Confused about the rocks !!!!!

[guppylover101]

This is my 1st saltwater tank its a biocube 14 i have been reading about the rocks i was going to use in the previous days my cousin cycled his tank with live rock live sand and dosed wih ammonia but later had trouble with hitchhikers so i decided to go with dry rock.

So my questions are do i need to cure dry rock ? Can i setup the tank how i want to and let it cure there like add sand ,live rock ,saltwater and cycle?

Or

Do i just treat it like uncured live rock where it has enogh die off to cycle from the die off ?

Also does it matter how long its been dry and will it affect the cycle ?

So my question is can i cycle and cure my tank at the same time?

Help i just want to cycle my tank with dry rock

[BigRedsReefs10]

Yeah you can cycle and cure at the same time, the only thing you want to watch for is trapped phosphates in the dry rock IMO. That's the only reason I soak dry rock for a couple weeks before adding ammonia, high nitrates from the cycle with high phosphates being leached by the dry rock equals a massive algae bloom.

[guppylover101]

So how would i set up my tank and trigger both cycling and curing? Also is their any chemical that removes phosphate? I'll do big water changes the first week after the cycle ends.

To remove nitrates

BigRedReef10 help

[Sniperhank]

Curing rock and cycling it are basically the same thing. You cycle your tank to build up the beneficial bacteria for your nitrate cycle so your fish don't die. If you have a tank already established, you cure your rock in a separate container to prevent die off from the rock from causing a parameter spike and poisoning your fish.

There is filter media like GFO, Chemipure, and there are others. The best way to remove phosphates is to simply prevent it from going in by using ro/di water and feeding sparingly or rinsing off frozen food.

[guppylover101]

Thankyou sniperhank and i no i dont have the tank already established like BigRedsReefs10 the dryrock might leech phosphate which i will run phosgaurd while the dry rock is cycling with the live sand which i will use to seed the dry rock i think another thing does it affect my cycle how long the dry rock has been dry i go to a trusted lfs ran by really nice folks and the owner told me the dry rock already arrives dry and sits in the boxes for god knows how long also like i mentioned i will be adding ammonia to the tank instead of fish food or a deli shrimp so can i also add bio spira since bio spira feeds on fish waste which is ammonia please get back at me asap

[guppylover101]

Also, i read in another forum that for me to completely dodge 6 months of dealing with phosphates i should dip the dry rock in muriatic acid, so i will be dipping my rocks. but what about after im done? What do i do? Do i just set up my tank with live and the now super clean dry rock and treat it like dry rock and let it cycle or what? I do not want any live rock in my tank so will the live sand be enogh to seed the dry rock and also how long should it take to cycle and / or become live rock

[Sniperhank]

Your rock becomes live after the cycle. No matter what you end up with live rock in your tank. It being live refers to the beneficial bacteria that colonizes the surface area and powers your nitrate cycle.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

[guppylover101]

I understand but can i use bio spira since it feeds on ammonia and i will be dosing with ammonia to start my cycle and will the sand be enogh to seed the dry rock i do want live rock but pest free live roxk i dont want to add a piece of live rock with the dry rock since i dont know what critters it has

[Sniperhank]

You don't need any live rock or sand. Just add an ammonia source. You don't need to seed anything.
As for biosparta, never used it so can't say how it works. It has a shelf life. All I know.

But I do know you need to use some punctuation. Your posts are hard to read without it.

Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

[guppylover101]

Okay im sorry for the punctuation. Also im setting up my tank this is the reason im asking what i was supposed to do. What i want to know is if i just setup my tank dry rock , live sand , saltwater , add ammonia , cycle for a month , add CUC , 1 week later add my first fish and go from there

[Sniperhank]

You don't need live sand either, you can get dry to do the job.
In terms of how long the cycle is after you add your ammonia source, that varies from cycle to cycle. My old 36 took a tad over a month to cycle where my 55 actually took 2 months after I accidentally overdosed the tank with ammonia...which is why I'm a fan of the cocktail shrimp method.
Also, there isn't a real need for a clean up crew as long as you are able to remove what you put in via filtration and water changes. Just because a hermit crab eats a piece of uneaten food doesn't mean it won't turn into nitrates...hermit crabs poop too!

[guppylover101]

Okay thanks also about the dry rock is florida reef dry rock okay , and im still worried about the phosphates leaching from the dry rock should i do the muriatic acid dip what do you thing ?

[ejp]

Dry rock should have any dead organic matter in it
You want to add some bio spira to the dry rock to start cycling it and turn it to "live" rock


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

[ejp]

You can dip in in ro/di water over night then put it out in the sun for a day


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

[guppylover101]

The live rock im buying is 100% free of any organic matter at least thats what they claim

[BigRedsReefs10]

Never ordered rock from there, but if he treats it like his snails expect about 100 lbs :p. Seriously reef cleaners is a great company and I'm inclined to believe any claims john makes, I highly doubt you'll be disappointed if you go with them.

[guppylover101]

Okay i was just wondering if there would be anything diffrent since the rock is 100% organic free , and its super clean