Restart underway of RSM Nano

[ChilledReefer]

I moved my frags and two clowns to a temp 10 gallon Fiji cube AIO. Drained the max nano snd will start a new bare bottom cycle this weekend. This time no lights and letting it cycle a month or so. 
 

Im going to use some live rock from the old setup so hope this will kickstart it and reduce time. Anyone done the Dr. Tim’s method lately? 

[seabass]

14 hours ago, ChilledReefer said:

Im going to use some live rock from the old setup so hope this will kickstart it and reduce time. Anyone done the Dr. Tim’s method lately? 

For live rock, don't dose ammonia.  You can build up a biofilter on dry rock separately.  This might help:

https://www.nano-reef.com/articles/beginners/a-guide-to-reef-aquarium-cycling-r41/

 

[ChilledReefer]

2 hours ago, seabass said:

For live rock, don't dose ammonia.  You can build up a biofilter on dry rock separately.  This might help:

https://www.nano-reef.com/articles/beginners/a-guide-to-reef-aquarium-cycling-r41/

 

OK I looked at that article and if I'm going to use the live rock again from the old tank I should just add it and then monitor it for when the ammonia levels reach the safe zone after a while, correct?

 

And if I decide to add any new uncured rock to the live rock it might kill off some of the bacteria already cycled on the old rock during the new cycle?

 

Thanks, 

[seabass]

28 minutes ago, ChilledReefer said:

OK I looked at that article and if I'm going to use the live rock again from the old tank I should just add it and then monitor it for when the ammonia levels reach the safe zone after a while, correct?

If the rock was kept in saltwater that has aeration, it probably won't show any elevated ammonia levels.  But yes, you can monitor it for ammonia.  Don't add livestock until total ammonia is steady at or below 0.25ppm.

 

If the rock was not kept in an aerated saltwater container, then you'd treat it as uncured dry rock.  The process is the same, but you'll probably notice an ammonia spike of some sort.

 

29 minutes ago, ChilledReefer said:

And if I decide to add any new uncured rock to the live rock it might kill off some of the bacteria already cycled on the old rock during the new cycle?

No, the bacteria doesn't die out, and won't be harmed by the presence of ammonia (that's what it ultimately needs).  We are only concerned about non-bacterial life (like pods and other inverts) which potentially could be harmed by a large spike in ammonia.

 

If your live rock contains non-bacterial life, cure any uncured rock in a separate container before adding it to your cured live rock.  But if your live rock doesn't contain any non-bacterial life, then just put them both together until everything is cured.

 

17 hours ago, ChilledReefer said:

This time no lights and letting it cycle a month or so. 

No lights will control the algae growth.  However, you might notice algae growth again, after you turn the lights back on.

 

You might handle this in a couple of different ways.  I would probably run your lights and work to remove the algae before you add any coral.  This includes adding herbivores as well as manual removal.  Once you get it under control, you could add coral.  This should support the most life and you'll end up with a more mature tank.  The catch is if your tank has any especially nasty species of algae; then, you might need to take more extreme measures to eradicate it.

 

Another method (if there isn't any other life in your tank) would be to use an algaecide to kill off the algae.  These products are usually harmful to pods and other small inverts, so don't do this if your rock is full of life.  Then once your tank is free of algae, you could seed your tank with some life (usually by introducing some good live rock which has some life).  Give the newly seeded life some time to spread (possibly feeding them with phytoplankton and maybe even trace amounts of filter feeder food).

[ChilledReefer]

22 hours ago, seabass said:

If the rock was kept in saltwater that has aeration, it probably won't show any elevated ammonia levels.  But yes, you can monitor it for ammonia.  Don't add livestock until total ammonia is steady at or below 0.25ppm.

 

If the rock was not kept in an aerated saltwater container, then you'd treat it as uncured dry rock.  The process is the same, but you'll probably notice an ammonia spike of some sort.

 

No, the bacteria doesn't die out, and won't be harmed by the presence of ammonia (that's what it ultimately needs).  We are only concerned about non-bacterial life (like pods and other inverts) which potentially could be harmed by a large spike in ammonia.

 

If your live rock contains non-bacterial life, cure any uncured rock in a separate container before adding it to your cured live rock.  But if your live rock doesn't contain any non-bacterial life, then just put them both together until everything is cured.

 

No lights will control the algae growth.  However, you might notice algae growth again, after you turn the lights back on.

 

You might handle this in a couple of different ways.  I would probably run your lights and work to remove the algae before you add any coral.  This includes adding herbivores as well as manual removal.  Once you get it under control, you could add coral.  This should support the most life and you'll end up with a more mature tank.  The catch is if your tank has any especially nasty species of algae; then, you might need to take more extreme measures to eradicate it.

 

Another method (if there isn't any other life in your tank) would be to use an algaecide to kill off the algae.  These products are usually harmful to pods and other small inverts, so don't do this if your rock is full of life.  Then once your tank is free of algae, you could seed your tank with some life (usually by introducing some good live rock which has some life).  Give the newly seeded life some time to spread (possibly feeding them with phytoplankton and maybe even trace amounts of filter feeder food).

Thanks for the help. I have kept the old rock in a tub heated and with flow for the last few days when I broke down the tank. I am now filling it back up with new saltwater and will add in some Dr. Tims bacteria and do the ammonia cycle. I wont use the lights for a while but will definitely get any algae under control before adding any coral. 

 

The plan is to buy a radion xr30 pro and eventually be able to keep acro after the tank is fully mature. Hopefully next spring.