Best way to cycle and transfert live stock ?

[Idech]

I’m converting / setting up 75 gallons to saltwater. I also have a 5 months old Fluval EVO with 10-15 lbs of dry rocks that‘s starting to grow some type of hard algae, maybe coralline, and has some green algae. There are 3 little fish in it and 5 snails, and about 10 easy corals and mushrooms.

My plan was to cycle the 75 gallons, then add the fish but wait about 1 month to add the coral and snails, so the tank is a little more mature.

But I’m wondering if adding the rocks right away with the fish would make the 1 month wait unnecessary. I’m new at saltwater so I would appreciate your input.

What’s the best way to do this for the corals and animals ?

Thank you !

 

[TriggerFinger]

I just did something similar. Moved rock and a fish from a 90g to a 40g. I put new water in the 40g and transferred my rock. Brought the water up to temp and put my fish in. No cycle and no problems. My rock has been in tank for 3 years so it was well established.
Edit: I didn’t have any coral to transfer but I added new coral after 2 weeks. So far so good

 

[brandon429]

Triggers method always works, it's how they manage large reef conventions to be ready on the intended start date with no stalls. Don't use bottle bac for this job its not needed

When live rock is moved tank to tank they just transfer and skip cycle no mini cycle happens at all. Moving homes does not uncycle live rock, cheap tests kits aren't able to consistently show us this proof.

 

[Idech]

I just did something similar. Moved rock and a fish from a 90g to a 40g. I put new water in the 40g and transferred my rock. Brought the water up to temp and put my fish in. No cycle and no problems

You had enough rocks in the 90 gallons to fill the 40 gallons entirely. I only have 10-15 lbs of dry rocks that has been in the tank 5 months.

Is it considered live now ? And is there enough of it ?

Triggers method always works, it's how they manage large reef conventions to be ready on the intended start date with no stalls. Don't use bottle bac for this job its not needed

I was planning to cycle with Dr Tim’s ammonia, bottled bacteria and fish flakes. It’s worked really well on my EVO. It took 21 days from scratch with dry rocks.

Can I really consider 10 lbs of 5 months old dry rock will do the trick for a 75 gallons tank ?

I mean, I’d be delighted if it worked, but it looks too easy…

 

[Azedenkae]

I’m converting / setting up 75 gallons to saltwater. I also have a 5 months old Fluval EVO with 10-15 lbs of dry rocks that‘s starting to grow some type of hard algae, maybe coralline, and has some green algae. There are 3 little fish in it and 5 snails, and about 10 easy corals and mushrooms.

My plan was to cycle the 75 gallons, then add the fish but wait about 1 month to add the coral and snails, so the tank is a little more mature.

But I’m wondering if adding the rocks right away with the fish would make the 1 month wait unnecessary. I’m new at saltwater so I would appreciate your input.

What’s the best way to do this for the corals and animals ?

Thank you !

If you transfer everything over directly, then your new tank will (theoretically) be cycled for the current bioload, i.e. yes you can do the transfer over no probs.

However, it could potentially take time for the nitrification capacity to ramp up to handle a full bioload for a 75 gallon tank.

So you have two choices. Do the above and yeah, slowly add live stock while you let nitrifiers catch up. Or cycle the new 75 gallon, and transfer everything over.

The latter option is 'surer', but then again, our biomedia do tend to have higher nitrification capacities than we normally need anyways, so it is more than likely the live rock (yes you can call them live rock now, it's been five months and you have live stock) you have can already handle more bioload than what you have right now, so there's also that.

But well, life being life, it's kinda hard to predict exactly what happens and how everything is.

 

[brandon429]

Confused on one portion needed to answer your allowed cycle end date, and whether or not you should buy bacteria from a bottle:


in the new arrangement to be built, how many pounds of wet cured live rock from the current tank are being moved over


or

is the new tank going to use totally dry rock…your thread title didn’t indicate this planning it reads like a skip cycle rock transfer coming up. *any extra dry rock you add to the live does not require bottle bac, you’d specifically not buy any for that blended cycle.


the wet portions bring up the dry ones by being in the same water, within a week or so.

do not spend money into the bottle bac sales machine until you are using dry rocks as the total basis for the new build. Blended cycles are not in need of more bac added if you’re moving over say at least twenty pounds of the old rock. Twenty pounds of cured rock will run any bioload we keep in reefing, the dry and inert rocks don’t even need to contribute at all. They’ll be extra, free, unneeded bacteria so certainly don’t pay to embellish them.

