Tank Cycling Feedback

fernalfer · Jan 14, 2019

Ok so i will be curing some Pukani Rock in some brute containers. I will be using a powerhead for circulation and a heater at 78 degrees. I will be using Rodi water with Saltwater at 1.026 salinity. Now heres my question or questions:

Once my Rock is cured lets say after 1 to 2 months and it has built up its beneficial bacteria in this time. Now the point is to now put the rock in the water right away so none of this beneficial bacteria dies from exposure to the air correct? Now what if i wanted to aquascape this rock? I'm assuming that going this route inhibits you from being able to take the time and properly aquascape.

Does anyone have any tips on how this can be done without killing off the beneficial bacteria that you spent time to build up over the last couple months?

Also could i setup my tank with water and sand and start the cycle in there as well building up the bacteria in the sand while my rock is curing?

Jason mack · Jan 14, 2019

You can use aquastone fix ,can be used under water as well ...but it drys fast enough so , so long as you keep the rocks wet you should be ok for a couple of hrs at least , well that's how I did mine ...you can wrap them in wet paper while your working on them..
And you could have your tank with sand in ..but I'd put the sand in after your rock work so it sits well

Dr. Reef · Jan 14, 2019

There are few ways to do this.

1. You can start the tank and setup all sand rocks aquascape etc in your tank and cycle it in tank.

2. You can cycle rock remotely and then transfer it to tank and take few hours scraping it. Die off is minimal. Keep spraying rock with saltwater while it's being transferred and scaped. Once you are satisfied fill tank up with saltwater and either use ammonia remover like prime or bacteria in bottle like fritz or bio Spria etc to boost nitrifier bacteria.

3. Even if you dont do anything and just move the rock and scape it exposed to air then fill tank. Your tank will go through a mini cycle if any which may only last a day or 2 depending on how much bacteria was on the rock and how fast they can colonize again.

saltyfilmfolks · Jan 14, 2019

I would buid the scape dry and then put it in the tank.

Or , build the scape and put it in a container that it fits.

O'l Salty · Jan 14, 2019

I aquascaped my rock work dry. I used colored zip ties to mark where the larger pieces **** fit relative to other large pieces. Then I cured it for a couple months and aquascaped with the wet rock and no water in the tank. You can use a spray bottle of salt water to keep the surface wet if you want. Most of the bacteria is inside the rock and takes a very long time to dry out.