Still confused about live rock and cycling

debaric

debaric

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When you get a new tank and you get the right amount of live rock from the LFS (uncured) for it, doesnt the nitrifying bacteria in the rock take care of Ammonia and nitrite instantly, provided that you have a bioload?

I have been into freshwater for a long time and i understand the cycle and how bacteria colonies need to be established in the filter sponge, substrate, and other structures but why is a 6 week cycle still necessary for a tank that has live rock and live sand?

Thanks, Chris
 
debaric said:
When you get a new tank and you get the right amount of live rock from the LFS (uncured) for it, doesnt the nitrifying bacteria in the rock take care of Ammonia and nitrite instantly, provided that you have a bioload?

I have been into freshwater for a long time and i understand the cycle and how bacteria colonies need to be established in the filter sponge, substrate, and other structures but why is a 6 week cycle still necessary for a tank that has live rock and live sand?

Thanks, Chris
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No, Uncured rock is actually what brings Bacteria into the tank. It also starts your cycle. Cured will do the same thing, but it wont be as messy. Uncured rock will have alot of die off and will make a mess.

A cycle might not take you 6 weeks. The cycle depends on the system and everyone is different. I had one of my tanks cycle in 2 weeks using all cured rock and some A few cups of live sand from one of my other tanks.

If you are planning on buying livesand, I wouldnt as its a waste of money. Get your self some base sand, the rock will help seed it.
 
well i bought fully cured live rock and live sand and i cycled in about a week, i added fish about 3 days after the tank start up and my amonia and nitrates and nitrites are at zero and so are the phosphates im about a month in to the sw field now
 
Blown 346 said:
No, Uncured rock is actually what brings Bacteria into the tank. It also starts your cycle. Cured will do the same thing, but it wont be as messy. Uncured rock will have alot of die off and will make a mess.
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Um... The only reason why theres any die off is because there is live bacteria, algaes etc on the rock. If the rock is uncured, it shouldnt have any bacteria or algaes on it meaning there is no die off. Uncured=No bacteria. No Bacteria=no die off? If you dont have any cured rock, or cured sand, the rock wont magically cure itself. You have to get at least some cured rock so the bacteria can move about the other uncured rocks and cure those too. Uncured rock has no bacteria. Thats the meaning of "uncured".

Rock is basicly the media of saltwater. Uncured rock is kinda like new filter media. You have to get bacteria onto it. By getting some media from another filter (cured rock), your new filter media (uncured rock) will have bacteria on it. But theres no way to just smack a bunch of bacteria onto the rocks, so you put some cured rock with some uncured rock and the uncured rock will become cured.
 
The problem may be that you dont know exactly what state your 'live' rock is in. How's it been cured, shipped and treated before you get it home?

So you may get some die off in the new rock, that actually helps establish the cycle, but would kill any fish.

So it might take 6 weeks to settle down, or if your live rock was in perfect condition it might be fine after a week.

Ian
 
mak3mydae said:
Um... The only reason why theres any die off is because there is live bacteria, algaes etc on the rock. If the rock is uncured, it shouldnt have any bacteria or algaes on it meaning there is no die off. Uncured=No bacteria. No Bacteria=no die off? If you dont have any cured rock, or cured sand, the rock wont magically cure itself. You have to get at least some cured rock so the bacteria can move about the other uncured rocks and cure those too. Uncured rock has no bacteria. Thats the meaning of "uncured".

Rock is basicly the media of saltwater. Uncured rock is kinda like new filter media. You have to get bacteria onto it. By getting some media from another filter (cured rock), your new filter media (uncured rock) will have bacteria on it. But theres no way to just smack a bunch of bacteria onto the rocks, so you put some cured rock with some uncured rock and the uncured rock will become cured.
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Uncured rock will still have die off of organisms and bacteria. The meaning of uncured rock is this.

Uncured rock does have life and bacteria on it. But some of this life has died and needs to go thru stages to undergo a natural die back without polluting the aquarium water. This die back occurs in all transported live rock and is necessary to provide a solid foundation for the remaining species to grow and flourish.

The only rock there is no bacteria, or any type of life is dry base rock. Cured and uncured rock has life and bacteria present, it wont have as much life etc than cured rock does. But uncured rock is not dead.

Look under
 
^^^that!
 
its all about stability

curing is not just about building up your bacteria to take care of ammonia, its also about the organisms on your rock stabilizing. when one thing dies in transit the ammonia kills another organism and so on and so forth, this makes your rock smelly, when the bacteria have caught up to the speed of death and things stop dieing, then your rock is cured. thats when your rock will just smell like the ocean
 
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