kveekx Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 This is a complex question so be prepaired. Currently I have a 29 Gallon BC it has coral and fish. I want to upgrade to a 40 gallon breeder aquarium with a 20 gallon long sump. The problem that I see is I have about 25 lbs of live rock in my 29 gallon but when I bought the 29 It has a huge rock covered in mushrooms so I took that to lfs. The problem is the rock was so covered the mushrooms moved to other rock and when I upgrade I don't want ANY of those mushrooms. That would mean trashing about 10lbs of rock. I dont think I have a crazy biological set up because I have one 2" fish. Can I transfer all from the start with the addition of about 15lbs of dry rock? And not worry about a cycle killing my coral? Can I add bacteria or something? Thanks for any help Link to comment
uglybuckling Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 I would recommend taking your dry rock and cycling it in a rubbermaid for a few weeks prior to starting your new tank. Just fill your rubbermaid with salt water and put a pump in there. Keep the thing inside the house and you shouldn't even need to heat it. Don't need any lights over it either. After a few weeks to a month of that, your new dry rock should be free from most of the badness that comes stuck to it (dead sponges, etc) and should not cause any cycle. Then the move can be quite rapid. Obviously you should dump the Rubbermaid water at the end of this project, and not move it into the new tank. Also, you might consider doing a water change or two on the rubbermaid during your artificial "pre-" cycle. No need to "add bacteria" although if you're starting with completely new rock and sand, you might consider seeding the system with a little bit of your old rock (check it to make sure it's mushroom-free first!), or some of your old sand, or both. Link to comment
kveekx Posted August 31, 2012 Author Share Posted August 31, 2012 badness that comes stuck to it (dead sponges, etc) What do you mean by this? Shouldn't BRS' reef saver rock not have any of that? Link to comment
uglybuckling Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Depends on the type. From their Pukani rock write-up: NOTE: This rock does come out of the ocean and may have some dead material on it such as sponges or other critters. We strongly suggest soaking or curing the rock before use in an active aquarium. However they say the Reef Saver rock is pre-rinsed and is "the cleanest" rock they get. All of it is still from the ocean, so my impression is that there's always the possibility of some random stuff living (or being dead) deep inside the rock. I'm going to cycle my pukani rock like it's uncured live rock, just to be on the safe side. Link to comment
aquatect Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Marcorocks.com I have used Marco twice for different projects and both times I got fantastic rock. It's clean (just needs rinsing with RO water) and ready-to-go. I think your main question is whether your tank will be able to support the bio filter if you switch over all at once. The answer is it's impossible to tell. You said you only have one fish, which means your chances of this succeeding are higher. It is definitely possible to do it and not see a cycle at all or only a small cycle. The best course of action, if you're able to do it, in my opinion, would be to set up the new tank with a piece of live rock and the new dry rock and see how things go with it. Put a strong powerhead in there and introduce a little bit of ammonia to the tank and watch what happens over the course of a few days. If you're not able to have both tanks set up simultaneously for awhile, then you can certainly try moving it all over at once. I would just be very vigilant on testing the water for awhile while the new dry rock is seeded and I would have backup water mixed and on standby for awhile in case you need to do a quick water change or something. Good luck! :-) Link to comment
HVani Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 BRS reef saver rock, Marco rocks and ReefCleaners rock are basically ALL the same thing. They are all mined rocks that do not come from the ocean. Because of this they are usually very clean besides a bit of dust. I would avoid Pukani at all costs but that's me. I personally have used reef cleaners dry rock twice and have been VERY happy with it. It's great stuff Link to comment
kveekx Posted August 31, 2012 Author Share Posted August 31, 2012 BRS reef saver rock, Marco rocks and ReefCleaners rock are basically ALL the same thing. They are all mined rocks that do not come from the ocean. Because of this they are usually very clean besides a bit of dust. I would avoid Pukani at all costs but that's me. I personally have used reef cleaners dry rock twice and have been VERY happy with it. It's great stuff Ill keep them in mind! Whats wrong with Pukani? PM? Link to comment
HVani Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 It's basically rock that comes out of the ocean and is dried. It has a ton of dead stuff on it. This can cause some problems down the line. For me I would rather get rock that is already clean and ready to add right to my tank. Some people who get pukani have had issues with leaching phosphates. Just something to keep in mind. If you have the time and space to cure the rock out of the tank then pukani would be fine. I'm just lazy and prefer the other stuff Link to comment
kveekx Posted August 31, 2012 Author Share Posted August 31, 2012 I'm just lazy and prefer the other stuff Me too, haha! I haven't looked at reef cleaners for a while and when I checked that rock out I was impressed! (And my mind is made up) Thanks for the help! Link to comment
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