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Rob&Gab

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As the title says.

Setting up a tank now some people are saying with dead dry not live rock will not cause a cycle. Some other people are saying that it will cause a cycle.

Does anyone no if DEAD DRY NOT LIVE ROCK will cause a cycle or not. cause i dont want to interrupt anything during the the tank transfer i will be using all the water from the other tank and some of the rock from there but it will be allot of DEAD DRY NOT LIVE ROCK.


Please any comments are Helpfull.

Thanks in advance -Rob.
 

dubs

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bronx
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it depends on how much rock Ur adding but it will do some sort of cycle before it becomes like the rock thats already mater and Ur doing it during a transfer def not a good time to add .. if ur worried y not cycle in a bucket and add when ready ??
 

Rob&Gab

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Cause Gab says there will be no cycle with the rock shes adding mostly bleached dead not live rock to the tank during the tank transfer. So i was telling her its gonna cause a cycle, she insist's that it wont happen.
 
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The dry rock itself will not cause a cycle, but if you are stocking the tank right away, there may not be enough bacteria from whatever live rock and water you are using to effectively manage the bio-load right away. The excess waste from the bio-load is what might cause an ammonia spike and then a mini-cycle to process it, but not the dead rock itself.
 

basiab

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secret
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You do not say what kind of dry dead rock. If it was never live like man made it will not cause anything to happen. But if it was live and was left out to dry it will depend on how much dead stuff is on and in the rock. Any dried out animal or vegetable matter will decompose and cause a cycle.
 

d5332

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As Prattreef said.

I have done it all the time, take out large percentages of the rock to change the tank, months pass, I take the rock out of storage add it again.

If there is enough already established to cover your load you can add and remove dry rock as you please.
 

MWoodhill

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Manhattan
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As the title says.

Setting up a tank now some people are saying with dead dry not live rock will not cause a cycle. Some other people are saying that it will cause a cycle.

Does anyone no if DEAD DRY NOT LIVE ROCK will cause a cycle or not. cause i dont want to interrupt anything during the the tank transfer i will be using all the water from the other tank and some of the rock from there but it will be allot of DEAD DRY NOT LIVE ROCK.


Please any comments are Helpfull.

Thanks in advance -Rob.

we r in the same boat. ill see whats gonna happen. its required to use lr to start a zeo system but the price and hitchhikers really made me give lr up
 

Aquadicted

Bill Goody Aquariums
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"dry" rock WILL cycle if there are dead organisms on it that can rot into the water. If it is bleached and cleaned out, it will not cause a cycle. I mean we all have a clear understanding of the nitrogen cycle right? Poop or dead stuff rots and multiple strands of bacteria begin to form. So dry rock CAN cycle a tank if there are dead stuff on it.
 

TRIGGERMAN

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For the guy who doesn't want or need help you sure ask a lot of questions rob lol.
As stated if the rock is bleached and cleaned it should be fine by itself but would probably not be able to handle the bio load if you are using mostly new rock and putting fish and corals in right away. A friend of mine just did this (against my advice of course) and crashed his system losing everything. If possible I would let the new rock mixed with old rock just run for a few weeks so the bacteria can colonize. Or wait on it a little and just add some rock to your existing tank/sump if possible slowly.
 
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manhattan
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Rob.
Adding new dry rock can be done however you will need to add over time. If you add too much dry rock you create "voids" in your system. These "voids" can be dangerous because the good bacteria has not been given time to establish its self. Remember, the bacteria takes time to saturate the rock. So does the water. I have put dry rock in and decided to chip it down a month later and found the center bone dry. Everything worth doing takes time. So if you want to use dry rock make sure you either add over time, add all at once as seed the tank and such with live sand and rubble no livestock , or place all dry rock into tub and allow for it to get ultra saturated with the good and bad (seed water with rubble filter sock other media, etc) from your tank before adding to display.
 
Last edited:

reefer4eva

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Glendale,Queens.
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I went thru all of this before attempting my aquascaping transfer where I was removing ALL of the established live rock for the new one piece bonsai inspired aquascape that I made and everyone had a different answer.what I did was soak every piece I was using with 1 gallon of bleach and 4 gallons of water and left it in there to soak for 2 days,then I soaked everything in RO/DI water for 24 hours,drained all the water and re filled it with Ro/DI water again but this time I used PRIME(from seachem) to neutralize the water.had it soak for another 24 hours then did the transfer and only added 4 pieces of established live rock.that was I think 2 months ago and never had a cycle (even though I was expecting one)BUT this was only a 34 solana!! To date all my corals are doing great and water parameters are spot on.if you add a decent amount of established live rock you'll be fine as long as your doing weekly water changes.let me know if you need anymore info!
 

albano

Saltwater since 1973
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Remember, the bacteria takes time to saturate the rock. So does the water. I have put dry rock in and decided to chip it down a month later and found the center bone dry


...or place all dry rock into tub and allow for it to get ultra saturated with the good and bad (seed water with rubble filter sock other media, etc) from your tank before adding to display.

So you expect rock to get 'ultra saturated' with bacteria and be wet on the inside?
 

cmantis

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Al... it's by means of magic.
magic-aquarium-grow-your-own-pet-fish-growing-kit-in-tank-17257-p.jpg
 
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manhattan
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LOL you guys are fun...e! yes depending on the density of the rock or more accurately how porous the rock is... After a month long soak the center can be still be dry and the bacteria, micro fauna and flora we depend on not yet established thru and thru. The longer the soak, the better the seeding material the better the rock. If I soaked one set of rocks in 10% salt solution and another set of rock in 20% salt solution for the same amount of time which would have a higher salt content?
Hello McFly. Is it me?
Simple science... stop hating...start helping...
Why do we buy rock from florida for one price or pacific area for more or relatively remote places for even more. Because of quality and density of flora/fauna.
The same can be said in the reverse in drying out rock. a week the the sun and the rock could still have living bacteria and flora deep within.
The relative word is COULD or POSSIBLY or IN MY EXPERIENCE. which is what I am speaking from.
Help the guy stop the hating...
 

Waleedwale1

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Location
Brooklyn
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Theres so much hate on MR... Dunno why all these people bother asking questions just to get attacked. Its like some self mutilation type of disorder we all have. Maybe its like ich...just very contagious

Lol MR is way milder then other forums, try r/reeftank on reddit, those guys curse you out for putting a clown pair in a 10 gallon or asking for an ID.
 

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