seeding dry rock

[NP_Reef]

im setting up a new tank that wont be ready for 4 or 5 months but i want to seed my dry rock (~130lbs) before hand. ill be adding about 30lbs of live rock to it.

my question is if i put it in a 55 gal rubbermade what else do i need to put in with it to seed it? (heaters, power heads,lights etc)

thanks

[kcochran0010]

Well you want all the equipment in there like heaters, powerheads, lights, but you also need to purchased a big piece of actual live rock from someone private or your LFS. That is how you seed your dry rock.. Bacteria will jump from your LR to the dry and keep growing.. Good luck!

[NP_Reef]

ya ill be getting some good live rock to seed it with.

so i dont need any filtration at all? just lights, powerheads and heaters? what temp should i keep it at around 80? would just a a cheap home depot type light work?

[tiredreefer]

All that is really needed is heater and powerhead. Keep Cal and Mag on the high end of the acceptable scale and you will have coraline algae growing on the dry rock in no time.

[thegrun]

Lighting is purely optional IMHO. If there is nice light requiring lifeforms on the rock such as coral, go ahead and give it some light, but otherwise do not worry about it. Drop a powerhead in the container for water movement. 78 degrees is a good temperature to keep it at. Keep your salinity steady at 1.025 by adding top off water. Since you are likely to see a cycle with die-off attached to your dry rock, I would not worry about calcium or magnesium until the cycle is complete. Once your initial cycle is over, it would be a good idea to add a pinch of dry fish food every other day. This will break down into ammonia which will feed the bacteria so your tank can handle a bio-load once the tank is set up.