Dry Rock Question

[Frag Freaks]

Ok well im upgrading my 38 to a 65. I have roughly 45 lbs of live rock in the 38 right now. The tank and stand are already set up with sand and water already. I'm looking to add more rock about 20-30 lbs. But I dont want to spend the money on LR. I know i can use other rock for base rock. But which is the best kind and does dry rock need to be cycled like uncured LR? Since there is no life on there and no die off im guessing i could just add it right in without havin to cycle the rock or no.

 

[Scuba_Dave]

Most people add the dry rock in as the bottom rock. Then add the established rock on top. Nothing alive on the dry rock, nothing to die off, no cycle

BUT, if there was something ON the dry rock that died, THEN you could have a problem. Always better to toss it in a bin of SW 1st & let it soak & test

 

[Frag Freaks]

someone told me i had to cycle it regardless if its dry or live rock. that i will hit a cycle.

 

[ZReef]

I started out with only 12lbs of live rock in my 46g. Then I added 30lbs of dry rock and no noticeable cycle. Then I added another 30lbs of dry rock and no cycle. Then I added 22lbs of live rock but I cycled that separately first. You should not get a cycle with dry rock, mine was from Hirocks.com in Hawaii. All you need to do is thoroughly rinse it, like a power wash. It has a lot of sediment on and in it that you need to clean up. I would soak it for a while with some powerful flow to rinse it but it doesn't need to be cycled.

 

[Moe_K]

I know that some folks have had an ammonia spike after adding dry rock. If your system is established, and your not adding a lot of rock relative to the amount you've already got in there, then I'd think your system should handle the spike.

But, if you have a new system or are adding a lot of dry rock, then you might go into re-cycle.

 

[Frag Freaks]

I added roughly 24lbs of Dry rock and added some of my existing rock from my tank that im going to be swapping from. I added about 15lbs of my existin LR with more to add. I put the rock in around 1 this afternoon and checked all the parameters at 4 and didnt see any spike in anything yet. If its going to spike when would it?

 

[Moe_K]

Within 24 hours, IMO.

 

[Frag Freaks]

well i hit a lil cycle im guessing. After 24 hours of the new rock being in there I still have no ammonia which is a good thing and 0.1ppm Nitrite which is not bad at all. And 2.5ppm Nitrate. I'm guessing that its only something little and will be gone soon. 0.1ppm Nitrite isnt even harmful to fish am i right? Regardless im going to wait till everything is 0 before i finish the transfer.