Cycling of your new live Rocks

[woyeng**]

I am very new to this hobby... call it my cross-over project from fresh to salty

My 70gal tank is currently in its 2nd week of cycle with being cycled. Following some research, I m using a deep sand bed with live rocks (about 34kg based on 1lb per gal). I hope that have a Reef setup with corals and fish eventually but I understand from literature that we need to have a PH of between 8-8.3 for the Corals to thrive. The problem I noticed is that my current PH during cycling is only 7.2-7.4 (max)... So I hope that sifus here can help enlighten me whether my PH will come back up to 7.8-8 naturally after the tank is fully cycled and whether using baking soda is a sustainable long term solution because my idea of a nice hobby is to have limited maintenance especially in the area of alchemy ...

[Dreams]

Found 2 bristle worm hanging out after i've placed the live rock in my tank.. Any fishes i can buy to kill them?

[say1606]

I would like to know as well!

[Quas111]

Found 2 bristle worm hanging out after i've placed the live rock in my tank.. Any fishes i can buy to kill them?

bristle worms are part of the clean up crew so unless they are flooding up your whole tank idk why you would want to get rid of them :/ anyways you could get a wrasse(six line wrasse probably) or an arrowcrab(NOT RECOMENDED FOR ONLY 2 BRISTLEWORMS THEY MAY STARVE TO DEATH). Anyways if your population is really high it is unlikely you can take all of them out

[Dez Ching]

I'm a newbie, and from what I understood is many reefers cure their life rocks and leave it until it's dead before inputting into their tanks. I have heard of people using hot water to cook the rocks, leave it under the sun to bake, using vinegar to wash and cure.

How about bleaching? Will the chemical from bleach leftovers/ stains affect the quality of our water condition after we placed them into our tanks?

I'm currently cycling my tank, and am choosing to input Live rocks or dead rocks into my 4 feet.
Really need some advises, as many reefer goes for dead rocks as compared to live rocks.

[killwhale]

I'm a newbie, and from what I understood is many reefers cure their life rocks and leave it until it's dead before inputting into their tanks. I have heard of people using hot water to cook the rocks, leave it under the sun to bake, using vinegar to wash and cure.

How about bleaching? Will the chemical from bleach leftovers/ stains affect the quality of our water condition after we placed them into our tanks?

I'm currently cycling my tank, and am choosing to input Live rocks or dead rocks into my 4 feet.

Really need some advises, as many reefer goes for dead rocks as compared to live rocks.

If you wanted dead rock , why not just buy dead rock directly instead of " Live " one? This will save you plenty much of money as well in your pocket . The live rock mean it is already fill with live like sponges ect and bacteria that could help seed an aquarium .

When i decomm my old tank, in order to store the rock i have no choice but to kill it by soaking in freshwater and sun it so that i can keep it for future use.

[Damianiac]

If you wanted dead rock , why not just buy dead rock directly instead of " Live " one? This will save you plenty much of money as well in your pocket . The live rock mean it is already fill with live like sponges ect and bacteria that could help seed an aquarium .

When i decomm my old tank, in order to store the rock i have no choice but to kill it by soaking in freshwater and sun it so that i can keep it for future use.

Where to buy dead rocks?

[Dez Ching]

Yah, after much thought I think had better go for dead rocks. So many professionals here goes for dead rocks, I had better follow and fall on the safer side. And I had just picked up some dead rocks from a nice reefer. After some cleanings, I should be ready to input them into my tank.

[Dez Ching]

Yah man, bro, do you all know where I can buy dead rocks too?
I need to add a few pieces more as well.

[SubzeroLT]

For smaller chunks of dead/dry rocks (about fist size), Pacific Reef (Pasir Ris) sells them in a bag.

For larger dead/dry rocks, they are hard to find in LFS. You probably have more luck getting them from fellow reefers in this forum.

Else just buy live rocks from LFS & go through the process to clean them up thoroughly (bleach/vinegar/dry)

[Dez Ching]

I think the more feasible and convenient way for me is to wait for someone to post WTS:Dead Rock. Haha

Else a live rock curing I heard is a big and troublesome thing. And it takes long time.

[Dez Ching]

By the way guys, I have one big predicaments. I have although read quite abit about many who uses dead rocks started to have their coralline algae grow back to purpleish colour rock again, but what I would like to know is, will the regrown coralline algae colour/ texture, be of that similar to live rocks when we first bought at LFS? I have seen some, whom their so-called coralline algae looks pretty disgusting decolourated purple, or was it that I saw those at early stage of their regrowth? So will the regrowth colour/ texture of the coralline algae on our treated dead rocks be as nice as the original dead rock first bought at LFS?

[Guest]

By the way guys, I have one big predicaments. I have although read quite abit about many who uses dead rocks started to have their coralline algae grow back to purpleish colour rock again, but what I would like to know is, will the regrown coralline algae colour/ texture, be of that similar to live rocks when we first bought at LFS? I have seen some, whom their so-called coralline algae looks pretty disgusting decolourated purple, or was it that I saw those at early stage of their regrowth? So will the regrowth colour/ texture of the coralline algae on our treated dead rocks be as nice as the original dead rock first bought at LFS?

Yes over time it will.

