Djplus1 July 19, 2013 Share July 19, 2013 I plan on using a Red Sea Max 130 as frag tank. Just cleaned today. I will be doing my water changes tomorrow on my other 2 tanks and I was wondering if I just dumped the 20+ gallons from my 72 and just used some dry rock would I have to cycle the Red Sea Max for any significant amount of time? I'm not in any particular rush, but if I can pretty much add corals and a fish sooner, that would be nice, especially with frag fest this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite July 19, 2013 Share July 19, 2013 Dry rock is not going to help you cycle your tank. You need to use live rock to get the bacteria. You could also use a bacteria additive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosco's Reefs July 19, 2013 Share July 19, 2013 I do this all the time, recycling water to start new tanks. Treesprite is right about true dry rock buy the cycle should be less. Do you have a small piece of rock available or perhaps some rubble from your refugium you can use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind July 19, 2013 Share July 19, 2013 The water alone will not have enough bacteria in it to really get the cycle going. You could temporarly move over a piece of live rock from the main tank or if you have a filter sponge move it over to transfer some bacteria. You could also use a bacteria product like SeaChem's Stability or similar product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djplus1 July 19, 2013 Author Share July 19, 2013 I'm trying to use all dry rock to reduce the number of hitchhikers. I have a dead Acro colony, about 3x3 in the back of my display. Would that speed things up in lieu of using live rock? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roni July 19, 2013 Share July 19, 2013 That should be fine. You can also bring over a little sand if you have it. As with all things, make sure not to rush anything you really like over until you are sure that it is cycled. If you notice levels rising, add a little more rock. Another option is to move a fair amount of rock over along with the dry rock and then you can move the live rock over as it "seeds" the dry rock you have. Just keep an eye open for hitchhikers. In a pinch, I've set up qt systems with 5 lbs of rock and an already cycled sponge (I used to keep a couple in the sump for this purpose). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djplus1 July 19, 2013 Author Share July 19, 2013 Since this will be a frag tank with 2 fish max, how much dry rock will I need for it to do anything? 10lbs, 20lbs? I need room for racks, etc. Also, since I've got 2 other tanks in my house, could I use a small piece of rock from both tanks or does it have to be from the same tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind July 19, 2013 Share July 19, 2013 If you're worried about hitchhikers then just use a bottle of bacteria to seed the tank. You don't need much if any live rock, just a good skimmer. The rock doesn't have to be form the same tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djplus1 July 19, 2013 Author Share July 19, 2013 If I put some water in today with some live pieces, can I put the dry rock in later, say next week or should the dry rock get in there today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami July 19, 2013 Share July 19, 2013 The water will have some bacteria in it, of course, so it may be slightly faster than just starting fresh, but only slightly. If you want to bump-start it, get something like Dr. Tim's or some other bottled bacteria and use as directed. Of course, bacteria populate naturally from the air so, if you're patient, you can do it the old fashioned way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheyCallMeMr.703 July 19, 2013 Share July 19, 2013 My current tank started like that. Took damm near a yeah to cycle completely, by that time is was full of life and even hd some nice caluerpa and cheato growing. Then came the damsel... And from there. The Story of Life begins... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind July 19, 2013 Share July 19, 2013 If I put some water in today with some live pieces, can I put the dry rock in later, say next week or should the dry rock get in there today? Yes, you can add the dry stuff later. The sooner it goes in, the sooner it starts to get colonized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmatte July 19, 2013 Share July 19, 2013 Hey man, I had been running a HOB filter on my DT for months as a reactor basically. I had wanted to take it out but left it on there until I got my frag tank running. I moved it over to the frag tank a while ago to seed the new rock. I will be done with it in a couple days and was planning on just pulling it out. If you want, you can come get it when I'm done to help seed yours. It seems to be working really well at accomplishing a quick mini cycle. Lmk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djplus1 July 19, 2013 Author Share July 19, 2013 Hey man, I had been running a HOB filter on my DT for months as a reactor basically. I had wanted to take it out but left it on there until I got my frag tank running. I moved it over to the frag tank a while ago to seed the new rock. I will be done with it in a couple days and was planning on just pulling it out. If you want, you can come get it when I'm done to help seed yours. It seems to be working really well at accomplishing a quick mini cycle. Lmk. I trust you're water's all right? No nasties I could just avoid by using some chemical, right? Yeah, I may take you up on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind July 19, 2013 Share July 19, 2013 If you go with a bottled bacteria starter you remove any chance of introducing a pest, problem algae, or parasite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Rhoads July 19, 2013 Share July 19, 2013 If you go with a bottled bacteria starter you remove any chance of introducing a pest, problem algae, or parasite. But where is the fun in that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmatte July 21, 2013 Share July 21, 2013 I trust you're water's all right? No nasties I could just avoid by using some chemical, right? Yeah, I may take you up on that. I'm clean bro...... I use protection. Let me know how you proceed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
londonloco July 21, 2013 Share July 21, 2013 I've used Seachem's Stability on the last 5 fw tanks I've redone/started. Never lost a fish using it. It's 10$ and you can get it at Petco. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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