cycling live rock tank

[taguy]

we are cycling our tank and have 30 pounds of live rock in it and the rock has white stuff on it in a few places looks like spider webs what is it and what do i do?

 

[lizzard]

It's just die off from your rock curing. I wouldn't do anything at the time. Once your tank is done with it's cycle, you and your clean up crew can remove all the nasty stuff that's left.

 

[taguy]

thanks alot we have never messed with love rock before so very new to doing a tank this way what's the average cycle time? last tank we did was a fish only and it took almost eight weeks to cycle so was wondering what's the average time it took yours? we are pretty jazzed about having a reef tank patience is a virtue but not when it comes to waiting to start a new tank LOL

 

[lizzard]

Mine took 5 wks. Can take anywhere from 4-8 wks. But every tank is different, so don’t go by time but by your water parameters and how your tank seems to you. This is a good time to invest in your test kits if you haven’t already done so.
I know this is the hardest part(all the waiting) but believe me, if you give your tank the time it needs, it will in the long run be more enjoyable. The people that don’t wait are the ones with all the problems and some just give up because of it. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll have some problems but nothing you wont be able to handle.

 

[nm reef]

Any time I've cycled using LR I've tried to remove any dead/dying life to prevent excessive pollution during the process. A good way to do so is to use a turkey baster to gently blow decaying material off and allow the circulation/filtration to remove it. What you are seeing is probably dead/decaying life and I really don't see much point in allowing it to remain.:thinking: