Mixing live and dry rock? What order? 2 cycles?

[7of9]

I’m not going to be able to afford going all live rock, but I’d like to include some to help seed my tank. I’m planning to do mostly dry rock and just accept a longer cycle.

My question is whether I should put the wet live rock in when I put in the dry rock and just cycle everything together or if I should let my dry rock cycle down to zero ammonia before adding the wet live rock so that I don’t have to worry as much about an ammonia spike killing things off in the live rock?

In my head, it makes sense and I’d then wait a while and test to make sure I don’t have another mini-cycle after adding the live rock before adding any livestock.

Last time around I had all live rock, so I’m new to having dry rock and most of what I’ve read assumes either all dry rock or all live rock.

Thanks!

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

I cycle first for 2 weeks bare bottom with dry rock and microbacter start or 7, whichever I grab at the store. Then oncemy live rock and sand order arrives, introduce and re-cycle. Insta-reef.

It's because I'm impatient and don't wanna wait. I want a box full of water now.

 

[BaliReefBox]

imo throw it all in the same time it will kick start everything

 

[fish farmer]

What live rock? Ocean live rock full of critters?

Don't overthink this, dry rock and live rock at the same time. Any die off on the live rock will start a cycle and add the needed bacteria. Monitor for a couple weeks to a month.

I've always setup tanks with 50/50 live to dry.

 

[brandon429]

You don’t add ammonia to this kind of cycle

add them all, wait two weeks it’s done and it wouldn’t matter if you did dose ammonia the live portion will zip it right up, no testing is needed for this cycle

mix, wait two weeks, done. Agreed fish farmer

 

[7of9]

OverthinkingWhat live rock? Ocean live rock full of critters?

Don't overthink this, dry rock and live rock at the same time. Any die off on the live rock will start a cycle and add the needed bacteria. Monitor for a couple weeks to a month.

I am an expert only at overthinking…everything else I’m working at.

 

[blecki]

Why would there be a 'second cycle'? Just stick all the rock in.

 

[bushdoc]

I got my dry rock first, so I put it into Brut container and did "dead shrimp" cycle. When my live rock arrived, two weeks later, I put everything into DT, dry rock as a base, live on top.
I never had any uglies, except some diathoms and green turf algae on barfe bottom. I mixed 40% dry to 60 % Live.

 

[jabberwock]

Dry rock is no good. Live rick to cycle from a couple different sources, then OCEAN LIVE ROCK for the win!

 

[7of9]

Dry rock is no good. Live rick to cycle from a couple different sources, then OCEAN LIVE ROCK for the win!

Yeah, that would be preferred, but I have medical bills to pay. Not everyone has an unlimited budget for a hobby.

 

[Roatan Reef]

Dry Rock is just fine, as long as you let it cycle for a few months, once tank is up and running and looks OK, get a piece of live rock from Tampa Bay Saltwater Live Rock or somewhere....it will be like magic!

 

[Dan_P]

I’m not going to be able to afford going all live rock, but I’d like to include some to help seed my tank. I’m planning to do mostly dry rock and just accept a longer cycle.

My question is whether I should put the wet live rock in when I put in the dry rock and just cycle everything together or if I should let my dry rock cycle down to zero ammonia before adding the wet live rock so that I don’t have to worry as much about an ammonia spike killing things off in the live rock?

In my head, it makes sense and I’d then wait a while and test to make sure I don’t have another mini-cycle after adding the live rock before adding any livestock.

Last time around I had all live rock, so I’m new to having dry rock and most of what I’ve read assumes either all dry rock or all live rock.

Thanks!

All the rock in at once. If the live rock came from the ocean, I expect that it has nitrifying bacteria that will seed the rest of the system over time.

If you want to assess how well the system is removing ammonia, add ammonium chloride, say 0.5 ppm, and measure the total ammonia over time. How fast it disappears will tell you the condition of the bacteria. System’s started with bottled bacteria can eliminate ammonia in 24-48 hours. Your system could respond more slowly. If so, don’t add fish to quickly.

 

[Hot2na]

chuck it all in together..don't obsess

 

[Garf]

I did this kind of cycle back when it was really uncool. Just make sure the live rock is at the top, in good flow. You may notice a little blip of ammonia but depending on the condition of the live rock it’ll probably only last 2 or 3 days (if it’s fresh). After a few years you won’t be able to tell the difference between what was live rock, and what was dead.

I’m not going to be able to afford going all live rock, but I’d like to include some to help seed my tank. I’m planning to do mostly dry rock and just accept a longer cycle.

My question is whether I should put the wet live rock in when I put in the dry rock and just cycle everything together or if I should let my dry rock cycle down to zero ammonia before adding the wet live rock so that I don’t have to worry as much about an ammonia spike killing things off in the live rock?

In my head, it makes sense and I’d then wait a while and test to make sure I don’t have another mini-cycle after adding the live rock before adding any livestock.

Last time around I had all live rock, so I’m new to having dry rock and most of what I’ve read assumes either all dry rock or all live rock.

Thanks!

If your not going to quarantine your fish, it’s critical that you get good quality fish from a trusted source.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

don't overthink it, just put it all in the tank and let it marinate, be patient.

 

[Sump Crab]

If ocean liverock then throw it in whenever you get it. First, same, last. Doesn’t matter really. If I had my way I would do dry first just to let water clear up overnight and then ocean live rock. The only reason is so I can see my ocean rock in clear water immediately so I can see all the sweet life on it from day one.


Oh and if you are getting real ocean liverock you don’t need to use that ridiculous bottle bacteria or ammonia or anything. The ocean liverock comes packed with everything you need already.

 

[Sump Crab]

Yeah, that would be preferred, but I have medical bills to pay. Not everyone has an unlimited budget for a hobby.

Definitely agree that budget is key BUT IMO it’s better to look at real ocean rock as a worthwhile investment for your reef. I would skimp on all other gear before I skimped on ocean rock. Remember, it’s a lot easier to upgrade from a Chinese black box light or a jebao powerhead than it is to upgrade your rock. Also I see WAY more threads on this forum from people quitting the hobby or having general difficulties due to algae and hitchhiker infested (yes, ocean rock does fight off hitchhikers much better than dry) rock vs using cheap lights or pumps. Food for thought.

 

[paragrouper]

I had to do the same, as you And the folks that are telling you to just put it all in then wait a couple of weeks for The tank to cycle was the outcome I had. Don’t sweat it too much.

 

[7of9]

Definitely agree that budget is key BUT IMO it’s better to look at real ocean rock as a worthwhile investment for your reef. I would skimp on all other gear before I skimped on ocean rock. Remember, it’s a lot easier to upgrade from a Chinese black box light or a jebao powerhead than it is to upgrade your rock. Also I see WAY more threads on this forum from people quitting the hobby or having general difficulties due to algae and hitchhiker infested (yes, ocean rock does fight off hitchhikers much better than dry) rock vs using cheap lights or pumps. Food for thought.

I’ve got some time to ponder this. An unexpected bill ate up most of my paycheck today anyway.

I did the TBS package years ago with my first tank and I loved it, but I was also living in Florida and everything was 2008 prices, including my rent. I don’t have much choice but to be a lot more patient this time around.

 

[X-37B]

I am a lifelong live rock reefer.
On my 120 I used 50/50 live and caribsea dead.
The dead rock got the uglies not the live. After 6 months you could not tell the difference.
Put it all in at once and be done.