Cycling Rocks and Tank!

[inkrediblek68]

I've read in a couple of places where people cycle rock in a different tub or tank other than the actual tank. I'm a just about to start a saltwater tank. I have everything that is needed. My question is

Can I cycle my tank/water plus live sand and at the same time cycle dead dry rock with some live rock in the same tank? Any input is much appreciated.

I do apologize if I make no sense! I am a NOOB!

[Crush]

I'm a fellow noob but my tank is up and running. Well I should say my daughters tank is up and running...lol. I'm just stuck taking care of it. I mixed the salt (Red Sea coral pro) in tank using the powerhead to do all the work for me. After it was throughly mixed and tank cleared up I put in my live sand, roughly 20 pounds of it for a 20 gallon tank. Added my heater and turned on my Aquaclear hob filter. The filter helped to clear up the water but will clog with fine sand as mine did. It's best to just run a sponge filter or filter floss for a day till water clears up. Put the live rock I got from fish gallery in, roughly 20 pounds. Dumped a bottle of biospira in. After chatting with others on this forum I dosed seachem's stability per it's instructions. After a week I started adding livestock. Of course throughout the whole process I tested water perameters. That's about the gist of it

[jkl4971]

To answer your question yes it will cycle all at the same time. U could also cycle it in a separate container most people do this for different reason like the are still working on their tank or if upgrading to a bigger tank and what want to minimize the mini cycle by cycling the additional rock and sand in another container

[inkrediblek68]

thank you guys for the feedback. looks like ill just throw everything in the tank and let it do its thing. Ill keep checking the parameters, do my water changes add the CUC, and wait until everything is perfect before I add any fish and corals!

[jkl4971]

I would hold off on the clean up crew. There's nothing for them to eat they will end up dying which will raise your parameters

[inkrediblek68]

ok! again, reading things recently ive come across people putting their CUC in around the 2 week mark. Others after 1 month of cycling. When is the best time?

[Crush]

When you see algae

[Crush]

For me it didn't take long

[Crush]

What I did with cuc is add a little at a time..I got two hermit crabs and two margarita snails to start, diatoms showed up I added more snails of different kinds. Hair algae showed up and spread I added 5 more hermit crabs and an emerald crab. Hair algae is non existent now for the most part. I'll see a sprig show up one day but it gets eaten by the next. The suggestion of one snail per gallon IMHO is bs, I have maybe 10 snails in a 20gallon and maybe 8 crabs. Diatoms are still an issue for now but if it's like it is in my freshwater tank they will disappear soon enough anyways. Also to note I'm not using the brightest lights money can buy either so I'm sure that helps to some degree.

[susimegan1]

Doese it count towards how many fish you can have if you get crabs and snails etc?

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[susimegan1]

I am new ,too. I don't have a tank but I am actively looking and kind find one so far.

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[Crush]

Doese it count towards how many fish you can have if you get crabs and snails etc?

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that's a good question but I have not heard of such.

[mredman]

It takes a while for a marine tank to stabilize. I used to add black mollies to the tanks in the beginning. They can tolerate full strength sea water. I agree with the advice - no food, snails die. If your lighting is correct and you make frequent water changes along with the proper cleanup crew of fish and invertebrates, the algae will subside and will be insignificant over time.

Mike

[inkrediblek68]

What testing kits should I get first? whats the most important? For right now I have ro/di water with the right salinity with live sand and live rock. But again for the initial part, what should I be testing for?

Red Sea has a kit for ammonia, Ph, Nitrate, nitrite, and alkalinity. Is there something additional I need to that?

[Crush]

Those are the vital ones. API makes a master test kit that comes with all those at a reasonable price. Once you get into corals you will want to test for calcium, magnesium, dkh, and phosphate. Red Sea is a pretty good brand IMHO.