cycling more rock and sand

[Nigma]

so, i am cycling some extra 10 pounds of rock and 20 pounds of sand,
my tank is more than 5 month old already, so i am cycling those extra sand and rock in 2 different 5 gallon buckets with a small pump running in both...

my qustions are...
should i put a heater in each one of the buckets?
after cycling those extra rock and sand in the buckets, will that eliminate any ammonia spikes from happening, when adding them to my DT?
also... once they are in my DT, should i slow down on the feeding just in case a spike does happen?

 

[Shamus]

should i put a heater in each one of the buckets?

I would think putting a heater in would help the process. I think leaving the heater on helps speed up die off.

after cycling those extra rock and sand in the buckets, will that eliminate any ammonia spikes from happening, when adding them to my DT?

It should, the rock would be cured and ready for introduction in the tank. I've added cured live rock in my tank without any noticeable ammonia spike. I think adding a small amount at a time will also help.

also... once they are in my DT, should i slow down on the feeding just in case a spike does happen?

Not sure on this one - hopefully others can help.

 

[GreatWhiteShark]

If the rock is properly cured, (Nitrates drop to 0) you should be able to add it to your tank without any spikes. Continue to feed normally.

 

[Nigma]

cool, good to know thanks guys

 

[essmaker]

I don't know for sure, but anytime you add that much new to your tank I would think you could certainly see a spike of some nature.

Just to achieve a balance for the tank.

Everything else in the tank will now have to work less because of the new media being added so I would think something will die off (good bacteria).

Maybe that happens without any notice.

I don't think you will see anything like you did during the original cycle, but Iwould be surprised if you don't see anything.

I have no idea what I even just said, it just seems strange not to see any changes when introducing that much material.

Sorry, thinking out loud without much education.

though, now seeing how big your tank is.....maybe i wasted all those good keystrokes

 

[Nigma]

its okay essmaker, i think i know ur talkin about

i almost want to and the sand one cup a day.... once it finishes cycling... i wonder if that is a bad idea? and rocks, yeah i think i will ad one stone at a time.

 

[Shamus]

Adding slowly is definitely a good idea (especially if the increase is a major percentage of your current rock weight). However, if the rock is cured, you shouldn't see anything appreciable (not saying that you shouldn't test, just saying that you shouldn't see an ammonia spike). I added about 6 lbs of cured live rock to my 34 gallon which had about 35 lbs in it (plus the sand - can't remember the weight on that) and didn't see any measurable ammonia. But definitely add in small percentages.

 

[Nigma]

hmm... its been a week, and the ammonia levels in my rock bucket have not fallen at all... ammonia is at 8.0..... should i do a water change?

 

[imaccat]

Hi,

Have you 'seeded' the LR & sand in the buckets with anything? Sounds like there is nothing to kick things off, maybe you need the 'deli shrimp' approach.

 

[Shamus]

I don't think you want to do a water change - you want bacteria on the LR and sand to convert the ammonia to nitrite and then the nitrite to nitrate. I think it sounds like things are going fine - you just need to wait.

 

[Nigma]

yeah i added a few pieces of food in each bucket, i have never seen ammonia at 8.0 before... not even when my 250 was cycling... it never went up to that degree, ah well yeah i guess i just have to wait......:drown: