Cured live rock and tank cycle?

[slideways03]

This past weekend me and my father went out to a fellow hobbyist home and purchased approx 110lbs of live rock out of a 1000 gallon FOWLR tank. The rock was pulled from the 1000 gallon tank and put directly into totes filled with the tank water so there should have been minimal if any die off at all.

The rock was taken home and left in the totes for 2 days with a heater (79 degrees F) and 2 circulation pumps running. Once we had enough RO/DI water to mix and fill his main display we placed the rock in the tank. My question is.... because this rock is fully cured (for over 5 years) will the tank experience a cycle? We are using 80 lbs of Ocean Direct Carribean live sand. Circulation is MP40 running at 3/4 and a Mag 7 Return wide open.

I have no livestock in the tank now. When should i add the clean up crew and when can i start adding fish? the obvious answer is when my ammonia readings are 0 but i am not sure if i will ever have an amonnia spike because of the rock being cured already.

 

[isnyc300]

i would still wait it out regardless if its cycled rock. even taking it out of the water for a couple of minutes kills a lot of the bacteria. How long have you had the sand in the tank? Best thing to do is have patience, its the number one rule in this hobby. if it was me i would put everything in and let it run for a week, then do test. dont rush it.

 

[Dre]

I've moved fish tank setups more then once. I use the same rocks/ sand and 20% of the old water. The fishes were returned a day or two later when the cloud cleared and i never had a problem. I feed them very little over the next few days.

Your situation is a little different but you need to test for nitrite as well, nitrite is more toxic even a small amount and maybe present. A clean up crew can be added later, besides there is nothing for them to clean up.

 

[fishman1069]

+1 on both responses. Just make sure you test ammonia, nitite and nitrates.

 

[fjpod]

I predict you will get somewhat of a cycle. Rock that is not under livestock load will lose some of its favorable bacteria...even if kept in proper salt water.

 

[slideways03]

Ok so i did the first testing this evening using the API Saltwater and Reef master test kit and here are my results...

Temp - 81.3
PH - 8.3
SG - 1.025
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 160+ (Possibly off the chart high)
Phosphate - 2.0
Calcium - 440
Alkalinity - 9 dKH

Obviously the Nitrates and Phosphates are seriously high. I added a grapefruit size ball of chaeto tonight to the fuge along with the small pieces of live rock that were there. Should a massive water change be done? And what does this mean as far as the cycle goes? When would it be safe to add a CUC (snails, hermits, and emerald crabs?)

Also what should the lighting schedule be on this tank right now?

 

[Tonyscoots84]

are you using this rock for a reef tank or a fowler as well. the reason why i ask is if the owner of that rock used copper to treat there fish copper might be leached in that rock and thats no good for a reef tank just looking out

 

[fishman1069]

I would do at least a 20% water change and start running a phos reactor. How big is your fuge? . The trates could be a result of the DOCs that have built up over the years in a FOWLR setup. Im sure that dude never worried about his trates.

 

[KathyC]

are you using this rock for a reef tank or a fowler as well. the reason why i ask is if the owner of that rock used copper to treat there fish copper might be leached in that rock and thats no good for a reef tank just looking out

Tony brings up an excellent point. If you can contact the seller, it would be a good idea to ask him.
If you cannot do that - you would want to purchase a true 'Poly Pad' that changes color depending upon what it is absorbing. It will be able to tell you if there is any copper leeching from the rock.

Regarding the high nitrates & phosphates, while a water change will get some of them out of the water, you will need to be aggressive in removing them from the rock. If you don't already have a phosban reactor, you should consider getting one asap and changing the media frequently to get those numbers down or you will be doomed to having a tankful of algae

Imo..I don't think you will experience much of a cycle at all with rock that has been so well established but you didn't mention what size your tank is, so it's hard to tell even though you state you purchased 110 pounds.

Your lights should not be on yet.

 

[slideways03]

The tank is a 72 gallon bowfront with a 29 gallon sump. The refugium section is fairly small maybe 7 or 8 gallons. I will indeed ask the person i bought the rock from about the copper concern. I am making RO/DI water right now and will perform a large water change as soon as possible.

 

[KathyC]

The tank is a 72 gallon bowfront with a 29 gallon sump. The refugium section is fairly small maybe 7 or 8 gallons. I will indeed ask the person i bought the rock from about the copper concern. I am making RO/DI water right now and will perform a large water change as soon as possible.

perfect..let us know what happens and don't forget about getting a reactor as the water change will only remove some of the phosphate & nitrate from the water..it won't help the rock get healthy

 

[Dre]

Ok so i did the first testing this evening using the API Saltwater and Reef master test kit and here are my results...

Temp - 81.3
PH - 8.3
SG - 1.025
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 160+ (Possibly off the chart high)
Phosphate - 2.0
Calcium - 440
Alkalinity - 9 dKH

Obviously the Nitrates and Phosphates are seriously high. I added a grapefruit size ball of chaeto tonight to the fuge along with the small pieces of live rock that were there. Should a massive water change be done? And what does this mean as far as the cycle goes? When would it be safe to add a CUC (snails, hermits, and emerald crabs?)

Also what should the lighting schedule be on this tank right now?

As i stated earlier, do not add any snails or crabs at this time. It seem you're in a rush. A big newbie mistake. I'm surprised the nitrate is so high for a new tank. First find out where the nitrate is coming from... Mix saltwater in a 5 gal bucket with a power head and some live rock from the tank and test water from the bucket tomorrow. And post the result>

 

[slideways03]

I am def. in no rush. I want to make sure this is done right. This tank is for my dad, i currently have a 40 gallon reef and it is running great. I never had to cycle a saltwater tank as the first tank i purchased (28 gallon nano) was a running and established tank. In January i moved everything out of the 28 gallon to a 40 breeder and never experienced a cycle.

As far as where the nitrates are coming from. I am certain they are coming from the rock i purchased out of the FOWLR setup. As i stated in my first post the rock was out of a 1000 gallon FOWLR tank and it was said the rock was in there for 5 years. I did notice that there was hardly any lighting on the 1000 gallon tank as i am certain if it was lit up he would have a serious algae problem.

I did just take 5 gallons of freshly made salt water and added a few pieces of rock to it. I will test that water for nitrates tomorrow and i will post back what i get.

Thanks for all the input, MR you have been a great help.

 

[Dre]

I am def. in no rush. I want to make sure this is done right. This tank is for my dad, i currently have a 40 gallon reef and it is running great. I never had to cycle a saltwater tank as the first tank i purchased (28 gallon nano) was a running and established tank. In January i moved everything out of the 28 gallon to a 40 breeder and never experienced a cycle.

Exactly, i've done the same...


High nitrate can be hard to get down to a satisfactory level. For example if nitrate is 180ppm and you change 50% with clean water, the tank water nitrate is now 90ppm and so on. Chaeto/macro algae will help but the progress is very slow with this approach.

 

[junior ibanez]

I had great experience with this.

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