Will it just start by itself?

[Spoor3773]

Im thinking about changing from African cichlids to saltwater and in the process of collecting as much information as possible before the change. I popped into my LFS to ask about how to mature using live rock. The guy said you can either buy cured or non cured rock. He recommended non cured because he sells it quite a bit cheaper than cured and setting up a saltwater tank can be expensive as it is, so this would be a way to save a bit money even though it may take longer to cycle. He said put the rock in the tank and keep and eye on the water parameters and it should be cycled in about six weeks then I can slowly add fish. This confused me because I thought I would have to add fish to initially kick start the cycle so how does it become cycled with nothing in the tank.

 

[Nosaj81]

you would need to add a source of ammonia, putting a cocktail shrimp in the tank will be enough to start the cycle

 

[Spoor3773]

I asked about that and he said there was no need to. He said the cycle just starts with the rocks.

 

[Nosaj81]

lol no you need a source of ammonia to feed the bacteria there are many posts about it

 

[marty20]

I just used some fish food to start

 

[54seaweed]

heres a good read

Cycle your salt tank - Aquarium Advice

 

[Earlgrey23]

I suppose if there was a lot of dead matter on the rocks then it would add some Ammonia. But I can't imagine it would be a strong cycle. One fresh shrimp did a great job for my 40gallon took about 5 weeks.