A question about live rock

ramahl · 08/10/2017, 08:19 AM

My Innovative Marine Nuvo fusion all in one setup arrived today. its the 30 gallon long setup. Looking forward to my first nano. i normally always go big, but would like to try and see if I'm skilled enough to maintain a smaller system.

I'm currently curing about 30-40 pounds of live rock in a separate container with 1.025 S.G. water and a heater with two fans for flow. I'm going to wait until its completely cured before adding it to my tank. Figured Id reuse some live rock from my old 90 gal setup. But its been dry for a year so it needs some cooking. I also have some Carib Sea Ocean Direct live sand that i was going to use, recommended by a friend.

What would happen if i started my tank up now, with the live sand, and added the rocks in a few weeks? I'm thinking I'd get another cycle, if the sand is actually "live" and cycles my tank as advertised. But the second cycle would be a small one if the rock is fully cured right? I don't intend to add any live stock to the tank until after the rock is added and my parameters fall in line.

So is this an okay idea? Or should i wait and cure my rock, then set up my tank?

Perhaps even buy some already fully cured rock, about 10 pounds or so, and add it now, just so that there is more in my tank than just sand. I don't know how well the bacteria in the sand will perform with just sand in the tank. I've never used anything but dead sand in the past and always been pretty successful.

Id like to get this tank going so all the boxes can be moved out of my living room. the tank and stand and equipment take up more room than a sofa. Anyway i appreciate all your thoughts and ideas!

ahuaia · 08/10/2017, 08:33 AM

If you want to start it up with just sand you should be ok as long as you add no livestock and yes if the rock is fully cured it Should be ok. One thing I've noticed with my 10g is that the first live stalk can actually cause another spike since the system is so small to ways to get around this is add something to create a spike before you put in your fish so you have enough beneficial bacteria or add a brand of bottled bacteria such as bio spira when you add livestock.

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08/10/2017, 08:19 AM	#1
ramahl Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 11	A question about live rock My Innovative Marine Nuvo fusion all in one setup arrived today. its the 30 gallon long setup. Looking forward to my first nano. i normally always go big, but would like to try and see if I'm skilled enough to maintain a smaller system. I'm currently curing about 30-40 pounds of live rock in a separate container with 1.025 S.G. water and a heater with two fans for flow. I'm going to wait until its completely cured before adding it to my tank. Figured Id reuse some live rock from my old 90 gal setup. But its been dry for a year so it needs some cooking. I also have some Carib Sea Ocean Direct live sand that i was going to use, recommended by a friend. What would happen if i started my tank up now, with the live sand, and added the rocks in a few weeks? I'm thinking I'd get another cycle, if the sand is actually "live" and cycles my tank as advertised. But the second cycle would be a small one if the rock is fully cured right? I don't intend to add any live stock to the tank until after the rock is added and my parameters fall in line. So is this an okay idea? Or should i wait and cure my rock, then set up my tank? Perhaps even buy some already fully cured rock, about 10 pounds or so, and add it now, just so that there is more in my tank than just sand. I don't know how well the bacteria in the sand will perform with just sand in the tank. I've never used anything but dead sand in the past and always been pretty successful. Id like to get this tank going so all the boxes can be moved out of my living room. the tank and stand and equipment take up more room than a sofa. Anyway i appreciate all your thoughts and ideas!

08/10/2017, 08:33 AM	#2
ahuaia Registered Member Join Date: May 2017 Posts: 228	If you want to start it up with just sand you should be ok as long as you add no livestock and yes if the rock is fully cured it Should be ok. One thing I've noticed with my 10g is that the first live stalk can actually cause another spike since the system is so small to ways to get around this is add something to create a spike before you put in your fish so you have enough beneficial bacteria or add a brand of bottled bacteria such as bio spira when you add livestock. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk