‘cycling’ question ... I’m confused

[brandon429]

most things in reefing we can just make a suggestion and whether or not its followed really doesnt matter. Raise someone's nitrate, lower someone's phosphate, add more blue lights, lower whites...nothing really happens quickly with these variations in reefing they're just different ways to reef.

but cycling is different, its the one phase where a mistake will kill your whole tank lol so its not easy to just make up stuff regarding a cycle completion, especially when tests dont line up. there is no half answer in cycling, free ammonia will kill live animals when its really there (just the same, they'll never ever open up with any degree of free ammonia its akin to a real chemical burn, respiring animals must excrete it to live)

Thats why this is all so fun, we are messing with other people's money here

cycling or being at the start of a new setup is a very consequential moment for a reef tank. The final referee on whether or not your tank is cycled is when you add something for a starting reef and it either lives or dies, an uncycled tank will not last 48 hours with a living bioload in it, the water will get progressively cloudy until all is lost. when you add your first animals and the water is still clean next morning, you'll know by rule of biology they'll be just as ok the next morning.

 

[Quietman]

Thanks. This may sound like a dumb question but what’s the difference between cycled rock and cured rock? And how can I tell which one I got? The guy at the LFS store didn’t really specify. I think I may need to find a new LFS.

Not at all....one of the more confusing terms in the hobby is how we talk about rock.

Dry Rock - rock that's normally never seen water or been in a tank. Can be manufactured or "mined" from ancient limestone. Can also be considered chemically treated or dried cured rock. See below but in those cases, that should be made clear to you on purchase. Dry rock must be fully cycled by any acceptable method before stocking.

Live Rock -. Probably most misused term. To be exact it means rock that has been in a marine environment long enough to have a population of nitrifying bacteria. Must be kept wet from source to your tank. Most expensive. Can come from ocean, other mature tanks or facility. Some live rock from ocean will come with other organisms both good and bad. Needs no cycling time. Must feed to keep organisms and bacteria alive and viable.

Cured rock - formerly live rock that has dried so it needs to "cure". Which means all the dead organisms need to decay otherwise can cause excessive nutrients in tank or if added to existing tank will cause what's referred to as "mini cycle' which will destabilize your tank. Cured rock does not have to have nitrifying bacteria. Once everything has decayed, there is no source of ammonia and those bacteria essentially starve and must then go through cycling again.

Hope this helps.

 

[itsCHEL]

I do not think the LFS was trying to do anything wrong, testing for rocks is common in the hobby, and what to do with test readings does vary site to site. I assure you Id be banned for typing this stuff on any other site yay to post freedom. welcome to our site~~

*regarding stocking fish: more controversy.

your rocks can handle fish, and if one clown is all you ever wanted a healthy specimen might live. but to do it right, nowadays people do fallow/quarantine to really ensure fish health. thats all explained in the fish disease forum here, you'll have to decide how you want to go.

your tank is ready for starter corals though, and shrimp and cool stuff outside of fish
you can actually start using it/that's really neat.

Thanks, I’ll go check out that forum.

 

[itsCHEL]

Not at all....one of the more confusing terms in the hobby is how we talk about rock.

Dry Rock - rock that's normally never seen water or been in a tank. Can be manufactured or "mined" from ancient limestone. Can also be considered chemically treated or dried cured rock. See below but in those cases, that should be made clear to you on purchase. Dry rock must be fully cycled by any acceptable method before stocking.

Live Rock -. Probably most misused term. To be exact it means rock that has been in a marine environment long enough to have a population of nitrifying bacteria. Must be kept wet from source to your tank. Most expensive. Can come from ocean, other mature tanks or facility. Some live rock from ocean will come with other organisms both good and bad. Needs no cycling time. Must feed to keep organisms and bacteria alive and viable.

Cured rock - formerly live rock that has dried so it needs to "cure". Which means all the dead organisms need to decay otherwise can cause excessive nutrients in tank or if added to existing tank will cause what's referred to as "mini cycle' which will destabilize your tank. Cured rock does not have to have nitrifying bacteria. Once everything has decayed, there is no source of ammonia and those bacteria essentially starve and must then go through cycling again.

Hope this helps.

Thanks, it totally makes sense now.