chrisfowler99 Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 I'm planning on moving up from a 75g tank to a 150g (or so) tank in the coming months. Which tank is still in the planning phase, but that I will be doing it is a given. I currently have about 100lbs of rock in my 75g tank, but I don't like all (or much) of it. I'm thinking about starting the new tank from dead rock. But given that the new tank will be going where the old tank currently sits I don't have time to set it up and cycle the dead rock, which leaves a challenge. I'm thinking about ordering about 150lbs of Marco Rocks, figuring out how I would like to aquascape them, and then cycling them in my garage in a large container. Properly cycled I should be able to use these rocks immediately in the move to a new tank...right? My major question is: Can I cycle rocks in a 90+ degree, high humidity garage, or am I pretty much screwed until the fall unless I want to bring it inside? What other challenges is this going to present as far as safety for the fish and coral? Am I missing something completely that makes this idea impossible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 cycling the rocks beforehand in buckets is a great way to go and once they are cycled, you can move them into your new tank, no sweat. The heat isn't the best for them, but they'll do ok. Can you put them in a laundry room/guest room to help keep them cooler? The big things to watch for are: - changes in salinity due to evaporation. Make sure you are keeping the salinity as stable as you can and once a month, do a 25% water change. - flow...each container needs some decent flow. You can't just chunk the rocks in still water and hope for growth. Finally, use some rubble from your current sump to seed the new rock and consider a bacteria in a bottle product like Brightwell's Microbacter7. It will help boost the bacteria growth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 and...I was @ prof's house last night and he had tons of nice rock and plenty of good quality sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisfowler99 Posted June 25, 2010 Author Share Posted June 25, 2010 I got my original rock from prof...and battled with a few things. I was wanting to start with dead for the rest so I don't add more hitch-hikers to the system. Not to mention the dead rock, at about $2/lb shipped, is some **** nice stuff. I wouldn't have the rock in still water. At least a pump and/or powerhead or two. Would I need a skimmer as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 A skimmer would be nice, but not a requirement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisfowler99 Posted June 25, 2010 Author Share Posted June 25, 2010 A skimmer would be nice, but not a requirement. I still have my old one. Might as well use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Melissa Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 This is exactly what I was going to ask! Cool. I have something to ask too, hope its not hijacking. How long would you need to leave the dead rocks cycling for if you were going to move some live pieces into a new tank to cycle it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 This is exactly what I was going to ask! Cool. I have something to ask too, hope its not hijacking. How long would you need to leave the dead rocks cycling for if you were going to move some live pieces into a new tank to cycle it? a month...longer if you can. People have kept rock alive for a year with this method. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisfowler99 Posted June 25, 2010 Author Share Posted June 25, 2010 This is exactly what I was going to ask! Cool. I have something to ask too, hope its not hijacking. How long would you need to leave the dead rocks cycling for if you were going to move some live pieces into a new tank to cycle it? a month...longer if you can. People have kept rock alive for a year with this method. Which is why I'm thinking about ordering the rock soon...gotta figure out a container, though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 This is exactly what I was going to ask! Cool. I have something to ask too, hope its not hijacking. How long would you need to leave the dead rocks cycling for if you were going to move some live pieces into a new tank to cycle it? a month...longer if you can. People have kept rock alive for a year with this method. Which is why I'm thinking about ordering the rock soon...gotta figure out a container, though... large cooler rubber maid livestock trough ask prof...he has every tank ever made I think! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisfowler99 Posted June 25, 2010 Author Share Posted June 25, 2010 large cooler rubber maid livestock trough ask prof...he has every tank ever made I think! Rubbermaid livestock trough...that's what those things are called! I guess I need to order so I have some idea of the volume of container I'm going to need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
absolut_racer Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 I started my tank with dead rock and seeded it with live rock. If I could do it all over again, I would have cooked the rock first, removed any dead material, and then cycled it. Here is an article concerning green hair algae. One of the reasons that the writer believed that he had the GHA issue was the failure to cook the rock before introducing it into his system: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-07/nftt/index.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Melissa Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 Just curious, but what side effects would it have on my tank to add a piece of the dead coral without cycling it? Not all at once, but one at a time? I boiled all the dead rock last night and filled a bucket during a WC, then put a HOB on the bucket with chaeto in it. Was just gonna let it run until I knew for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 Just curious, but what side effects would it have on my tank to add a piece of the dead coral without cycling it? Not all at once, but one at a time? I boiled all the dead rock last night and filled a bucket during a WC, then put a HOB on the bucket with chaeto in it. Was just gonna let it run until I knew for sure. depends on how clean the rock is. Sometimes the rock can leach phosphates/nitrates/other chemicals it might have come in contact with. Plus, with a tank your size, you can get a mini-cycle every time you add a piece. Its best to add it all at once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 My major question is: Can I cycle rocks in a 90+ degree, high humidity garage, or am I pretty much screwed until the fall unless I want to bring it inside? cycling the rocks beforehand in buckets is a great way to go and once they are cycled, you can move them into your new tank, no sweat. The heat isn't the best for them, but they'll do ok. Can you put them in a laundry room/guest room to help keep them cooler? The big things to watch for are: - changes in salinity due to evaporation. Make sure you are keeping the salinity as stable as you can and once a month, do a 25% water change. - flow...each container needs some decent flow. You can't just chunk the rocks in still water and hope for growth. Finally, use some rubble from your current sump to seed the new rock and consider a bacteria in a bottle product like Brightwell's Microbacter7. It will help boost the bacteria growth. +1 on what Mike said. Two years ago I kept a saltwater tank in my green house and was able to keep the temperature below 80 degrees even on 100 + days with LOTS of ventilation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 +1 on what Mike said. *cough* Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadodge Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 so some ppl shy away from EBAY but heres what i did when i started my new tank. I purchased live rock off of EBAY 150#s. When it arrived all the airline tickets and the farming ticket showed that it had only been outta ocean/water for less than 2 1/2 days. It was pachaged soaked in newapaper with saltwater. I then put half in one brute trash can the other 1/2 in the other can. Powerheads in both with a little PC light atop each, watch the ammonia,nitrates,and nitrite(which started LOW to begin with) for about a week 1/2. Went to untracible in that time. Then i place them in my new setup and have never looked back and to this day almost a year I have yet to have ANY HA on the rock at all. Then i added 50#s more from PROF(live rock) and never cycled it at all just dropped it in. NO PROBLEMS todate. No hitch hiker etc. I always add micro-bacteria(SAT) once a month no matter what, to me this insures that everything possible that HA uses to grow with is eatn by it. Thats how i do it. Hopefully this may help. Remember im no scientist but what i have done has worked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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