Do I still need to cycle my aquarium if I use mature live rock from another aquarium?

Question

Someone is selling the contents of their aquarium and if I extract the rock and coral will I still need to do the nirtrate cycle to get the bacteria working?

Answer 1

Yes. If fact it would be quite stressful to the corals to be placed in an uncycled aquarium. Try to preserve as much of the filter media and substrate as possible to preserve the bacteria and the cycle will progress in a very short time and with minimal impact in the live materials.

MM

Answer 2

I think I'm with Danielle on this - the coral you're talking about is a coral substrate? If you have enough live rock and substrate, and both are kept wet with tank water during the move, you shouldn't have much die-off of your bacteria. Only problem would be is if you're going to a larger sized tank and there's not enough rock and substrate to provide adeqeate biological filtration yet for the fish you'll be keeping. If you're going to a bigger tank, you'll at least have a good head start and the cycling may take less time because of what bacteria are present. I'd test the chemistry for a while and stock very lightly at first, just to be sure. Use the current filter from the tank without changing the media for an extra bacterial source.

If you're talking live corals, not substrate, that's touchier. Some corals can be sensitive to quick changes in their environment. Especially if you are moving the tank to an area with a different water source. I've answered a question about that earlier today (along with some othres here), so you may want to look back at our answers there - "Saltwater help?", poster was Jonathan B, 4 questions away from yours. Any substrate and live rock you have will help, but I'd still not consider the tank fully cycled until the water tests confirm it.

Good luck with the tank!

Answer 3

Using live rock does not mature a salt water tank. It will help to cycle it and get the bacteria going quicker but not to mature it. There is a big difference when it comes to salt water vs. fresh water. It could take up to a year to mature a salt water tank for corals.

Your coral should not be placed into your tank and shouldn't for a minimum of 6 weeks, even then it is iffy. Your coral will need a mature tank to survive among other things.

Transfering your live rock from someone else's aquarium will start your cycling process, but the ammonia and nitrate spikes will more than likely kill your coral.

See if a local pet store can hold the coral for a few weeks for you. If you place the coral into your tank now and it begins to die, your tank will become a cess pool.

If you need more help, feel free to email or im me.

Answer 4

Yes. It has been my experience that there is very little beneficial bacteria present in the substrate (unless you are using an undergravel filter). The vast majority of the bacteria are present in the filter media. You could possibly put some of the gravel in your filter so that you have some seed bacteria. You would be much better if you could get some filter media from another tank to jump start the cycling process. Regardless of how you do it, you definitely need to cycle the tank. Below is a link to a thread on how to do a fishless cycle.

Answer 5

Yes you need to cycle your aquarium. It may not take as long. You should not put corals into your tank while it is cycling. This will kill it.

Answer 6

This is a yes and no answer. It depends on the amount of live rock, its condition, and the how you transfer it.

I have performed many tank transfers and movings for my clients over the years and when healthy live rock is 100% transferred in water (often aerated with a battery pump if the transfer will take more than 1 hour), I have never seen an ammonia spike.
However if you move only a partial amount of live rock, or it is in poor bio condition, or it is aloud to dry out, or is aloud to be submerged in low oxygen water too long, you will need to recycle your aquarium.

For more basic marine information:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Basic_Saltwater.html