Is it a good idea to cycle a tank with dead sand and rock?

[RJT]

I am starting a new tank with dead sand and rock scape made up of dead rock. I plan to add one large piece of live rock with the Brightwell cycling system (erase cl, micrabater startxlm and quickcycl) to cycle the tank and add all of the sand and rocks at the same time.

Will this plan work?

 

[DIFish]

Yep! Even without the live rock addition and bottled bacteria you would eventually get a cycle. I am assuming you are going a fishless route so make sure and keep your ammonia dosed to proper levels and the bacteria will grow quick

 

[trevorhiller]

I think that’s the most common route these days. However, once I finally added some live rock, the tank gained a lot of stability. I highly recommend using all or at least some live rock.

If using dead rock, you can expedite the process by dosing a bacteria product of your choice and an ammonia source.

Just be careful with the ammonia source, it’s easy to overdose and raise the level higher than you would like. I would dose a 1/4-1/2 of the recommended dosage and test to see what it’s at. Then let it cycle for a month before adding fish.

 

[Uncle99]

I am starting a new tank with dead sand and rock scape made up of dead rock. I plan to add one large piece of live rock with the Brightwell cycling system (erase cl, micrabater startxlm and quickcycl) to cycle the tank and add all of the sand and rocks at the same time.

Will this plan work?

Absolutely.

 

[Spare time]

Yes its fine.

 

[RJT]

Thank you everyone!!!! I just wanted to make sure. And thank you for the extra tips

 

[legionofdoon]

I will never do it again, I would try to find some live rock to add to the system with the dead rock.

 

[RJT]

I have a large piece of live rock that I will add. Setup 3 temp tanks this way. Brightwell products works well for setting up new tanks.

 

[HBtank]

I would always use some amount of real live rock as "seed" rock (even if in the sump). Even one nice rock would make a big difference in diversity IMO. I do think you can aquascape much better with dry and/or manufactured rock, so a hybrid approach is my preference.

 

[ReefGeezer]

I would save the money you intend to spend on dry rock and bottled stuff and spend it on more live rock and live sand. That will cycle your tank and provide more diversity of life that will shorten the cycle and more importantly decrease the chances of encountering the ugly phase. At least check it out before you start.

 

[RJT]

Avoiding the ugly phase would be incredible. I will check it out. I just ordered the dry sand yesterday , of course and it’s shipped.
Only issue I would have is where to get more live rock than I currently have in the temp tanks. I don’t want to have an ammonia spike adding rock to the temp tanks and I’m apprehensive about adding live rock from another system.

 

[ReefGeezer]

Avoiding the ugly phase would be incredible. I will check it out. I just ordered the dry sand yesterday , of course and it’s shipped.
Only issue I would have is where to get more live rock than I currently have in the temp tanks. I don’t want to have an ammonia spike adding rock to the temp tanks and I’m apprehensive about adding live rock from another system.

You may want the dry sand for looks. Live sand is not as pretty and maybe better in a sump or mixed with dry sand. Look at Tampa Bay Saltwater - @LiverockRocks here at Reef2Reef. Using their base live rock and/or live sand should keep the tank from having a cycle at all, almost immediately support life, and reduce cost. The cost will be higher than dry rock if you're building the 300 gallon in your build thread. You could save some money by skipping the UV, Ozone, and ATS. You won't need it if you set-up and maintain the tank in a more holistic manner. I'll send you some info.

 

[Koh23]

All u need some live rock to seed the tank.

Dry rock+dry sand is not wrong or worse, it is just another way to do it....

And bit slower, but this hobby is not about speed....

 

[LiverockRocks]

Avoiding the ugly phase would be incredible. I will check it out. I just ordered the dry sand yesterday , of course and it’s shipped.
Only issue I would have is where to get more live rock than I currently have in the temp tanks. I don’t want to have an ammonia spike adding rock to the temp tanks and I’m apprehensive about adding live rock from another system.

You can mix ocean live sand in with the dry sand (preferably not sugar fine dry sand) or add the ocean live sand to a refugium/sump compartment.
You won't get an ammonia spike with base rock shipped submerged added to a new tank.

 

[ReefGeezer]

All u need some live rock to seed the tank.

Dry rock+dry sand is not wrong or worse, it is just another way to do it....

And bit slower, but this hobby is not about speed....

I agree that using live rock for seed will "work". It won't create an environment that will support life as quickly or provide enough organisms to outcompete pest algae, Cyano, and Dinos though. I think adequate seeding with live rock and sand is preferable to bacteria in a bottle. I do think it is less likely to reduce the ugly phase though. My reasoning behind that statement is simple... There are just too many bare surfaces on the dry rock that are susceptible to being colonized by organisms that we may not desire. Seeding only provides a slight hedge in the battle for colonization of those surfaces.

 

[RJT]

I can add some live sand. That will add some biodiversity

 

[RJT]

The bare surface area is a problem that I didn’t realize until you mentioned it.

I planned to do the aqua scape outside of the tank. I’ll have to think of a way to do it another way.

 

[ReefGeezer]

I can add some live sand. That will add some biodiversity

Yes it will. Make sure it is live sand shipped in water from the ocean... not sitting dead on a store shelf.

 

[RJT]

That has been my experience with live sand. Dead store live sand.

 

[ReefGeezer]

The bare surface area is a problem that I didn’t realize until you mentioned it.

I planned to do the aqua scape outside of the tank. I’ll have to think of a way to do it another way.

Yea... Unfortunately, many of the organisms we don't want are pervassive. Nature uses them to fill vacuums, or your case bare surfaces.

I started my tank with dry rock for the same reason. I discovered two things in the next two years:
1. The cool rock work I created wasn't very functional when adding corals; and
2. The dry rock and bottled bacteria set up a two year battle with the "uglies".

I was so disappointed, I started thinking about what went wrong. That's how I started thinking about nutrient pathways and food webs and realized how many ways I had screwed up both of them. I changed how I managed the tank and things got better. The info I sent you came from that process & is how I will set up my next tank.

IMO, you are better off setting up simple aquascapes that leave space all around it so you can get to all sides. Islands look really cool in a big tank. Include a few simple caves varying the height of the islands. Don't try to build super high structures. You can aquascape some in the tank with live rock. Just keep it simple and use epoxy putty and superglue to stick them together enough so they don't avalanche. Many put some rock in the display tank and some in the sump. If you order live rock make sure you tell the supplier that it is for a large tank.