Initial Cycling question

[jordsyke]

SO the 120Gallon is filling up slowly but surely I have purchased a vertex omega 150 and 4 TLF Reactors, 1 for Carbon and 1 for HC-GFO (Purchased from group buy), and 2 for Bio Pellets. I have never cylced a new tank like this< I have had most of my live rock sitting in a rubbermaid for almost 2 months no light, w/ heat and saltwater. Ok Question is, As soon as I got salinity correct in the water can I run the protein skimmer and all my reactors going all out right off the bat as soon as I add the rock?

[gregzz4]

Have you been testing the LR water ?
If it's finished 'cooking', and it were me, I'd get the LR in and skimmer online, along with a carbon reactor. Then I'd start testing the tank for a cycle
Once past ammo and nitrites I'd then keep an eye on nitrates and phosphates and add the other reactors as needed
This will let you know where your phosphates are at before you install the gfo
As for the biopellets, maybe someone else can tell you when to bring them online

[asylumdown]

my advice would be wait for a bit to set up the biopellet reactors, or at least until the cycle is well and truly done (no more ammonia or nitrite showing on your tests).

The heterotrophs that colonize BP reactors go crazy for organic carbon, and they can also facultatively use ammonia as their source of N. Running BP while the tank is still cycling could potentially cause the heterotrophs to outcompete the true nitrifiers for both space and resources (heterotrophs reproduce about 1000 times faster than true nitrifying bacteria), which would lead to some instability in the tanks first few months.

[jordsyke]

Thx for the advice going to only run the PS till my ammonia and nitrites are cycled out, then gonna go hard with reactors before I add and coral or fish

[Myka]

Are you simply cycling the rock in the tub? Or are you "cooking" the rock? Is there any ammonia or nitrite in the tub now? If the cycle is finished in the tub then you will not get a cycle in the new tank when you transfer the rock over provided you don't leave the rock out of water for more than 20 mins or so.