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View Full Version : Cycling Tank With Dead Rock and Dry Sand


emp111
03/07/2015, 04:07 PM
Because of timing I have dead rock and dry sand in aquarium ready for saltwater that I am currently mixing. I plan on doing a fishless cycle. Can I add the saltwater to tank and sump run the system for a few days before I add ammonia to start cycle? Also, I will be using miracle mud in my refugium can I add that as well? Any help would be deeply appreciated.

julie180
03/07/2015, 04:19 PM
No problem running fresh saltwater before adding ammonia. I don't know anything about miracle mud.

gone fishin
03/07/2015, 04:34 PM
That is how I did mine, gave the cloudiness from the sand time to go away. Like Julie I have no experience with miracle mud. Good luck.

emp111
03/07/2015, 04:40 PM
THANKS Julie and Gone Fishing> Hopefully I will get a response on the mud.

gone fishin
03/07/2015, 04:42 PM
I remember quite awhile back it was all the rage. I don't hear much about it anymore.

Virtual Balboa
03/07/2015, 08:45 PM
The dead rock I used in my tank caused it to cycle without adding ammonia. That is if you mean it was once live rock that needs to be cured. I was a little surprised by how fast it happened so after my ammonia and nitrite levels were zero I added ammonia then checked to see how long it took for everything to normalize. And it did very fast. The die off from your rock could be enough to cause your tank to cycle without adding anything. Check ammonia after you add the saltwater and see if it spikes. You'd be able to smell it too.

FortuneFavours
03/08/2015, 03:15 PM
I used dry base rock (not dead rock) and dry sand. As it wasn't dead rock there was no die-off and so I needed a source of ammonia; I dosed ammonia directly.

If I had to go back and do it again I would change two things:

1. Don't miscalculate the amount of ammonia needed and accidentally overdose twice, leading to really high nitrate level (!)

2. Don't waste salt by bringing salinity up to 1.024(ish) - I can't remember the figure off hand, but after a lot of research I found a great article that said that the bacteria we're trying to grow can live in salinity of much less (I think it was around 1.010, but don't quote me on that. Perhaps one of the pros can chime in). At the end of the cycle you'll probably want to do a big water change to bring the nitrate level down to an acceptable level, so no point wasting the salt if you don't need to. I have a 300G tank, so the amount of money wasted on salt during cycling was eye-watering...