[Dez Ching]

Thanks for the reply Bro Harlequin Mania, it sure gives me a booster. Knowledge is power. And it need experience over time to accumulate, which I really lacked off for both. Coz' I have always preferred love rocks to dead rocks, even for a start, if not for I saw successful professionals like you guys recommend newbies like us for dead rocks to start off the hobby.
Good to know, the dead rocks I'm starting off now will become the purple I preferred in time(hopefully not in years, Haha).

[Damianiac]

Normally will take hw long to see the purple starting to grow?

[Dez Ching]

Normally will take hw long to see the purple starting to grow?

Haha, I wish to know it as well, as now, the diatoms algae is coming to buck me... *sianz...

[daveyy]

Anyone tried before the "DrTim's Aquatics One and Only Live Nitrifying Bacteria for Cycling Reef"?

[expert]

is it true that mixing dead with live rocks, the dead will be live eventually?

[JMW]

is it true that mixing dead with live rocks, the dead will be live eventually?

yup, the live rock will seed it, so to speak.

[expert]

yup, the live rock will seed it, so to speak.

Hi bro thanks for the info

[tuajia]

I had the reverse problem, purposely went to buy live rock that has coralline algae to seed the rest of my rock. Now end up my coralline seems to be bleaching white. My animals seem ok though. Probably need to start doing calcium and magnesium

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[Rainmakersg]

I had the reverse problem, purposely went to buy live rock that has coralline algae to seed the rest of my rock. Now end up my coralline seems to be bleaching white. My animals seem ok though. Probably need to start doing calcium and magnesium

 

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Yes you need to check your Kh, Mg and Ca.  Also make sure your lights settings are coralline friendly.  Another reason for their bleaching is there is too little nitrate or phosphate.  It happened to me cos I was dosing too much carbon, so much so that there is too little nitrate and phophate for coralline to grow.  All my Kh, Mg and Ca are at optimal levels but my coralline kept dying.  When I reduced my carbon dosing, they spread within 2 weeks at the back of the tank.

[artxakis]

hi rainmaker

what do u use for carbon dosing? i just had my tank crashed when i added more biopellets the whole tank went cloudy and almost all my sps dead.

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[fatphotoboy]

good sharing info!

[sharonleong]

On 5/22/2009 at 10:47 PM, he said:

Live rocks in your marine aquarium contribute greatly to your success of your aquarium, and the porous found within the rocks which is extremely porous and serve as the primary biological filter in saltwater tanks that is required to have a healthy aquarium.

 

The many holes and crannies in this rock give it a tremendous amount of surface area for both the beneficial aerobic (needs oxygen) and anaerobic (does not need oxygen) bacteria to live on. This is what makes live rock such a great biological filter for your tank. The beneficial bacteria helps convert the ammonia from fish waste and uneaten fish food into nitrIte. The second step is when this bacteria converts the nitrIte into nitrAte. The last step is when the anaerobic bacteria converts the nitrAte into harmless nitrogen gas that escapes via the water surface.

 

However, using un-curved live rock which you just purschase for the local LFS is going to be a problem if you did not cure it prior to putting it into your tank. You are going to see a much greater die off rate then those pre-cured rock which will result in a ammonia spike !!

 

These are some of the recommend method used for the cycling of our newly bought live rock which is summarised as follows:

 

1) When the live rock is unpacked , look and remove any white, slimy areas and anything else that is decaying. The white spots may represent an organism, typically a soft coral, hard coral or sponge, has died. Removal will help to minimise the stress on the system by removing another source of nutrients and prevent containment to your tank water.

 

2)Clean off some of the invertebrates on the rock, such as sponges and corals. But unless you know what you are removing and are experienced they you may remove some very valuable specimens. There is no need to be so harsh and take to it with a brush and scrub it clean. This practice is rather excessive.

 

3)Inspect each rock for the presence of bristle worms and hary crabs and remove any if found. Bristle worms have a tendency to come out of the rock, or hang partially out, after the rock has been in transit. You may also leave your rock out of the water for a few hour to let these pest drop out of your rocks.

It is also a good idea to remove any plant growth, both macro and micro algae, as these can easilyre-grow from the root system left behind.

 

4) A mechanical filter can be used during this period to help remove suspended solids from the system during cycling, but ensure that it is cleaned regularly, every day is preferred. This is because the material the filter catches is not removed from the system. It will continue to break down and contribute to the addition of pollutants in the system.

 

5) Operate the skimmer continuously and tune such that a dry, dark foam is collected.

 

6) Run activated carbon if possible in a high flow area of the system such that the water passes through it.Once the cycle is over use activated carbon as usual, whether intermittently or continuous.

 

7) Operating a lighting during the cycling of the rocks helps to promote coraline algae growth but it is not really necessary , however a 6 hour lighting-period with blue actinic lighting is good .

 

8) Performacing of the higher frequency of water changes the better, as this helps to keep spped up the process of the cycling . The amount of the water change can vary, but a 50% is a good start. If there are problems with such a high volume change then decrease to a level that is possible. But the higher the water change the better as it will remove more of the nutrients and pollutants and speed up the cycling.

 

9) Lastly, You will need to monitor the water parameters with your test kit(s) for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate in order to determine the cycling process. However, once you have no longer detect ammonia and nitrite and there is no longer a foul smell, you can consider the process complete. How long it takes depends on the shape/quality of the rocks in when you start the process.

 

 

 

 

 

Soon my journey will began.