Moving in 6 months, can I cycle it at least?

[carpenter4875]

The gist: can I cycle a tank for 6 months, then move houses, and then start adding corals and fish?

just bought a used 90 gallon, with sump, etc.
We’re moving in about 6 months, and I don’t want to worry about moving corals and fish and stuff. I was using this time to purchase some good used equipment for it, but 6 months seems like a long time to just let it sit there without getting some kind of easy benefits.
It came with a bunch of live rock (with hair algae from the pics), and I need to clean everything really well.
I would love to be able to dial the water/live rocks in great so I could get started as soon as we get set up at the new house. I just didn’t know if it would be pointless or not, or what would be the plan to get the best results.

thanks everyone, this community has been awesome.

 

[SoFlo Reef]

Yes you could, but moving a tank that is set up is considerably more work than moving dry equipment. Personally I'd clean the rocks up then cycle them in a tub rather than setting up the tank. You don't need to do all of them - grab a 55 gallon tub and run some of the rocks in the same way you would to cure them (water, heater, powerhead) along with a bacterial additive and dose ammonia. That way when you set up the tank you'll have some cycled live rock and should be able to immediately set up the tank with inhabitants.

 

[TnFishwater98]

The gist: can I cycle a tank for 6 months, then move houses, and then start adding corals and fish?

just bought a used 90 gallon, with sump, etc.
We’re moving in about 6 months, and I don’t want to worry about moving corals and fish and stuff. I was using this time to purchase some good used equipment for it, but 6 months seems like a long time to just let it sit there without getting some kind of easy benefits.
It came with a bunch of live rock (with hair algae from the pics), and I need to clean everything really well.
I would love to be able to dial the water/live rocks in great so I could get started as soon as we get set up at the new house. I just didn’t know if it would be pointless or not, or what would be the plan to get the best results.

thanks everyone, this community has been awesome.

Yes, it’s doable… Maybe not at the speed you would like it. Depends on how much you need to clean. If it was a new tank with real live rock you could be cycled by 6 months. You could even add some coral by then. Not sure how far the move will be. It definitely would be a lot more work. You could focus your energy on set up plans and other without stressing yourself out.

 

[carpenter4875]

Yes you could, but moving a tank that is set up is considerably more work than moving dry equipment. Personally I'd clean the rocks up then cycle them in a tub rather than setting up the tank. You don't need to do all of them - grab a 55 gallon tub and run some of the rocks in the same way you would to cure them (water, heater, powerhead) along with a bacterial additive and dose ammonia. That way when you set up the tank you'll have some cycled live rock and should be able to immediately set up the tank with inhabitants.

That’s exactly what I was looking to hear, how do I not waste the time I have to kill in the most simplest way. Thanks, I’ll start looking into how to do this.

 

[TnFishwater98]

That’s exactly what I was looking to hear, how do I not waste the time I have to kill in the most simplest way. Thanks, I’ll start looking into how to do this.

The 6 months will go by quicker than you think and you will have a clean start in new place. Best of Luck!

 

[carpenter4875]

Yes, it’s doable… Maybe not at the speed you would like it. Depends on how much you need to clean. If it was a new tank with real live rock you could be cycled by 6 months. You could even add some coral by then. Not sure how far the move will be. It definitely would be a lot more work. You could focus your energy on set up plans and other without stressing yourself out.

That’s a very fair point and what I’m going to consider as well. Thanks!

 

[brandon429]

since you are using live rock, adding bacteria from a bottle is a waste of cash it's better for you to not follow in line with the massive sales machine that is bacteria supports for reefing


we always have enough bac, it's a sales gimmick to keep selling it to the masses over and over but companies like Brightwell keep doing it with these subtle statements below from their site that sells bottle bac for cycling.

see next to last hint that cleaning a tank removes needed bacteria: it does not.


bottle bac are monostrains, you have multiple strains of bacteria already in place on live rock and they stay as long as you keep it wet. there isn't gain by adding a strain of bacteria in bulk you don't need.

you won't be losing bacteria by letting already live rock sit in water. be algae curing it, the cycle doesn't need any help at all, just water. specifically, whether or not you feed it does not alter your filtration bacteria it alters your pod communities. nothing outside of drying it out is going to alter your cycle ability, live rocks do not require the presence of fish to maintain a set # of bacteria in order to skip cycle. they skip cycle if you keep them wet, and do not require feeding from us as you fallow them. the years of prior running already packed them up with unlimited waste stores in the form of detritus and organic deposits within. I have a thread where a three year fallow did not reduce the ammonia oxidation ability of live rock, it was the same as pre fallow testing.



watch out for hidden sales tactics in reefing that revolve around bacteria. if your system is wet and running and stays wet, you aren't going to stall, starve or end an aquarium cycle (we aren't factoring boiling or freezing that's unreasonable)

 

[907_Reefer]

Yea that's the question, have the rocks dried out?

+1 for cycling in a brute/tote/bin with a pumps and heaters, no need to set the tank up! Then just move in 5 gal buckets to the new house. Brute trash cans on rollers are a fan favorite!