Been out of the hobby for 15 years.
When I set up my tank 20 years ago, I had access to cured live rock and never went through a cycle.
This time, I'm setting up a tank with a mix of 40lbs cured base rock (been curing in a tank for a year, reading 50ppm Nitrate). This rock will be situated in my sump.
I'll be using 60lbs of dry base rock in my display tank with Caribsea Premium live sand. I'd like to aquascape it, and am wondering if I will skip the ammonia cycle when I fill it since I have the 40lbs of cured base rock in my sump?
Will I be ok with the above method allowing me to aquascape? Or Should I simply mix in my dry base rock in a bin with my cured base rock for a month?
Should I keep the lights off for a few months to hopefully skip the ugly phase? Or is there no merit to that anymore?
Thanks
When I set up my tank 20 years ago, I had access to cured live rock and never went through a cycle.
This time, I'm setting up a tank with a mix of 40lbs cured base rock (been curing in a tank for a year, reading 50ppm Nitrate). This rock will be situated in my sump.
I'll be using 60lbs of dry base rock in my display tank with Caribsea Premium live sand. I'd like to aquascape it, and am wondering if I will skip the ammonia cycle when I fill it since I have the 40lbs of cured base rock in my sump?
Will I be ok with the above method allowing me to aquascape? Or Should I simply mix in my dry base rock in a bin with my cured base rock for a month?
Should I keep the lights off for a few months to hopefully skip the ugly phase? Or is there no merit to that anymore?
Thanks
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