Dry rock and cycling a new tank
- Thread starter Captain Nemo
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JAWS 32
Active Member
I would purchase some live rock to help with your cycle... you can do 1/3 live rock to 2/3 'dead' rock and throw the shrimp In... you benefit extra from some LR because it's already "living with bacteria" and you probably will get some copepods and amphipods as well... both very beneficial to your tank..good luck!
A small piece of live rock will certainly help speed up the process. It doesn't have to remain in your tank. You'll simply be using it to seed your dry rock with bacteria. The shrimp rotting will feed the bacteria, causing them to grow.
A couple jumbo shrimp will be plenty. You can place them in a nylon stocking for easy removal or just let them rot away. Keep good flow going so they don't develop mold or fungus.
A couple jumbo shrimp will be plenty. You can place them in a nylon stocking for easy removal or just let them rot away. Keep good flow going so they don't develop mold or fungus.
vic67
Well-Known Member
For a 125G I would use two or three regular sized shrimp. I grind them up a little so there's more surface area and they'll break down faster. A piece of live rock would also help your cycle as well as live sand from an established tank. I leave the shrimp in until it's gone.
I would recommend buying all dry rock for the display and just buy like 5 pounds of live rock and put it in your sump. Doing this will prevent any undesirables from entering your display. Let it cycle with the lights out for a couple of weeks. You don't need to put shrimp or anything in there. There's usually plenty of rotting things on the live rock. Then you can turn your lights on for just an hour or less a day until you start to see some signs of life. Plan on taking a good 6 weeks or more of cycling before adding any actual live stock and do so very slowly when you do. If you're patient you can avoid any algae blooms.
Reef Junky150
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You can run your skimmer get it broken in and dialed in.
No skimmer needed and no lights during cycling. You'll need a decent test kit to keep track of your Nitrates, Nitrites and ammonia, for the next 8 weeks. At the end of this time all 3 should be reading close to .0 with the exception of Nitrates, which should be 20 or below. You cycle is done once these numbers have been reached and are maintained.
gemini9
Newb!
I started my tank with all dry rock from BRS and a few pieces of LR to seed the tank. Crushed Coral as substrate. HOB skimmer and filter. I also dropped in a shrimp to start the cycle. Bad idea. The shrimp broke down and created lots of nitrates in the end, as did the die off from the dry rock. I also had used crushed coral (also a mistake), which I am currently in the process of removing and replacing with sand.
IMPORTANT: Here's the thing with using dry rock. It can take several months for the dry rock to fully cure. Much longer than using LR that has already cured. Yes, several MONTHS. 8 weeks at the very least. I have had nitrate problems in my tank since March, and this was all due to a mixture of the shrimp, dry rock and crushed coral. You don't need to use a shrimp. There are additives you can buy to jump start the cycle. Dr Tims I believe it's called. The rotting shrimp will be disgusting. It will smell up the entire room and leave a greasy slimey gross ball of fuzzy slime with bubbles that is enough to make someone puke. It will swell up like a dead rotting corpse and smell your room up like a tub of rotting sardines.
If I you insist on dry rock, clean it really good first. Buy some distilled white vinegar and soak that rock for a few days. Grab a toothbrush and clean all the debris off of it and then rinse it off real good with RODI water. As for the shrimp... just don't.... it's gross... and will probably put tons more ammonia into your water as what you need.
Just my 2c. I'm not as experienced as the others here, so take my info for what it's worth. Me personally, I didn't like the shrimp thing. And I forgot to clean my dry rock really well. The dry rock takes forever to cure, so you're in for a long wait.... but it's way cheaper. Using crushed coral was another thing I didn't like initially about my tank.
IMPORTANT: Here's the thing with using dry rock. It can take several months for the dry rock to fully cure. Much longer than using LR that has already cured. Yes, several MONTHS. 8 weeks at the very least. I have had nitrate problems in my tank since March, and this was all due to a mixture of the shrimp, dry rock and crushed coral. You don't need to use a shrimp. There are additives you can buy to jump start the cycle. Dr Tims I believe it's called. The rotting shrimp will be disgusting. It will smell up the entire room and leave a greasy slimey gross ball of fuzzy slime with bubbles that is enough to make someone puke. It will swell up like a dead rotting corpse and smell your room up like a tub of rotting sardines.
If I you insist on dry rock, clean it really good first. Buy some distilled white vinegar and soak that rock for a few days. Grab a toothbrush and clean all the debris off of it and then rinse it off real good with RODI water. As for the shrimp... just don't.... it's gross... and will probably put tons more ammonia into your water as what you need.
