Cycling with mature live rock?

[luumanfoo29]

how do i cycle my tank with mature live rock? I have live rock in my 29 gallon that i want to put in my 20 gallon and eventually put my corals in there and take it to school with me.

Since the rock already has the bacteria on it,will an ammonia spike still occur for cycling or do i need to drop in some fish food or something to kickstart it or do i not need to do anything at all and be able to put my coral in it?

Thanks

 

[Rays]

You will experience a spike, much lower than "raw" LR. Only because you are changing tank size and new water. The cycling should be much less in ammonia and shorter in duration. The use of old tank water that the rock is in now will also cut down the cycle. BTW, beautiful looking tank.

 

[luumanfoo29]

oo really?? thanks for the advice and compliment!

 

[luumanfoo29]

I always wondered...does a higher the ppm of ammonia during the spike correspond to the amount of beneficial bacteria being spawned? Like...should i add a cocktail shrimp to increase livestock capacity or does it not matter?

 

[ReeferMedic]

I always wondered...does a higher the ppm of ammonia during the spike correspond to the amount of beneficial bacteria being spawned? Like...should i add a cocktail shrimp to increase livestock capacity or does it not matter?

I wouldn't go adding any raw shrimp. Just don't let the tank go too long with out any fish in it, so the bacteria don't die off. Go slow with a tank that size, one fish at a time. You shouldn't get much of cycle as long as you don't keep the rock out of water too long and it doesn't dry out.......

 

[~Flighty~]

If the bacteria stays the same and the bioload stays close to constant there will be no cycle.

But watch out for a change in the ammount of bacteria (like if it dies off from lack of food or temp spike or something)
or a change in the bioload (like something dying on the rocks and adding a bunch of amonia or adding a bunch of new livestock too quickly.)

I wouldn't add a raw shrimp to increase the bactiria just because of the other nasties released from a big rotting hunk of shrimp. Just stock the new tank slowly.

 

[luumanfoo29]

how long do you think i should let the tank run before i put my corals in do you think? And how should i do so? I would like to bring the majority of it at one time to save myself the trips. Plus i only have one pc light so the ones that remain in the 29 gallon will have only 2x20W bulbs for light...

I was thinking about adding the fish last...

thanks for the advice

 

[~Flighty~]

You can change everything over in one swell foop if you want too.

Make 20 g of water and do a couple of water changes saving the old water for the 20g heated and aerated, then move the rock corals and fish over. Be careful about the poop you stir up. Try to leave it in the 29g, but be aware that you need to move a little quick because stirring it all up can cause a spike in the 29. Once everything is settled in for a bit you can add new sand, but make sure it is rinsed so it doesn't cause a sandstorm.

 

[ReeferMedic]

I've emptied the entire contents of my 210 and changed the sand. I drip acclimated the fish back in, but the corals went right in. People move much bigger systems all in one day, most with no problems with live stock. Make sure the parameters are the same when you set the new tank up, especially salinity and temp. Also, make sure you aerate any water you have fish in. How long is the trip? I don't think you'll have a problem.........

 

[luumanfoo29]

its from waltham to tufts...so i'd say maybe 15 mins or so? you think that'll be ok?

You didn't have an ammonia spike or anything after emptying out your 210?

 

[ReeferMedic]

its from waltham to tufts...so i'd say maybe 15 mins or so? you think that'll be ok?
I think you'll be fine.

You didn't have an ammonia spike or anything after emptying out your 210?

Nope, not at all. Stop stressing so much. This is supposed to be fun!

 

[~Flighty~]

You'll totally be ok as long as the water is the same. If you spend a few days before really getting the detrious out of the crevasses in the rock (you 'll be disgusted at how much stuff is in there) you can just bag everything, move it and put it in the tank with very little fuss. I wouldn't reuse the bag water if possible because of the slime that the corals will excrete and everything, but even that probably won't be much of an issue.

To give you an idea of an extreme case. I won a fully stocked tank at macna last year. 75 gallons completely full of corals rock and fish, we broke it down and bagged everything starting at about 3:00, stuck the rock in empty tubs, drove it all from Boston to NH, set the tank back up, put some water in from my existing 58g and made some extra water from Rodi, put in the rock, floated the bags with fish and corals (we didn't count, but it was over 100 bags), slit open the bags and let them sit for a few more minutes then dumped everything in, bag water and all. We were done at midnight.

The only casualties was an Anthia that was on its way out anyway and a few corals got damaged from all of the banging around.

 

[luumanfoo29]

lol yeah its supposed to be fun...but im scared of blowing all my money on my corals since i already lost all of other corals from an ammonia spike so im trying to take it cautiously

but thanks for the heads up everyone!

 

[~Flighty~]

You could try to find someone to hold some of your favorite pieces durring the move to be sure they survive even if you have a catastrophy.

 

[Greg Hiller]

In general you should be fine, BUT if the live rock you are using had a LOT of sponge on it, and the rock were taken out of the water, and the sponge were to die you might end up with an ammonia spike. This really depends on a lot of things. Some sponges can likely tolerate removal from water much better than others.