How long to seed bio bricks and rock?

[BingoReefer]

I am starting a quarantine tank for some corals and want to seed it with some live rock or ceramic bricks, but I don't have any extra to pull from my main display. How long would I need to leave a piece of live rock or a ceramic bio block in my sump/main display before it would be adequately seeded with beneficial bacteria?

 

[Josh]

You need to seed it with something, water, sand, something. You can theoretically just add some dry fish food and a cup of tank water. It is obviously best if you get the tank water from a tank that is free of pests.

 

[BingoReefer]

You need to seed it with something, water, sand, something. You can theoretically just add some dry fish food and a cup of tank water. It is obviously best if you get the tank water from a tank that is free of pests.

I am going to seed it with rock/ceramic media from my main display. But first I need to buy more rock for main display because I don't have any extra in there to take out. So I am asking how long does it take for a piece of rock to become filled with bacteria once it is placed in an already up-and-running tank.

 

[Josh]

I am going to seed it with rock/ceramic media from my main display. But first I need to buy more rock for main display because I don't have any extra in there to take out. So I am asking how long does it take for a piece of rock to become filled with bacteria once it is placed in an already up-and-running tank.

It depends on a lot of variables, the size of the rock, how much bacteria there is in both tanks, how much waste product there is for the bacteria to eat.

You don't need a huge piece of rock to seed it. Just some sand or rubble. Put that on top of the ceramic media in the new tank and add a small bit of dry fish food. If you have a lot of media in the tank then after a few days or so it should smell like rotten eggs and the water may be a bit yellow. A few days after that it will clear. Then test and see what is happening.

You can never have too much media/rock in the tank.

 

[Nanoreefer415]

Put rock in, seed tank with some detritus from existing setup. Dose unscented ammonia to 2ppm and test and redose until tank can consume 2ppm in 24 hours. You are ready.

 

[Nanoreefer415]

Do waterchanges as needed to decrease no3 to levels desired by tank stocking afterwards