Just my 2c. I'm not as experienced as the others here, so take my info for what it's worth. Me personally, I didn't like the shrimp thing. And I forgot to clean my dry rock really well. The dry rock takes forever to cure, so you're in for a long wait.... but it's way cheaper. Using crushed coral was another thing I didn't like initially about my tank.
gemini, could you please share how you really feel about using a shrimp 
to the op, you've gotten great advice - lights off and I'd personally hold off on running the skimmer until after you've cycled. You can opt to ghost feed (feed a small amount every couple of days) instead of using a shrimp. I like live rock because of the diversity of life that comes on it. of course, it does bring the possibility of bad hitch hikers so that is the risk you take - perhaps just a good piece or two to provide some good bacteria to assist your cycle.
to the op, you've gotten great advice - lights off and I'd personally hold off on running the skimmer until after you've cycled. You can opt to ghost feed (feed a small amount every couple of days) instead of using a shrimp. I like live rock because of the diversity of life that comes on it. of course, it does bring the possibility of bad hitch hikers so that is the risk you take - perhaps just a good piece or two to provide some good bacteria to assist your cycle.
gemini9
Newb!
yeah.... the shrimp was horrible... lol It's a memory that I cannot clear from my mind. If I had the money, also, I would have bought cured LR. Hitchikers can be interesting. Not necessarily bad. Possible, yeah, but not always. Some hikers can be beneficial. Dry rock does need to be washed and soaked in white vinegar tho. Allot of die off and yuck on it that you people don't realize lol. Especially the pukani.
tyler1503
2500 Club Member
You can just throw in a few cubes of brine shrimp and maybe a new cube every week or so just to keep ammonia up for a bit. It will eliminate any need to remove them later as they will rot away very quickly. They won't stink up the room either
On my last 3 tanks I used all dry rock and on my 5 gal I used all live rock. I can't tell the difference anymore, they both work the same. The only difference is the looks, I never seeded my dry rock with live rock so I don't have coralline or cool sponges or anything. From my experience they both effectively remove ammonia and nitrite at the same rate.
On my last 3 tanks I used all dry rock and on my 5 gal I used all live rock. I can't tell the difference anymore, they both work the same. The only difference is the looks, I never seeded my dry rock with live rock so I don't have coralline or cool sponges or anything. From my experience they both effectively remove ammonia and nitrite at the same rate.
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lionfish5740
Active Member
I'm currently cycling a new tank with clean rock. I used old live rock that sat in my yard for a few years and gave it an acid bath to clean it up. Then soaked it in RODI water for a few days and in the tank it went. Mixed the salt in the tank and placed only 1/4 bag of live sand in the sump, couple very small rocks from my nano with critters in them, and an old filter sock with a rubber band to hold it closed to add food. I did however place the live sand in a bucket for a few weeks beforehand with old tank water to make sure it wouldn't spike in the tank. After the first week I bought some MicroBacter7 just to try it out.
Now 2.5 weeks into the cycle and I have the glass absolutely covered with pods :clap2: I don't own any NH3 or NO2 test kits so I'll be taking a sample to the fish store to see how it is this weekend. I've never had a problem cycling tanks in relatively short time, just lucky I guess.
Now 2.5 weeks into the cycle and I have the glass absolutely covered with pods :clap2: I don't own any NH3 or NO2 test kits so I'll be taking a sample to the fish store to see how it is this weekend. I've never had a problem cycling tanks in relatively short time, just lucky I guess.
Fishinwall
Well-Known Member
So what happens if the food gets mold or fungus?
65gal in wall reef tank, ecotech Radion pro, Vortechs, Reef Octopus skimmer, DIY overflow, Eheim 1250 return pump, https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114242
65gal in wall reef tank, ecotech Radion pro, Vortechs, Reef Octopus skimmer, DIY overflow, Eheim 1250 return pump, https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114242
OP
OP
Captain Nemo
Look Ma, it's Nemo!!
Thanks guys! I am choosing to use the dry rock with some LR mixed in becuase I have saved all the pieces from my previous tank. I have washed it with water but not vinegar. I like the brine shrimp cube idea. Never thought of that. Why shouldnt I run the skimmer? Just wondering.... Also, I have live sand to use as the substrate, no crushed coral LOL.... I knew not to do that. I also know not to mix salt water in the tank... thats a no no. Plan on getting it wet this weekend or next week depending on my work. Thanks for all of the suggestions!
OP
OP
Captain Nemo
Look Ma, it's Nemo!!
The rock I am using has been "sun cured" meaning I let it stay in the sun for 6 months or so to let it die and not stink up the house. Is there anything special I need to do to it prior to use?
TBAquaculture
New Member
You need to clean it VERY well, and it will still take months for the bacteria to colonize back to the rock.
SloppyJ
Well-Known Member
Lots of horror stories in here about dry rock. It's all I ever use. If you're smart about it, it's not a big deal. If you use a shrimp, put it in a media bag. If you want to raise your ammonia another way, use pure ammonia to 2ppm. Get good test kits as well.
If you use dry rock be sure to clean it off very well. I suggest a power washer.
If you use dry rock be sure to clean it off very well. I suggest a power washer.
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