Anyone ever cycle rock outside of an aquarium?

Robert Binz

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I saw a BRS video that suggested cycling dry rock outside of an aquarium before you even get the aquarium.

The method described was putting the rock and water in a brute can with a heater, powerhead, ammonia source, and bottled bacteria starter. Then, let the rock cycle for several months in the lightless can until it can be placed fairly live into the display.

Anyone tried something similar? Seen articles or videos about this method?
 

ScottR

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Exactly how you described it. The nitrifying bacteria will grow in the rocks, not in the water column. So you can basically put your rocks directly in the tank when you’re ready and dump the water. First water change ;)
 

Maxx

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I'm doing it right now.

Tank isnt plumbed, but the rock has been"cooking" for 3 months now.

Started with Microbacter XLM and Ammonium Chloride, in a brute can with a heater and powerhead. Temp was set at 84F and salinity was set to 1.018.

Should be nice and stable when I get everything finished up here soon.
 
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Robert Binz

Robert Binz

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I'm doing it right now.

Tank isnt plumbed, but the rock has been"cooking" for 3 months now.

Started with Microbacter XLM and Ammonium Chloride, in a brute can with a heater and powerhead. Temp was set at 84F and salinity was set to 1.018.

Should be nice and stable when I get everything finished up here soon.

That’s great! Have you done any water changes on the rock?

Also if you remember give an update when you add the rock to your tank!
 

fishguy242

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That’s great! Have you done any water changes on the rock?

Also if you remember give an update when you add the rock to your tank!
i hope @Maxx will chime in on this one
 

Hemmdog

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I’ve done it and I’m doing it right now to add some more rocks to my scape. They’ve been brewing for almost three months now.
C8171072-D0C5-437B-9E2B-8BDC20BBC13E.jpeg
 
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Robert Binz

Robert Binz

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I’ve done it and I’m doing it right now to add some more rocks to my scape. They’ve been brewing for almost three months now.
C8171072-D0C5-437B-9E2B-8BDC20BBC13E.jpeg

Does it help you avoid/shorten the really nasty parts of the cycle? That’s BRS said
 

fishguy242

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i have done approx 50# with 20# live,in brute old school "my way" mag 12,no heater,salinity1.023,hang on skimmer pour in skimmate 2x week done in a month,no testing,just top off. ..many may frown on this but works
 

Hemmdog

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Does it help you avoid/shorten the really nasty parts of the cycle? That’s BRS said
Yeah I never had any uglies in my 90 gallon. I didn’t cycle rocks in my tank prior to my 90, I had a lot of uglies and all sorts of issues. I would highly recommend cycling outside the tank.

It’s not recommended but I even added coral the first day I moved the rocks into the tank, I didn’t lose any.
Day 1
912E556F-CAF3-4553-A607-5B1807FD2487.jpeg


Day 564
6F9F453A-63C2-43C1-B17B-C9EAF8BC6728.jpeg
 

pdxmonkeyboy

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It does help and pretty much eliminates the risk of ammonia toxicity during start up of a new tank. Does one year old cycled rock make a one year old tank on day 1? No.

What people must remember that the cycling and maturity of a tank takes time. It is a boom and crash of microbial populations for, I would say, at least the first 6-7 months.

You add fish.. ammonia goes up, bacteria bloom, they quickly consume the ammonia, there is not enough to go around. Population falls, ammonia levels creep up, bacteria bloom..

The fluctuations get less and less overtime, and that is what makes a mature tank.

Not saying cooking rock is bad, I currently have about 300lbs in rubbermaids. But just don't stress too much about it.

If you religiously feed the rock a bunch of ammonia every day, you would have an incredible amount of biota when you started your tank. Then a lot would perish due to starvation.
 

Duncan Tse

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Yea that is what I'm going to be doing for my next tank build. Add an ammonia source and then monitor your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and phosphate levels.

Easier to do this way as I can lower the nitrate by doing 100% waterchange in a smaller volume of water.

Rocks will leach phosphates overtime and I would either run some gfo or dose lathanum chloride until the rocks stop leaching phoshpates.

Once bacteria colonizes your rocks and nutrient levels are low then I can add it into my tank.
 

Gablami

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Can I just clarify for the OP that once your rocks are cycled that you do NOT have to continue to add ammonia indefinitely to keep it cycled. It will not revert back to dead rock or anything like that. Bacteria will die, which will release nutrients into the water which other bacteria will use to replicate. You may continue to add ammonia or “ghost feed” but you don’t have to.
 
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