50 50 Dry/Live rock

[benthos]

40 gallon tank with 40lbs Dry base rock and 40lbs fully cured LR. I put it all in guessing that there was alittle die off of the LR from transport so I let the tank sit for a week and didnt test a thing. Watched a small algea bloom a couple days later and it was gone the next day. Starting week two I tested the water and it seems the tank is cycled but is the Dry rock actually live yet? Am I risking another spike if I start transfering all my coral and fish from my 10 gal to this 40 gal?

 

[Anonymous]

Yes you are risking a spike, but you always risk a spike when you add something new.

The tank is 3 weeks old? I might wait another week and test daily. If you do decide to risk it, go real real slow - add one thing and wait a week. Can't really tell you what the risks are or how live your dry rock has become. Patience is always good. Welcome to the hobby!

 

[ChrisRD]

What about moving over a few hardy things first and seeing how it goes? If all is well after a week or two, then you're probably safe.

 

[wade1]

To reiterate... its ok to add things, just add them slowly. You have to let the tank's bacterial population build up in proportion to the new livestock. The old rock will be live as soon as there's enough bioload to create more bacterial growth (and likely has a decent population already).

There's nothing magic about it, and adding previously dead rock and waiting for it to populate will not make a difference to the cycle at all (unless there was organic debris still in/on the old dead rock).

 

[benthos]

great, thanks. Ive added some GSP, xenia, and a few zoos, everything opened up so I'll wait another week and add some more.