Starting tank with cured live rock?

[PassengerTN]

Been searching locally for deals to get my 75 running while staying as easy on the wallet as possible. A local, honest, hobbyist said he has 2-300lbs of cured rock to get rid of. Claims it has been in his system(s) for years. My question is this, if I buy 75-80lbs of this cured rock from him, and immediately add it to a tank with fresh bags of argonite and freshly mixed water, will I need to cycle the tank still or will it be ready to go?

Jesse

 

[gleach]

This hobby will cost you no matter what so be sure you understand that now. You will still have a cycling process. I thing you can get bypass a cycle if the water and sand you use has already per say been cycled.

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[gleach]

Let me reiterate it will cost you if you don't research it well enough but you will find it to be pricy to start up properly. My personal mistake was under researching things and having to redo my whole system essentially

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[BigRedsReefs10]

Been searching locally for deals to get my 75 running while staying as easy on the wallet as possible. A local, honest, hobbyist said he has 2-300lbs of cured rock to get rid of. Claims it has been in his system(s) for years. My question is this, if I buy 75-80lbs of this cured rock from him, and immediately add it to a tank with fresh bags of argonite and freshly mixed water, will I need to cycle the tank still or will it be ready to go?

Jesse

If the rock comes out of a tank that's running and stocked tank, and you keep it submerged in sw while you transport it you could theoretically avoid a cycle. That being said, I'd strongly recommend monitoring levels for at least a few days to ensure you don't get a spike from any die off before adding any livestock. Another way to check is to dose ammonia and see if it's converted to nitrates in a day


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[PassengerTN]

Initially start up is where I'm trying to save a little money at. I'd be fine with a fowlr, which saves me quite a bit, but I understand its not a cheap hobby any way you look at it.




As mentioned in my OP, the seller is a trusted local hobbyist, and he also mentioned using cycled water combined with bagged live sand should net an established cycle immediately and able to add a fish or two without any worries. "Cycled water" is what gets me, as I know in freshwater world, the water column holds no merit of beneficial bacteria. Obviously that's different on the salty side?

I wouldn't be overly concerned with this, but the price is cheap. 0.75¢ more than dry rock cost at my LFS to be exact. If for a few more dollars I can add a fish (trigger) that my wife wants, the world will be a happier place lol

Jesse

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

Initially start up is where I'm trying to save a little money at. I'd be fine with a fowlr, which saves me quite a bit, but I understand its not a cheap hobby any way you look at it.




As mentioned in my OP, the seller is a trusted local hobbyist, and he also mentioned using cycled water combined with bagged live sand should net an established cycle immediately and able to add a fish or two without any worries. "Cycled water" is what gets me, as I know in freshwater world, the water column holds no merit of beneficial bacteria. Obviously that's different on the salty side?

I wouldn't be overly concerned with this, but the price is cheap. 0.75¢ more than dry rock cost at my LFS to be exact. If for a few more dollars I can add a fish (trigger) that my wife wants, the world will be a happier place lol

Jesse

Not trying to be rude or argumentative, but the start of that second paragraph is basically a big oxymoron. I wouldn't trust anyone that tells me to use "cycled water", because just as in fw there is no bb in the water column, it resides on the rocks and in the sandbed. I'd also skip any sand from a used tank as 99% of the time it's more trouble than it's worth since it traps detritus and can leach po4 and nitrates into your system.


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[Sniperhank]

If it is really cured live rock it should be ready to go as long as it is transported wet. Depending on the price, I'd pick up as much as I humanly could. I would plumb my tank into as big of a sump as possible and throw even more of the rock into it. I dream of a system with one of those plastic horse troughs for as much rock as I can fit as well as my equipment.

Also, there is little to no beneficial bacteria in the water column. It lives in the rock and sand, be it in the oxygen rich area or the oxygen free area.

 

[PassengerTN]

Not trying to be rude or argumentative, but the start of that second paragraph is basically a big oxymoron. I wouldn't trust anyone that tells me to use "cycled water", because just as in fw there is no bb in the water column, it resides on the rocks and in the sandbed. I'd also skip any sand from a used tank as 99% of the time it's more trouble than it's worth since it traps detritus and can leach po4 and nitrates into your system.


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No chance of any arguments here. My area has (had) a reef club that has slowly dithered away, and he was one of the big members. I think more than anything with the "cycled water" bit is an attempt to make some money on me because I mentioned being new to saltwater. He offered water at $1/gal which is dumb IMO as I wouldn't ever put someone's used tank water into my system. If I do choose to get rock from him, if I cannot specifically hand pick pieces my self from his system, eliminating any chance of being hoodoo'd, I won't even bother. He's offering it at $3/lb, my LFS is $2.25 for dry if they have any. He claims to have over 1000lbs of cured live total and wanting to sell 2-300lbs.

Jesse

 

[gleach]

I had a lfs tell me he could save me on my cycle by using his water and his rock and substrate. I always wondered about those guys lol.

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[gleach]

Why is it some People say to stay away from L/R in the refugium?

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[Sniperhank]

No chance of any arguments here. My area has (had) a reef club that has slowly dithered away, and he was one of the big members. I think more than anything with the "cycled water" bit is an attempt to make some money on me because I mentioned being new to saltwater. He offered water at $1/gal which is dumb IMO as I wouldn't ever put someone's used tank water into my system. If I do choose to get rock from him, if I cannot specifically hand pick pieces my self from his system, eliminating any chance of being hoodoo'd, I won't even bother. He's offering it at $3/lb, my LFS is $2.25 for dry if they have any. He claims to have over 1000lbs of cured live total and wanting to sell 2-300lbs.

Jesse

If you can get dry rock for cheaper, then I would go with the cheaper option. That way I would have extra cash for something else to plug onto the system that I want. At 75 cents cheaper a lb will be over 50 dollars in savings that a cocktail shrimp will turn live in a couple of weeks.

 

[PassengerTN]

This is true Hank. Still need to source a few pcs of equipment..

Jesse

 

[nwsharksfan]

... just my two cents. Nothing quite as entertaining as watching cocktail shrimp expand into a fuzzy blob for two weeks. Rewarding as hell.

 

[spoonman]

If he is pulling your leg with the water statement, I would be worried about what could be in the rock. I just started my 120 reef with all dry rock and cycled it in the tank. I have no worries of unwanted hitch hikers or anything else. Save the money and spend it on other equipment. You will be happy you did!