Temperature requirements to seed/cycle rock?

[jmatt]

Getting ready to prep my CaribSea Liferock in a Brute can since the tank is still at least a month away. Planning on a bucket of bagged "live" sand from the LFS at the bottom, topped loosely by the rocks. Then in goes Dr Tim's One-Only-Live-Nitrifying-Bacteria-for-Reef-Nano-and-Seahorse-Aquaria.

However, I just produced the water with the RODI and it's pretty cold. The Helio heaters won't arrive for days.

So, does the water need to be room temp or higher to do this? Or will the process work just as well in cold water? Thinking this through... will the salt dissolve appropriately in cold water? Hmm.

 

[maleks.reef]

Getting ready to prep my CaribSea Liferock in a Brute can since the tank is still at least a month away. Planning on a bucket of bagged "live" sand from the LFS at the bottom, topped loosely by the rocks. Then in goes Dr Tim's One-Only-Live-Nitrifying-Bacteria-for-Reef-Nano-and-Seahorse-Aquaria.

However, I just produced the water with the RODI and it's pretty cold. The Helio heaters won't arrive for days.

So, does the water need to be room temp or higher to do this? Or will the process work just as well in cold water? Thinking this through... will the salt dissolve appropriately in cold water? Hmm.

I dont know what salt you have but Red Sea recommend of mixing the salt at room temp (20-22c) and after youre done mixing you can heat. So i do not know what you mean by cold but if it is no less than 18 then you should be good for salt mixing, also the pump will produce a bit of heat anyway so will the chemical reactions that happen as a result of mixing.

Now in regards to cycling, there are 2 things you can do that will speed up the process: 1) keep the temp at 28-29c 2) keep the salinity at 1.015. AFTER you are done cycling you can lower the temp and raise the salinity over the course of 3 to 4 days so that you do not kill any bacteria. Afte that you are all done.

I got these 2 very useful tips from Dr tim himself. He gave a long presentation about cycling in MACNA 2019, here is the video:



PS: I am not sure if cycling at low temperatures is a good idea, i suggest that you get the heaters first.

 

[Garf]

Most processes are slower at lower temperatures purely due to lower energy levels.

 

[jmatt]

Most processes are slower at lower temperatures purely due to lower energy levels.

That's why I'm asking. I don't care if it's slower, I just don't want to bork the Dr Tim's sauce. But seeing as you're supposed to refrigerate after opening, I'm guessing it wouldn't hurt.

 

[jmatt]

I dont know what salt you have but Red Sea recommend of mixing the salt at room temp (20-22c) and after youre done mixing you can heat. So i do not know what you mean by cold but if it is no less than 18 then you should be good for salt mixing, also the pump will produce a bit of heat anyway so will the chemical reactions that happen as a result of mixing.

Now in regards to cycling, there are 2 things you can do that will speed up the process: 1) keep the temp at 28-29c 2) keep the salinity at 1.015. AFTER you are done cycling you can lower the temp and raise the salinity over the course of 3 to 4 days so that you do not kill any bacteria. Afte that you are all done.

I got these 2 very useful tips from Dr tim himself. He gave a long presentation about cycling in MACNA 2019, here is the video:



PS: I am not sure if cycling at low temperatures is a good idea, i suggest that you get the heaters first.

Thanks for the video and advice!

 

[jmatt]

Just watched the video, it was terrific. Thanks again!

 

[jmatt]

I've had my 2 Brute cans cycling the rock for several weeks now. I have good pumps (COR-20 and Sicce 3.0) running in them... but there's no surface activity in the water. The pumps are churning away perfectly fine but the amount of rock in each can must be stifling the flow somewhat. I have them pointed down into the cans.

There is also something of a film on the surface water. Not much, and I assume it's just some super fine residue coming from the Caribsea Liferock.

Does this matter?