Cycling a reef tank with dry rock and want to do it right? Top 23 reasons it may FAIL.

Take everything you knew about cycling a tank with live rock and throw it away! Today we are talking about dry rock and how to cycle your saltwater aquarium using ammonia, bacterial supplements, and a handful of other tips we learned over the years. Our Top 23 Tank Cycling Mistakes can help you cycle your new reef tank successfully from Day-1!

We have made ALL the mistakes in reefing and we want to share them with you!

BRStv Community links!

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00:00 Top Rock Cycling Mistakes
0:19 Assuming dry & wet rock have the same process
01:22 Decay process is not the same as gill ammonia
02:25 Adding too much ammonia
03:34 Understanding the differences between live & dormant bacteria
05:37 Rushing it – Too much, too fast
06:22 Assuming ammonia is the only consideration
07:16 Missing the value of adding cycled media
08:14 Assuming all forms of bacteria will form magically
10:17 Missing the value of cycling during the build
11:38 Turn the lights on too fast
12:45 Not testing before turning on the lights
13:53 Not following the directions on the bottle
15:08 Not considering surface area required for filtration
16:45 Assuming sand & no sand will the same process
17:52 Man made rock doesn’t have the same surface area
19:21 Running a skimmer when dosing
20:15 Adding ammonia competing filters
21:53 Understanding how fish load scales
23:05 Not all cycle fish are the same
24:04 Ounce of prevention is a pound of cure
25:43 Test corals
26:35 Buying a nitrite test kit
27:52 Real time ammonia monitoring
29:51 Final takeaway

[BRStv]

Cycling a new tank with dry rock? There's a kit for that!

[natesaquatics]

Honestly, your channel has taught me pretty much everything I know!

[StickNate]

During my most recent build; I had purchased 1 gallon of Pond Matrix and placed that in a dozen or so media bags. This was placed in a heated, saltwater bin. I added circulation, bacteria and a food source. I did this for about 3 months. Once my reef was setup, I added all of this seeded biomedia into the sump. I had no issues with algae.

[Andreas-ghis]

If you don't want to shell out $200 for an electronic ammonium alarm, you could also go with the paper based ones. You put them inside the tank on the glass and they change color if there's trouble. Not as fancy but way cheaper!

[cbhelo]

I bought a ‘real time’ ammonia monitor for $15 that will work for a year and it worked great. I checked its readings against a regular test kit and it was very accurate. Not as fancy as the $200 WiFi version you all discuss but a great budget option. 28:54

[taylormayfire]

Not my first tank, but my first dry rock tank. So glad I came across this video. I always come back to you guys when starting a tank. So awesome, the game has changed!

[wildwelshpete]

This video came at a good time
I'm starting the process of upgrading my my tank tomorrow
New sand, dry rock etc
Will be adding old media from my previous tank and adding ATM Colony

[stephenwyard]

I cycled my dry rock for 4 months in a plastic tub with a shrimp in with the rock. My cycle, was just about done.I placed in aquarium and I had no alge at all.But I still felt that it still took about a year to mature the aquarium.You are right it does take a lot longer than live rock

[AquaSplendor]

Awesome video live always, currently trying to avoid in "Ugly stage" in my nano reef aquarium competition. So far so good, I've been trying to avoid couple mistake from the past and it's really close to your recommendation.
However, one thing I don't fully understand.

Adding more bacteria in the aquarium after the tank is cycled. On one hand, we say bacteria grow over time, another hand you (and others) say bacteria doesn't grow so we need to add more bacteria since they don't reproduce. Now it's obviously contradictive but I assume you/we/I meant depending on the type of bacteria.

Now the question is, which type of bacteria doesn't reproduce well once the tank is running since many months?
Is this because of saltwater, is this because of some elements are depleting, is this because of the temperature, etc...?

Also another thing: Bacteria diversity might be strong at the beginning but most of them one of them will become dominant, that is something new I learn couple months ago. (which is logic when you think about it (It's also maybe a part of the answer to my question)

[beccascott]

Took me 6 weeks to fully cycle my tank with dry rock, I have 8 fish in it now and it’s been 3 months, my water perimeters haven’t changed since, I don’t have any nitrate build up yet. I test weekly though and feed twice a day, All I have is live rock and some alfagrog in the sump.

[lyricallisa]

I have a freshwater African cichlid tank I recently purchased from someone. The tank was already cycled, and we made sure to keep media wet during move. It's been set up now for about a month, water tests show cycled, 0 nitrite/20 nitrate. But my pH is a little low for African cichlids, testing shows around 7.4-7.6. My KH has been hovering between 80-120 & Gh around 180 which is also low for them. I read adding dead dry coral/reef rock can help raise/maintain the higher pH AC need. It also said it helps raise KH/GH. So here's my question, I got some dead rocks/coral from Ft Lauderdale, Florida about 4 yrs ago. Some has been in a box in my garage since then, other pieces I put in my landscaping outside. Is this s safe to put in my AC tank? Do I need to clean it? Will it truly help raise/maintain my test levels? Thanks 😊

[jetli]

Hello brs team. Your info keep updating. So can you please make a step by step guide from intial setup to finish build adding corals after example 6 months.( also what gear and when).
Like day 1 cycle rock... Example day 24 add fish.... Day xxx add lights...
Thanks

[jeff]

Just had a tank sit for 1.5 months totally cloudy after dosing with bacteria, system did have a light on it yet. Soon as a light was added the next day it was half gone, 2 days later it was crystal clear.

[Andreas-ghis]

Nitrite monitoring - or at least checking when you suspect a problem - is vital in fresh water tanks. It alerts you to problems with the "nitrogen cycle" (which really isn't a cycle in a hobby aquarium, but that's another rant topic...) and the ammonia degrading flora (not just bacteria anymore) grow faster than those degrading nitrite. That may not be of much concern in many practical applications, especially for starting a tank, but testing nitrite is generally a parameter to check for the health of the fish. Also, the filter bacteria don't like nitrite and a nitrite concentration too high indicates a stalling cycle.

[laurens]

very good video guys! IMO live rock is the best if you want a great tank fast. I am now cycling dry rock though and believe you need to get some good snails (not with pests on them), they have all the bacteria an algaes you ll ever need.

[paulblythe]

Being a complete newbie this has been a gold mine of info for me. I'll be setting up my very first nano reef tank over the next week or two...

[XhemiheadX]

I've had my tank for over a year now and could never figure out why my rock still looks "new" finally found a food video. Gonna start dosing with bacteria soon!

[hatorihanzo]

Here’s a great tip...go to your local salt water fish store. Ask for the filter sponge in the aquarium. Squeeze the content into a bag. Bring home and pour it into you tank. Cycling done!

[pedro]

I started with the "rock in a bin method" 4 months ahead, skipping the rock (took me 4 months to be satisfied with a final scape:), but using new bio media (siporax+maxpect bricks) + sand. Worked just fine.

[Andreas-ghis]

A crazy Idea would be the brine shrimp cycle... hatch a bunch of artemia (preferably outside the tank to avoid getting the shells in), raise them in the tank while the filtration is off (or at least brine-shrimp-safe). Not sure how well that works but they would produce ammonia AF for a few weeks, then die off or get eaten by new fish.