Cycling DRY live rock progress thread (with photos)

TPetty84

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Hi all!!
I'm starting this thread to show beginners how to cycle dried out, used, live rock. I am by no means an expert. I have maybe 5 years experience in marine tanks, and have never cycled dry live rock before. Should be informative and possibly interesting. 1smile1
 
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25lbs of "dead rock"
 
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TPetty84

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Sorry guys, side-tracked by the plague. Been in bed for a week. Rock is still soaking in vinegar, and will be moving further this weekend. Stay tuned
 
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TPetty84

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FINALLY got back to it! In the end, the rock soaked in a 5 gallon bucket with one gallon of vinegar and the rest topped of with water for 8 days. I took it out and it had a layer of what I'd describe the consistency of clay. Scrubbed off fairly easily with a scrub brush and took about an hour total.

BEFORE SCRUB
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image.jpg

AFTER SCRUB
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TPetty84

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Sorry about the double photos. Can't figure out how to get rid of the duplicate. This is how the rock looks compared to the original photo.
image.jpg
 
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TPetty84

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If you enjoy having skin on your knuckles, I'd suggest a scrub brush like this. That rock is porous and sharp!
image.jpg
 
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TPetty84

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Can anyone help me on how sure I have to be to get ALL vinegar out of pores of the rock before I begin cycling? I know it's organic but don't know if it will be toxic to the system. Obviously I'll rinse well but should I soak on RO/DI to make sure ALL is gone? Or is a little ok?
 

Daniel@R2R

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Can anyone help me on how sure I have to be to get ALL vinegar out of pores of the rock before I begin cycling? I know it's organic but don't know if it will be toxic to the system. Obviously I'll rinse well but should I soak on RO/DI to make sure ALL is gone? Or is a little ok?

You don't need to worry about it. Vinegar is a source of carbon and can be/is actually dosed into reef tanks by many reefers because it promotes beneficial bacteria. You're fine to put the rock in with whatever little bit of vinegar is left. ;)

Edit: As an added note, I just noticed that you're about to cycle the tank. The vinegar may actually be helpful in that process too since it feeds nitrifying bacteria. So...you can add the rock and know it may actually be helpful. ;)
 
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TPetty84

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Thank you for the quick response!! If I can make it to the lfs for some RO/DI water today, I'll move to the next step
 

Daniel@R2R

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Good deal! You should start a build thread and keep us posted as you build your reef.
 
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ru4ymuty.jpg

Getting the water parameters straight. The water is FREEZING ( about 48 degrees). Two heaters to get it warm. Water at roughly 1.020 SG. Once it gets up to temp, I'll do the final salt tweak then add rock
 
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TPetty84

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This morning I scrubbed the rock again and added to the cycling bucket. After an 18 hour soak, the rock had a lot of greens on it again and I scrubbed a bunch of stuff off. Im not sure if it sucked more out of the rock, or if the algae/bacteria bloomed while in there?? Either way, it is clean now and the cycling has officially begun! I had to get to work so no photos yet, will get some up tonight or tomorrow.
 
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TPetty84

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I got the rock in on Monday 2/3 and added the raw shrimp last night 2/4. The water is very murky now but no smell yet! I know the stink is on the way though haha.
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1394053151.502267.jpg
 
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TPetty84

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Don't mind the ugly support strap. The sides were bowing and I didn't want a blow out. Also, notice the styrofoam underneath. I did that to help with heat loss into the cement basement floow
 

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