Pre Cycling Dry Rock

Dlealrious · 02/06/2017, 06:21 AM

Hi All

Need some advice on my dry rock. My tank is about 2 months away so I thought I will put my dry rock in some saltwater to start the process of cycling. I am going to get a nice piece of live rock to seed the dry rock.

I have a power head running 12 hours a day in 2 hour cycles, lights on 5 hours(blue light 5 hours, blue/white 2 hours)
My question, as im not in any hurry for the cycle to happen will just having rock in 100litre tub with saltwater and lights on do anything? Or should I put in a bigger tank and have skimmer running the whole time of cycle.
I will do 25 litre water changes each week.

My main goal is to get some coralline possibly growing on dead rock before I start the tank.

ROCK.jpg
ROCK1.jpg

Malign Reefer · 02/06/2017, 07:44 AM

Did you seed the tank with Coralline or does the rock ahave any on it already?

roli112 · 02/06/2017, 09:50 AM

Yes make sure your live rock has some coralline on it

Fish finder · 02/06/2017, 10:02 AM

I have a lot of old rock from a tank that has been dried. Do I need to give it a muratic acid bath?

tkeracer619 · 02/06/2017, 11:50 AM

You don't need to do anything specific but I would dose some ammonia to the dry rock and get the cycle going.

After a couple weeks I would test the water for phosphates and see where you are.

As far as an acid bath I don't think it is necessary. It can help speed up the process but it isn't necessary. I avoid doing it unless I have a good reason to.

Check out a thread I put together that shows curing dry rock. There is a lot of good info in there.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2145395

Dlealrious · 02/06/2017, 05:51 PM

No haven't added any LR yet but i will get this week woth coraline. Not im the tank yet just a tub. Was thingkng of cutttimg pieces and glueing to differnt pieces of dead rock so corraline can start to spread once parameters are good.

Dlealrious · 02/06/2017, 05:57 PM

Thanks tkeracer. Did you have powerhead running 24/7

roli112 · 02/06/2017, 06:03 PM

No need to glue, as they are touching it will spread

tkeracer619 · 02/06/2017, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dlealrious

Thanks tkeracer. Did you have powerhead running 24/7

You're welcome! Yup, any small powerhead will do. If I have a ton of rock I usually try to get one pushing water to the bottom of the vat. It's usually no issue with just a small powerhead.

Dlealrious · 02/06/2017, 10:36 PM

Ahh sweet cheers guys

tropi_gal · 05/25/2017, 01:40 PM

Do you need to have lights on to cycle the rock? Or can this be done with just a power
head and heater?

jda · 05/25/2017, 02:20 PM

Your longest fight will be getting the phosphate to unbind from the dead/dry rock. This can happen without the light, but can take a long time with some fighting it for more than a year.

Most folks just use a powerhead and a heater.

quantumfuzz · 05/28/2017, 07:08 PM

Lights aren't necessary for the bacteria. But they will help good stuff grow on the rocks in the meantime.

02/06/2017, 06:21 AM	#1
Dlealrious Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 26	Pre Cycling Dry Rock Hi All Need some advice on my dry rock. My tank is about 2 months away so I thought I will put my dry rock in some saltwater to start the process of cycling. I am going to get a nice piece of live rock to seed the dry rock. I have a power head running 12 hours a day in 2 hour cycles, lights on 5 hours(blue light 5 hours, blue/white 2 hours) My question, as im not in any hurry for the cycle to happen will just having rock in 100litre tub with saltwater and lights on do anything? Or should I put in a bigger tank and have skimmer running the whole time of cycle. I will do 25 litre water changes each week. My main goal is to get some coralline possibly growing on dead rock before I start the tank. ROCK.jpg ROCK1.jpg

02/06/2017, 07:44 AM	#2
Malign Reefer Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 324	Did you seed the tank with Coralline or does the rock ahave any on it already? __________________ Barroom Hero

02/06/2017, 09:50 AM	#3
roli112 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 298	Yes make sure your live rock has some coralline on it __________________ 180 gallon mixed reef Current Tank Info: 180g. mix reef

02/06/2017, 11:50 AM	#5
tkeracer619 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 17,289	You don't need to do anything specific but I would dose some ammonia to the dry rock and get the cycle going. After a couple weeks I would test the water for phosphates and see where you are. As far as an acid bath I don't think it is necessary. It can help speed up the process but it isn't necessary. I avoid doing it unless I have a good reason to. Check out a thread I put together that shows curing dry rock. There is a lot of good info in there. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2145395 __________________ Hobby Experience: 9200ish gallons, 26 skimmers, and a handful of Kent Scrapers. Current Tank: Vortech Powered 600G SPS Tank w/ 100gal frag tank & 100g Sump. RK2-RK10 Skimmer. ReefAngel. Radium 20k.

02/06/2017, 06:03 PM	#8
roli112 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 298	No need to glue, as they are touching it will spread __________________ 180 gallon mixed reef Current Tank Info: 180g. mix reef

02/06/2017, 10:02 AM	#4
Fish finder Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Melbourne Posts: 93	I have a lot of old rock from a tank that has been dried. Do I need to give it a muratic acid bath?

02/06/2017, 05:51 PM	#6
Dlealrious Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 26	No haven't added any LR yet but i will get this week woth coraline. Not im the tank yet just a tub. Was thingkng of cutttimg pieces and glueing to differnt pieces of dead rock so corraline can start to spread once parameters are good.

02/06/2017, 05:57 PM	#7
Dlealrious Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 26	Thanks tkeracer. Did you have powerhead running 24/7

02/06/2017, 10:36 PM	#10
Dlealrious Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 26	Ahh sweet cheers guys

05/25/2017, 01:40 PM	#11
tropi_gal Registered Member Join Date: May 2017 Location: South Jordan, Ut Posts: 2	Do you need to have lights on to cycle the rock? Or can this be done with just a power head and heater?

05/25/2017, 02:20 PM	#12
jda Dogmatic Dinosaur Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 6,256	Your longest fight will be getting the phosphate to unbind from the dead/dry rock. This can happen without the light, but can take a long time with some fighting it for more than a year. Most folks just use a powerhead and a heater.

05/28/2017, 07:08 PM	#13
quantumfuzz Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2016 Posts: 39	Lights aren't necessary for the bacteria. But they will help good stuff grow on the rocks in the meantime.