tank cycling

[ojmenard]

ok so I have just gotten some dry rock and want to start playing with it to get some ideas for how i want it to look. some of it is new rock and some is dried rock. the dried rock i know will start the tank to cycle once i put it in since there are dried stuff on it that was alive. question is will it be ok to put this in and then say add the live rock later this week. next question is im not adding any fish anytime soon till i get the rock all in place. so if i add some live rock next weekend and the cycle starts will it hurt to add some more live rock in a couple weeks. is it bad for the live rock to keep cycling?

 

[melosu58]

If the new LR is already cured then it wont matter when you add it but if not then you might see a spike. Read this as far as the cycle.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/3/1/Cycle-your-salt-tank/Page1.html

 

[ojmenard]

i understand the cycling process but i dont find the answer i am looking for anywhere. if my tank cycles and i still only have the rock in it no fish or corals will it hurt the exixting lr to put uncured lr in it and cause the tank to cycle again?

 

[melosu58]

As long as there is no livestock in the tank it will not hurt anything. It will actually help your existing nitrifying bacteria to grow and colonize what LR is in the tank. Sorry I misunderstood the question.

 

[ojmenard]

np thanks for the info. im not in a hurry for the corals or the fish. i want all the rock i need to be in the tank before i add those. and i dont really want to spend $300 on rock at one time so i am doing over about a 3 week period. one more question should i not even bother testing the water till after i add the last batch of rock or should i start checking after the first batch?

 

[melosu58]

If only 3 weeks then I dont see why you have to test till it`s all in there. As long as there is no livestock.

 

[jessicasmarine]

In my opinion LR is the best part of saltwater anyways.
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