I am almost ready to plumb in my new octopus tank. I have the sump setup and 90% full of fresh R/O water with a gravity level of 1.026 at room temperature.
I also have all my live rock in a rubbermaid which has been "curing" for over a 1 month. I have a heater maintaining the temperature at 78 degrees and powerhead circulating the water. This rock also came pre-cured as well.
Within the next couple of days I will be ready to put the live rock into the main tank and I am just wondering what would be the best way of introducing it to the tank and how long I should let it cycle.
I will be putting in a large bag of fresh, never used crushed agronite as well.
I was thinking of putting the rock in the tank, pouring the sand in and flipping the pump on in my sump thus starting to fill the new tank with the new water. Once the sump is almost dry I will pump the water out of the rubbermaid into the sump. After that I would fill the remainder of the system with new, premixed saltwater.
This will put approx. 50 gallons of water into the main tank including 8-10 gallons of water that my live rock is curing in. The sump will hold another 30 gallons as well.
So I should end up with approx. 80 gallons of water in total, 8-10 gallons coming from the container the rock is curing in.
My questions are....
How long should I cycle the tank?
Should I keep the water that my rock has been curing in and mix it with my new water in the main tank or should I use all new water?
I also have all my live rock in a rubbermaid which has been "curing" for over a 1 month. I have a heater maintaining the temperature at 78 degrees and powerhead circulating the water. This rock also came pre-cured as well.
Within the next couple of days I will be ready to put the live rock into the main tank and I am just wondering what would be the best way of introducing it to the tank and how long I should let it cycle.
I will be putting in a large bag of fresh, never used crushed agronite as well.
I was thinking of putting the rock in the tank, pouring the sand in and flipping the pump on in my sump thus starting to fill the new tank with the new water. Once the sump is almost dry I will pump the water out of the rubbermaid into the sump. After that I would fill the remainder of the system with new, premixed saltwater.
This will put approx. 50 gallons of water into the main tank including 8-10 gallons of water that my live rock is curing in. The sump will hold another 30 gallons as well.
So I should end up with approx. 80 gallons of water in total, 8-10 gallons coming from the container the rock is curing in.
My questions are....
How long should I cycle the tank?
Should I keep the water that my rock has been curing in and mix it with my new water in the main tank or should I use all new water?