Live rock, anything but live

M

mossjer

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So, I ?decided I was going to get back in the game, after buying a new house with more space and my wife found the perfect tank for us. I buy the whole setup. 65 gal Planet Aquarium display. Trigger Systems sump... Yada yadaI went ahead and purchased what I thought was live rock. It is some nice rock but there seems to be no life at all on it. I mean nothing.This is not my first tank and I am seeing nothing I am used to.I was expecting the usual cycle but there is nothing going on.Decided I would do some water test tonight and they all come back at ZERO after a week of running. No ammonia, nitrites or nitrates. Seems odd to me.So at this point what do I do? Looking for some suggestions.I'm thinking I buy s few pieces of actual live rock to get the tank going.Anyone have an opinion?Thanks in advance.?
 
Try dropping a cube of food in to see what happens. It may be that there was enough bacteria in the live rock already to seed the tank and now you do not have any bio to continue a cycle...or you may not end up with a cycle.
 
If you do not have any fish food, you can go to your local grocery store and buy a single shrimp from the meat department. ?Put the shrimp in a mesh bag and throw it in the tank for about 3-4 days then remove it. ?If you don't put it in a mesh bag then it will break up and you'll have a hundred little shrimp pieces floating around.
 
Posted by: Billy?If you do not have any fish food said:
+1 Throw in a piece of table shrimp uncooked and see what happens. You might need to get some "Live" live rock to seed your tank if you want all that little life in your rock.
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?I agree, either your rock was packed full of enough bacteria to seed the tank.....or you haven't yet initiated a cycle. ?Use the shrimp as previously recommended and test parameters daily. ?You're either going to see the beginning of a cycle, or you're gonna see nothing, which means you already have sufficient bacteria and can consider the tank cycled and ready to go.
 
Thanks for the input.I've let the tank run for a few more days while I was out of town. My daughter was handling top off duty as I have not yet decided on an ATO. When I got home today I have the beginning of a diatom bloom. Looks like we are headed in the right direction just took longer than I've seen before. But it is a bigger tank than I've had before.?According to tonight's test we have ammonia.I still may seed with some more live rock just to get a little wildlife in the tank but I haven't decided yet. Kinda nice not having to worry about the stuff I don't want in the tank. May just go with?what I have.Thanks again.?
 
I would just go with what you have, I started with dry rock and its nice to know what I have in the tank without the mystery. I know things will get introduced slowly and only what I want in the tank. Plus if your happy with your aquascape don't mess with it. Hope you start a build thread soon so we can see some pics. Good luck!
 
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