when to add live rocks

[jhabuda]

So i have been asking around about when i should add my live rock and how. What i wanted to do was get my rocks cured all at once. And while i am doing that i would like to fill the tank up get it to the correct salinity and have my protein skimmwr working for atleast a week prior to me adding the rocks in. And i would do my have to do my aquascaping while the water is in the tank, which i dont mind. So is this a wrong way to go about it. Or should i wait until my rocks are cured then add them into the tank and add the water.?

 

[54seaweed]

if there is no live stock you can add it right to your tank till it cycles 4/6 weeks

Cycle your salt tank - Aquarium Advice

 

[jeffaquarius]

When setting up a new tank, aquascaping should be done first. The base rocks with some live rocks are the first to make them stable and followed by substrate then the salt water. Once it is cycled moving stuff around will stress your inhabitants.

 

[Bectan01]

I was also told not to run the skimmer during the cycle either, anyone else have an opinion on that?

 

[jhabuda]

if there is no live stock you can add it right to your tank till it cycles 4/6 weeks

Cycle your salt tank - Aquarium Advice

So if i put my live rock into my tank right away without curing it and add the raw shrimp to it for my cycle with water changes i should be good?

 

[jeffaquarius]

You need to understand first what the skimmer do for your tank. During cycling there is no nutrient to be removed since there is no fish to feed. What you need is to create ammonia to form bacteria in your live rock.

 

[mr_X]

Your skimmer will pick up organics from the die off on the rock. I wouldn't run it though, since you want this die off to create an ammonia spike sufficient to build a strong bacteria colony.

 

[jeffaquarius]

So if i put my live rock into my tank right away without curing it and add the raw shrimp to it for my cycle with water changes i should be good?

Live rocks already have some bacteria and if there are base rocks they will inhabit and multiply when you feed them ammonia. That's why no water change until ammonia spike has died down and nitrite is at close to 0.

 

[jhabuda]

I am getting 100 lbs of live rock from a former saltwater guy. He used it in his 125 gallon tank. Do i nred to cure it or cook it?

 

[mr_X]

Is it in water now? Is his tank still running? Is it loaded with algae or does it look good?
Also, do you see any inverts in the tank? Bristle worms, snails, shrimp?
If you answered yes to all of these, I would transport this rock submerged in water if possible and put it right in your tank and you won't need to cycle it. You should be able to skip a cycle if so.