Cycling question

[Dan XVI]

Hello everyone,

I did a quick search but did not see any threads in regards to this particular question.

I have a 55 gallon tank that I am planning to cycle with live rock. However, I've found a few people on craigslist in my area selling live rock cheaper than I could get in a store or online. The problem is this live rock is all fully alive, from tanks getting broken down for various reasons, unlike anything I would get shipped to me.

By using this rock in an uncycled tank, am I going to get an enormous amount of die off requiring more work than if I were to use a shrimp to cycle and then put the live rock in after or some other method of moving forward?

Any thoughts on how you guys would handle the situation would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[Kurt_Nelson]

If the rock is still "live" - meaning it has a living bacteria population on it - and you transfer it to your tank, then in effect you have a cycled tank. Assuming you buy the rock out of an "in use" tank, and keep it wet during transport, you should be able to keep the bacteria alive.

However, if the tank has sat empty with no water, or hasn't had any fish in it for several weeks, then most likely the "live" rock is now dead and you'll have to recycle the tank.

[roka64]

I agree with Kurt. Also, make sure you ask if/what meds were used in the tank.