How long till Dry rock becomes Live?

kim7 · Mar 20, 2016

Ok so right now I have about 5 pounds of live rock that I got from my LFS in my 20g cycling aquarium. I have about 20 pounds of Base rock that is on the way. So how long will it take for all the base rock to become live?

jrose323 · Mar 20, 2016

The term "Live Rock" refers to the beneficial bacteria the develops and lives within the pores of the rock. Generally, you could consider your rock live after your Nitrogen Cycle is complete. As you add more bio load, more beneficial bacteria will develop to handle the additional bio load and reproduce further within your rock.

FlyinBryan · Mar 20, 2016

45 days. Test ammonia at day 30, if you read any, you have too much.

BossGT911 · Mar 20, 2016

you can always add some stabilty

kim7 · Mar 20, 2016

I added a full bottle of dr tims nitrifying bacteria the first day I set up my tank. Is it ok to add more later on to speed up the cycle? It wont hurt right?

BossGT911 · Mar 20, 2016

right

kim7 · Mar 21, 2016

Hey I just have question about Dr tims nitrifying bacteria, my tank has been only cycling for a about a week. Is it safe to put some CUC after putting in a bottle of dr tims?

sbash · Mar 22, 2016

kim7 said:
Hey I just have question about Dr tims nitrifying bacteria, my tank has been only cycling for a about a week. Is it safe to put some CUC after putting in a bottle of dr tims?

What does the chemistry say? Have you been feeding the tank at all (fish food, shrimp, etc)? What does the Dr Tims recommend?

I used prodibio startup on a tank once, it claimed I could add fish after 24 hours. I am not sure that it would be a good idea (the test kits I had at the time were garbage). Really, if you have seen an ammonia spike and it has tapered off (ended up in a nominal nitrate reading), then you are good to go. I would not risk it otherwise...

kim7 · Mar 22, 2016

I just tested my parameters last night. My results were 0 ammonia 0 nitrites and 40pp nitrates. It was hard to believe this cause my tank was only cycling for 5 days. Has my cycle even started? I put large amounts of flake and frozen brines every day. I only have ~5lbs of cured rock and 20lbs of live sand

Aaron hacking · Mar 22, 2016

what kind of filtration are you running!?

kim7 · Mar 22, 2016

Aquaclear 70, with chemi pure, my skimmer is on the way

Best Fish-Jake · Jun 17, 2017

Yes, it is safe to add livestock right after adding Dr. Tim's... I started my 30g with 25 lbs of live rock, ~15lbs live sand, a bottle of bacteria, and 1/3 of my CUC... got my first fish a few days later. Just be sure you don't have any ammonia before the first fish additions.

glb · Jun 17, 2017

Always check for ammonia before adding anything. I used Dr. Tim's and pure ammonia to cycle my tank and it still took a few weeks. Each tank is different. Good luck!

mtfish · Jun 17, 2017

Before you add anything live you can dose a small amount of ammonia and wait to see that it gets converted to nitrates. That will tell you the bacteria is at a sufficient level to keep the system stable.

kim7 · Jun 17, 2017

This thread is from last year but thanks for the advice anyways :D

rc1626 · Jun 17, 2017

glb said:
Always check for ammonia before adding anything. I used Dr. Tim's and pure ammonia to cycle my tank and it still took a few weeks. Each tank is different. Good luck!

Same here. Be carefull with just putting livestock in without checking at least ammonia. Nitrite should be checked as well. Don't just assume because you added Dr. Tim's that everything is good to go.

kwhyle · Jun 21, 2017

Just because I didnt want to start yet another thread. I just wanted to share my plan when I start my new tank.

Starting with Dry pukani from BRS

bleach cure 10:1 h2o:bleach - 1-2 days
rinse
freshwater soak with prime - 1-2 days
rinse
rock into tank & scape + sand (caribsea aragalive special)
start cycle + biospira - 2-3 weeks test daily w/ ghost feeding or molly cycle(I'm quickly debating this but I have tons of molly from my freshwater tank and it seems like I cant even give them away)
add clown after params are good 1 week
add cuc 1 week
coral!

questions:

1. During the freshwater soak after the bleach cure, do I use salt? Or just fill tank with heated salt when I scape and add sand?
2. Which testkits are you guys using? API? (I've used API for freshwater)
3. When using Biospira, I need to feed bac with ghost feeding correct?
4. How many clowns should I start with? 1 or 2 for a 20 gal?