Starting cycle on new live rock

Mx51

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 27, 2020
Messages
44
Reaction score
28
Location
Great Falls
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
So I should be receiving my live rock from KP aquatics on this Wednesday. It’s been a long time since I have done this. Do I just throw a raw shrimp from the grocery store in my tank to get the cycle started? Or what is the best way to start the cycle?
 

P-Dub

The ocean is open to all, merciful to none.
View Badges
Joined
Sep 30, 2017
Messages
5,455
Reaction score
23,499
Location
West Pacific
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
So I should be receiving my live rock from KP aquatics on this Wednesday. It’s been a long time since I have done this. Do I just throw a raw shrimp from the grocery store in my tank to get the cycle started? Or what is the best way to start the cycle?
Many, many ways to skin the cycle cat. Go to the stickies or click this...
Cycling an Aquarium
 

brandon429

why did you put a reef in that
View Badges
Joined
Dec 9, 2014
Messages
29,493
Reaction score
23,573
Location
tejas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
That type of rock is already cycled we can see on their site.

you’d set them up in brutes, or in your tank, change water every couple days until it quits smelling, and you are done.


these rocks show up with all the bac you need. They have dieoff of live animals, is why we do the water changes. It’s ready in ten days. No test required certainly no shrimp. Shrimp is for systems that don’t have bacteria and need feed, these rocks have a problem of too much ammonia, we would not add more. Prepare for about five good water changes, then when they smell normal after a weeks curing time, or so, you are done. Can reef.
 

Azedenkae

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 26, 2021
Messages
2,448
Reaction score
2,317
Location
Seattle
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
So I should be receiving my live rock from KP aquatics on this Wednesday. It’s been a long time since I have done this. Do I just throw a raw shrimp from the grocery store in my tank to get the cycle started? Or what is the best way to start the cycle?
@P-Dub is correct. Theoretically it should sound like cycling is straightforward, but there's actually so many schools of thought. Some care about both nitrifiers and denitrifiers. Some don't. Even the result of cycling is envisioned differently by different people - some just care that some amount of nitrifiers (or denitrifiers) are established, while other want to culture a specific amount capable of handling a certain amount of ammonia. And yet others consider cycling to be a longer term process that includes 'establishing the aquarium' with going through 'ugly phases' and stuff.

Anyways, I subscribe to the school of 'cycling is culturing enough nitrifiers (or denitrifiers) to handle an amount of ammonia specified', which generally for me is culturing enough nitrifiers to handle 2ppm ammonia daily. I am thinking of increasing that to 4ppm a day, because that seems to be safer.

If you want to follow along with this, then cycling with live rock is straightforward. Live rock theoretically should have beneficial microbes already, so all you have to do is add an amount of ammonia as you want to be consumed daily, and see if it is indeed consumed daily (ammonia and nitrite is 0 after 24 hours). If so, congrats! You got live rock with plenty of beneficial microbes and it was an 'instant cycle'. If not, that means there was unfortunately too much die-off, or the live rock never had enough beneficial microbes in the first place, and you need to continue cycling.

'Live rock' is kinda loosely defined now, so it is probably good to test its capacities from the start, and not waste time blindly going in one or the other direction.
 

Kinjirra

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 3, 2020
Messages
131
Reaction score
122
Location
Lewisburg, TN
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
As others have said that live rock is already cycled. The issue you will have is it needs to be cured from shipping die off. Secondly you need to check for unwanted critters that may catch a ride into your tank. Not all that lives in the sea is friendly too your coral and fish.
 

brandon429

why did you put a reef in that
View Badges
Joined
Dec 9, 2014
Messages
29,493
Reaction score
23,573
Location
tejas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Never add ammonia to live rock skip cycles

this cycle is opposite of all the others, we prevent ammonia because it kills the animals you’re paying extra for

ammonia addition is for dry rock only, it’s not complicated, their website doesn’t state we would add ammonia so we don’t.
 
OP
OP
M

Mx51

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 27, 2020
Messages
44
Reaction score
28
Location
Great Falls
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thank you all for your replies. I just want to make sure I’m going about this right as this rock isn’t cheap. So I should just put the rock in my tank and let it do it’s thing? Just watch for ammonia and nitrate?
 

Jekyl

GSP is the devil and clowns are bad pets
View Badges
Joined
Jan 15, 2019
Messages
11,271
Reaction score
15,491
Location
Michigan
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
So I should be receiving my live rock from KP aquatics on this Wednesday. It’s been a long time since I have done this. Do I just throw a raw shrimp from the grocery store in my tank to get the cycle started? Or what is the best way to start the cycle?
The rock you're going to be getting will have its own die off. Put it in the tank and let the cycle begin. Once ammonia reads zero do a very large water change and you're ready to go.
 
OP
OP
M

Mx51

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 27, 2020
Messages
44
Reaction score
28
Location
Great Falls
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
The rock you're going to be getting will have its own die off. Put it in the tank and let the cycle begin. Once ammonia reads zero do a very large water change and you're ready to go.
Will do thank you so much
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 53 48.6%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 60 55.0%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 25 22.9%
  • None.

    Votes: 28 25.7%
  • Other.

    Votes: 9 8.3%
Back
Top