Dry rock help

Emma_fish

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Ok so I have a 20us gallon 81L saltwater aquarium and I am going to either get live or dry rock but my question is if I get dry rock can i still add fish right away with Dr Tim’s one and only or do I have to wait for the dry rock to become live rock ?
 

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You have to wait a bit. HOWEVER, dry rock doesn't come with the problems that live rock could possibly have. I have done both and will never do live again.
 

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I went with dry rock and live sand in my 20 gallon, dosed Bio-Spira and aqueous ammonia, and the LFS said my cycle had completed in about 14 days. I've got my fish in QT now so I (hopefully) don’t have problems later on. Tank has been up for a month now with a frag of codium macroalgae to use nutrients before nuisance algae gets to. Slow and steady has the highest success chance, but careful monitoring and proactive measures can mean success with any startup!
 
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I went with dry rock and live sand in my 20 gallon, dosed Bio-Spira and aqueous ammonia, and the LFS said my cycle had completed in about 14 days. I've got my fish in QT now so I (hopefully) don’t have problems later on. Tank has been up for a month now with a frag of codium macroalgae to use nutrients before nuisance algae gets to. Slow and steady has the highest success chance, but careful monitoring and proactive measures can mean success with any startup!
Great thank you I will be using Dr Tim’s and not people say to add fish right away so do I fill it up the tank add some fish food wait a week or two add dr Tim’s then add fish or do I fill up the tank add some fish food wait for ammonia reading add Dr Tim’s then wait a week or two and add fish won’t the bacteria die if there isn’t fish in there ?
 
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You have to wait a bit. HOWEVER, dry rock doesn't come with the problems that live rock could possibly have. I have done both and will never do live again.
How long would you say is a bit ? and do I sit for the rock then add dr Tim’s or do I Add Dr Tim’s wait for the rock then add fish ?
 

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You can do a fish-in cycle with either live or dry rock. I personally wouldn't recommend either. I would leave a fish-in cycle to the more experienced reefers who can react to any possible cycling issues with the knowledge that only comes with experience.

That being said, there are pros and cons to using live or dry rock in a fish-less cycle.
Using live rock may help to cycle the tank quicker and help it to mature much faster. It MAY also reduce the initial "ugly" stage. The down side is that you have to accept whatever hitchhikers (good and bad) that come with the rock.

If you use dry rock and bottled bacteria, you can also cycle your tank fairly quickly. The down side here being that while you are initially eliminating the introduction of pests, dry rock cycles generally take much longer to reach a stable condition and the "ugly stage" tends to be more pronounced.

Keep in mind that whichever method you choose, unless you have a religious quarantine regimen for all fish, corals and inverts that you intend to add to your tank, you're likely to introduce unwanted organisms to your tank anyway.

I personally think that the initial fish-less cycle period gives the new reefer a chance to become familiar with their tank. It gives them the opportunity become comfortable with the water testing that is vital to this hobby. Don't rush it.

I've attached a couple of great threads that may help.


 
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You can do a fish-in cycle with either live or dry rock. I personally wouldn't recommend either. I would leave a fish-in cycle to the more experienced reefers who can react to any possible cycling issues with the knowledge that only comes with experience.

That being said, there are pros and cons to using live or dry rock in a fish-less cycle.
Using live rock may help to cycle the tank quicker and help it to mature much faster. It MAY also reduce the initial "ugly" stage. The down side is that you have to accept whatever hitchhikers (good and bad) that come with the rock.

If you use dry rock and bottled bacteria, you can also cycle your tank fairly quickly. The down side here being that while you are initially eliminating the introduction of pests, dry rock cycles generally take much longer to reach a stable condition and the "ugly stage" tends to be more pronounced.

Keep in mind that whichever method you choose, unless you have a religious quarantine regimen for all fish, corals and inverts that you intend to add to your tank, you're likely to introduce unwanted organisms to your tank anyway.

I personally think that the initial fish-less cycle period gives the new reefer a chance to become familiar with their tank. It gives them the opportunity become comfortable with the water testing that is vital to this hobby. Don't rush it.

I've attached a couple of great threads that may help.


Great thank you but if I add Dr Tim’s don’t you have to add a fish straight away ?
 

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I have a 55gal saltwater reef tank, and I also used dry rock and Dr. Tim's One and Only. What I did was added water to the tank and waited 24 hours for the dust to settle (day 1). Once clear, I added the Dr. Tim's and waited another 24 hours (day 2). And on the third day I added my 2 clowns and I never had an issue. I'm sure there's people who have done all 3 in 1 day and gotten away with it. However in this hobby, patience today saves you a headache tomorrow.
 
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I have a 55gal saltwater reef tank, and I also used dry rock and Dr. Tim's One and Only. What I did was added water to the tank and waited 24 hours for the dust to settle (day 1). Once clear, I added the Dr. Tim's and waited another 24 hours (day 2). And on the third day I added my 2 clowns and I never had an issue. I'm sure there's people who have done all 3 in 1 day and gotten away with it. However in this hobby, patience today saves you a headache tomorrow.
This was extremely helpful thank you :)
 
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I have a 55gal saltwater reef tank, and I also used dry rock and Dr. Tim's One and Only. What I did was added water to the tank and waited 24 hours for the dust to settle (day 1). Once clear, I added the Dr. Tim's and waited another 24 hours (day 2). And on the third day I added my 2 clowns and I never had an issue. I'm sure there's people who have done all 3 in 1 day and gotten away with it. However in this hobby, patience today saves you a headache tomorrow.
Also do I need to quarantine fish even if the only thing in the tank is sand and rock ?
 

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IMO depends if you have live sand then live rock isn't as important. If you have a bare bottom, starting out with live rock is going to help immensely. If you have boutique shops run by just a couple people with beautiful tanks and specimen, they usually are a dependable source of live rock. I would skip the bigger stores with employee turnaround but that's just me.
 

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You should 100% quarantine any fish going into any tank, no matter what's in it prior. What's inside your tank is not the issue, it's what's inside the tank with the fish you just got (if that fish came from a tank with pests, you may adding those pests to your tank). With that being said, a lot of impatient people (like me) just do a quick freshwater dip with the fish. The fish can tolerate the water for a short time, however any pests or hitchhikers should be killed. But remember even though a freshwater dip may remove pests, it does not protect against diseases or sicknesses that you may also be adding to your tank with that new fish.
 

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Also do I need to quarantine fish even if the only thing in the tank is sand and rock ?
This is a loaded question. To Qt or Not to QT you can search here for countless threads and opinions.
If they have disease it will enter the tank and then you will have to deal with it if it become an issue.
Depending on what the disease is:
Treating the tank with fish in it and maybe never having inverts in the tank again
Tank 76 days fish free.
I personally do the 36 hour TTM method
 
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IMO depends if you have live sand then live rock isn't as important. If you have a bare bottom, starting out with live rock is going to help immensely. If you have boutique shops run by just a couple people with beautiful tanks and specimen, they usually are a dependable source of live rock. I would skip the bigger stores with employee turnaround but that's just me.
I’m getting aquarium sand in a bag from Amazon and probably dry rock I don’t want to risk any bad hitchhikers
 
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This is a loaded question. To Qt or Not to QT you can search here for countless threads and opinions.
If they have disease it will enter the tank and then you will have to deal with it if it become an issue.
Depending on what the disease is:
Treating the tank with fish in it and maybe never having inverts in the tank again
Tank 76 days fish free.
I personally do the 36 hour TTM method
Oh ok I will definitely be quarantining then
 

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