can using cured live rock skip new tank cycle

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
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cohl120

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 15, 2009
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ever since I have had saltwater in my new large system there has been some cured live rock in it, and now I have about 850 lbs of cured rock in 1400 gallons of water. the tank has been running for almost 2.5 weeks. My water parameters all show complete zero for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. I have never had any kind of ammonia readings above zero since it has been running, my question is has the cured rock caused the tank to skip the initial cycle process or does it take allot longer for larger systems to cycle? All the rock that has been added came from established systems, most has been cured for many years. there are some small fish that have been in the tank for about 2 weeks and I have been feeding them daily.

thanks in advance
 
It only still carries the denitrification bacteria if it's had an ammonia source to feed off of (fish, adding NH3 etc...). If it hasn't been 'fed', the bacteria is most likely dead.

With some fish, most of it will die off. The amount surviving is the amount that can live off of the level of ammonia that those few fish are creating with their waste.

As far as cycling larger systems, it takes a lot longer. You'll want to slowly add fish for bio load, and keep an eye on the ammonia levels as you go so it doesn't spike on you.
 
thanks and thats kind of what I figured, I am just gonna keep an eye on my parameters for now.
 
yea im gonna let it do its thing for sure, ive been waiting a year to install it, whats a few more weeks lol
 
Toss some damsels in there like you were talking about the other day. They'll help feed the bacteria, give you something to look at, and if they're all dead one morning, you know you hit your ammonia spike. HA. I also tossed a 6-line grouper/soap fish in - a year later and he's still cruising (hasn't grown much though, unlike the other groupers).
 
H'm.... I ran it with nothing but live sand and some rock for 2 weeks - added some bottled bacteria as well (that worked very well, btw, but it isn't cheap - $65/bottle that handles 200 gallons). After 2 weeks, I added a dozen damsels. A week after that, another dozen damsels and the soapfish. Two weeks after that, the horn shark who's still alive and kicking, so to speak. The damsels ended up as food very quickly.
 
just out of curiosity what brand of bottled bacteria and where did you get it from?
 
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