 

[Idech]

If you transfer everything over directly, then your new tank will (theoretically) be cycled for the current bioload, i.e. yes you can do the transfer over no probs.

Oh, you’re so right, I should have seen it this way also !

I’ll do it this way, and slowly add 1 fish at a time, very slowly. This will be a slow project, as I don’t know much about saltwater fish and inverts and every new inhabitant will have to be researched before I decide to buy. So the cycle will have plenty of time to catch up !

in the new arrangement to be built, how many pounds of wet cured live rock from the current tank are being moved over

All of it, which is about 10-15 lbs max, since the tank is only 12 gallons.

is the new tank going to use totally dry rock…

For the new tank, I will be reusing my existing rock (reef suitable rocks). I used to have cichlids in it so the tank was filled with rocks almost to the top.

The rocks will be scrubbed from algae and diatoms, then will soak in a bleached solution, then rinsed and soaked again in tap water for a few days.

So yeah, they will be like dry rock.

do not spend money into the bottle bac sales machine until you are using dry rocks as the total basis for the new build.

I already have this bottle but I won’t use it if I’m not doing a regular cycle with ammonia.

 

[brandon429]

At twelve gallons a mere five pounds would skip cycle you, so no testing is needed you just move over the system after cleaning surfaces of detritus

the only event that causes a cycle here is moving over mud, so don’t


100% do not buy bottle bac it’s a full waste of money here and wet rocks can’t take on more bacteria anyway if we dose more, vital space is limited on cycled rocks and already taken up. Bottle bac sellers have conveniently omitted accurate natural surface area management science out of the cycle rules they write. This is a no bottle bac job.

 

[Idech]

At twelve gallons a mere five pounds would skip cycle you, so no testing is needed you just move over the system after cleaning surfaces of detritus

I think I didn’t explain this well. The old tank has 10-15 lbs of rocks in it and is 12 gallons.

But these rocks will be going into a 75 gallons.

 

[TriggerFinger]

Oh, you’re so right, I should have seen it this way also !

I’ll do it this way, and slowly add 1 fish at a time, very slowly. This will be a slow project, as I don’t know much about saltwater fish and inverts and every new inhabitant will have to be researched before I decide to buy. So the cycle will have plenty of time to catch up !


All of it, which is about 10-15 lbs max, since the tank is only 12 gallons.


For the new tank, I will be reusing my existing rock (reef suitable rocks). I used to have cichlids in it so the tank was filled with rocks almost to the top.

The rocks will be scrubbed from algae and diatoms, then will soak in a bleached solution, then rinsed and soaked again in tap water for a few days.

So yeah, they will be like dry rock.

so bleaching and drying the rock is going to Unalive it. You will not have live rock anymore after that. So if you go that route, you must cycle the new tank before moving any fish.

 

[Idech]

so bleaching and drying the rock is going to Unalive it. You will not have live rock anymore after that. So if you go that route, you must cycle the new tank before moving any fish.

Oh my, I’m so bad at explaining all this. :-(

The rocks that are going to be bleached are the rocks in the saltwater 75 gallons. So these ones will be dead.

But, the rocks in the 12 gallons saltwater tank will not be bleached, just transferred over to the 75 gallons.

So the 75 gallons will have new sand, new dry rocks + the 10-15 lbs of live rock from the 12 gallons.

I hope that makes more sense.

Also, I should transfer the sand from the 12 gallons also, right ?

 

[Azedenkae]

Oh, you’re so right, I should have seen it this way also !

I’ll do it this way, and slowly add 1 fish at a time, very slowly. This will be a slow project, as I don’t know much about saltwater fish and inverts and every new inhabitant will have to be researched before I decide to buy. So the cycle will have plenty of time to catch up !

Hey yeah that works out then. XD

 

[Mayacan]

Oh my, I’m so bad at explaining all this. :-(

The rocks that are going to be bleached are the rocks in the saltwater 75 gallons. So these ones will be dead.

But, the rocks in the 12 gallons saltwater tank will not be bleached, just transferred over to the 75 gallons.

So the 75 gallons will have new sand, new dry rocks + the 10-15 lbs of live rock from the 12 gallons.

I hope that makes more sense.

Also, I should transfer the sand from the 12 gallons also, right ?

Never use existing sand from old system in a new one. Buy new sand.

 

[Idech]

Never use existing sand from old system in a new one. Buy new sand.

Aren’t there good bacterias in the sand ? It’s also only 5 months old.

I don’t mind not using it, I bought plenty. Just wondering why I should throw it out.

 

[Mayacan]

There a lot of toxins in the old sand as well, I’ve always been told to use new sand in a new system.