GVCatalano Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Hi all, I have been keeping a 55 gallon reef tank very succesfully IMO for 2 years but never had to deal with what I am trying to do with a 10 gallon reef tank these days. I started a 10 gallon tank March 5th and added about 2lbs of live sand and about 3 lbs of partially cured live rock. All appears very good with the tank so far. Being that there wasn't enough rock in the tank, I wanted to add some more. I decided to use some leftover rock from the 55 setup that was left in the garage (not in water for over 1.5 years) to fill in the gaps. I added about 6 lbs of the "dead" rock and havent noticed anything odd yet except for the expected foul odor. Has anyone ever tried this method and if so, what was their experience? I want to know if the "dead" rock will once again host organisms and microbial life or if what I did is an absolute NO NO in the reef world. If this is an acceptable practice, does it prolong the cycling process? Mind you, I am not stocking any inhabitants at this time until the water parameters balance out to 0ppm for all the appropriate tests...which should take some more time, I'm certain! I will throw an uncooked white shrimp in there, however, to assist in the process...as I do not believe in using live animals to cycle tanks until the water parameters can sustain life without harming the fish or inverts! Any responses will be very much appreciated! : Link to comment
spark Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 I have mixed dead with live rock before. When I first did my 24g nano, I had a bunch of extra rock that ended up in our front garden. I took several of those pieces, cleaned and soaked them for a week in saltwater and added it to 25lbs of rock I was cycling. It was only about 8-10 lbs of porous rock. I used it setting up a NC6 and a 12g Pod. After about 3 months in the tanks, the rock is covered in coraline and I would bet that there is plenty of bacteria and pods & other critters living in it. Link to comment
GVCatalano Posted March 15, 2006 Author Share Posted March 15, 2006 I have mixed dead with live rock before. When I first did my 24g nano, I had a bunch of extra rock that ended up in our front garden. I took several of those pieces, cleaned and soaked them for a week in saltwater and added it to 25lbs of rock I was cycling. It was only about 8-10 lbs of porous rock. I used it setting up a NC6 and a 12g Pod. After about 3 months in the tanks, the rock is covered in coraline and I would bet that there is plenty of bacteria and pods & other critters living in it. Thank you very much. I was concerned that the Rock was going to really mess up the balance in the tank or throw off the cycling period. I didn't soak the rock the way that you did...I simply set it up in a new tank...do you think that will present any problems??? GVCatalano Link to comment
andykee Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 You mentioned that the "dead" rock had a foul odor. This indicates that there is still organic material decaying on the rock. Since you don't have any inhabitants, it shouldn't present any immediate dangers, but I would expecit it to lengthen your cycle. Link to comment
proraptor Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 You need to put the "dead" rock in a container with water and one piece of live rock for a week or 2 and then you can add to your tank... Link to comment
GVCatalano Posted March 15, 2006 Author Share Posted March 15, 2006 You mentioned that the "dead" rock had a foul odor. This indicates that there is still organic material decaying on the rock. Since you don't have any inhabitants, it shouldn't present any immediate dangers, but I would expecit it to lengthen your cycle. Well, Andykee, that is what I am hoping for. Thanks for the feedback...much appreciated~ The smell might be from the partially cured live rocks that were placed in the system a week prior to me adding the dead. I cant be sure and I certainly dont want to stick my nose in there at this time...it smells like a really bad FART!!! He He... GVCatalano You need to put the "dead" rock in a container with water and one piece of live rock for a week or 2 and then you can add to your tank... What is your reasoning for this. Isnt that doing the exact same thing as what is occurring in my tank at this time. What is the difference if it is setup in the NEW tank versus being setup in a separate tank/container. I apologize, but that just doesn't seem to make too much sense to me. Please explain... GVCatalano Link to comment
proraptor Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Adding dead rock with the possibility of having some organic matter that is still living is going to make your cycle longer. I did the same thing with my 5 gallon minibow I had it cycling for a couple weeks then added the "dead" rock and it went through another cycle that lasted almost a month... If you dont want to disrupt your tank then follow what I said if you dont care throw it in Link to comment
GVCatalano Posted March 15, 2006 Author Share Posted March 15, 2006 Adding dead rock with the possibility of having some organic matter that is still living is going to make your cycle longer. I did the same thing with my 5 gallon minibow I had it cycling for a couple weeks then added the "dead" rock and it went through another cycle that lasted almost a month... If you dont want to disrupt your tank then follow what I said if you dont care throw it in I understand now, you must be thinking that I added dead rock to an established system...or even a partially established system! That is NOT the case at all...the system is not more than a week old and therefore I did not feel the need to semi cure the rock prior to placement. Thank you for your response. The point is a valid one if the tank was already somewhat or fully cycled. Since it wasn't, I wasn't too concerned about die off on the few pieces of Live Rock (very little coralline on those anyways) and am okay having to wait out the cycling period...even if it takes longer. Link to comment
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