ryanjury Posted November 22, 2010 Report Share Posted November 22, 2010 One day I want to setup a marine tank, I was thinking of some forward planning and going and grabbing some sea water from down at the marina and chucking some coral rubble in a bin in the fishroom (heated room) with a pump and just letting it sit there cycling (or cooking?). Will this work or do I need to add some live rock into the mix as well. The rubble I have is like this http://www.livefishonline.com.au/mercha ... mage45.jpg in a mesh type bag, would this cycle the same as the bigger chunks of coral or am I better off using the chucks of coral rock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted November 22, 2010 Report Share Posted November 22, 2010 yes will work is the rubble coral rubble? don't put in live rock with it though, it will just kill the live rock you going tropical or local? i have some bigger dead rock here if you want it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted November 22, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2010 Yeah it is rubble, like 2-4cm pieces in a zip up mesh bag, I figured it would cycle like anything else here is a pic of it. Is this suitable? Was thinking I could stick it into a sump, but then I might not end up doing a sump lol so cycling it might have no purpose. Will be tropical marine probably just a small one I am just looking at getting the gear together as I find bits and pieces so unsure when it will eventuate.. Figured cycling the rock was the hardest/longest process so if I could get that started it might work out. Might have to pop in and say hi next time we are down and buy some bigger rock off you. I would have thought adding "live rock" to the dead rock would cycle it faster? Or is that the wrong train of thought.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted November 22, 2010 Report Share Posted November 22, 2010 adding live rock early on it will be killed by the nh4 spike so better tio wait until its cycled and then use the live rock to introduce other creatures . also if you are only thinking about a small tank you may find you have no use for the rubble. especially if you have no sump to put it in id suggest buying larger pieces of dead rock and cycling them instead. also use a heater in the bucket if its for tropical Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted November 22, 2010 Report Share Posted November 22, 2010 as spoon said i ran a 900 x 450 x 450mm tank for 18 months with live rock HOB skimmer and weekly 20% water changes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted November 22, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2010 Yeah your right probably no point in having the rubble, I will have to get some bigger pieces and start them cycling.. I do have some scattered around in African tanks but I like it in there so might have to buy some more at some stage, I just had this rubble so wondered if I could use that as well and start cycling it to get things moving. Yeah on the look out for skimmer and that sort of thing I am sure things will come together in their own time. No need to heat the bucket or bin in the fishroom the floor temp is 22-24C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted November 23, 2010 Report Share Posted November 23, 2010 I wouldn't use the rock out of your fresh water tanks, even if are sure you haven't used medication near it, it will be loaded up with phosphates etc and not worth the pain for the few $$ you'll save. Just a note of live rock, it's a very mis-used term. "Live rock" actually refers to the bacteria on and in the rock because this is what is actually useful to you as part of your filter system. The life on the live rock is just that, extra stuff hanging on. It's great to have and most live rock will have it, but if anything it actually impedes the function of the live rock by blocking the pores. One of the keys to 'cooking' live rock is keeping in the dark to kill of all the life on the outside and allow the pores to clear and clean out. Anyway my point is, putting rock into a drum with some water movement is a great way to make live rock, it should come out clean and well cycled, it will save you a lot of pain later on if you have the time and space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted November 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2010 Awesome thanks Suphew I will source some coral rock and get it ticking over, I didn't realise that it would have been contaminated from being in fresh water I would used the odd random meds in there and got most of it "second hand" out of other fresh water tanks so probably not worth the risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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