dry rock and get 40 of their live rock and also live sand I guess, to be safe, I guess. LOL

on to aqua-scaping issues!

tank is 5 feet long but not very wide. Want tangs ... need to make things tall with room for swimming yes? maybe a couple island and a bridge and a cave in there somehow

Some tangs will be ok in a 5 foot tank.

DO NOT BUY LIVE SAND. Its a giant waste of money, any bacteria that ends up surviving being packaged and held for a while is minimal. Besides you want to rinse the sand so that every time you do something in the tank the water doesn't turn into a giant cloud.

I would recommend getting aragonite and washing it really really well before putting it in the tank.