Frag tank cycling

[RickG]

hey guys! So I'm going to set up a 50 gal low boy as a frag tank and I was wondering when I'd be able to start putting in frags. I'm going to cycle it with live rock in the sump and leave it bare bottom to make it easier for maintence. My main concern is if i can put sps frags after it cycles and parameters are right. I've always waited in the past tanks until they were mature 8months+. Hope to get some input!

 

[brandon429]

the large reef conventions set up frag tanks in one day you can too. That's how my reef was made, by transferring already cycled materials to a new aquarium...this move does not uncycle the rocks.

the tanks at the large conventions like Reefstock housing sps frags galore are not teetering on the edge of loss, if left in place they'd produce coral just like any other setup though they were skip cycle started. they aren't having to dose a bunch of calcium and alk while the tanks sit there for display, but nonetheless the tanks skip cycle just fine and with regular ion support they'd work just fine as coral production skip cycle tanks on the long term.

If you are transporting super cured rocks into the sump, then aging is done.

also consider the myriad pico reefs who simply opt out of tank cycling. we go get purple live rock from the pet store, not even our own tanks, bring them home w frags and set up tanks that live quite a while. mine's 11 yrs old, many others are 3-5 yrs on skip cycling setups

cycling is an option only, used for aging rocks into place so they'll have coralline and good bacteria and growths specific to an aquarium. once a set of rocks reaches that condition, moving them to another tank doesn't lose anything it makes that new tank insta ready if the rocks are simply transferred w normal care.

sps requiring aged systems isn't an assessment of months or weeks in my opinion

aging implies the tank hardware and care procedures are in place and not varying to the degree sps wont tolerate. it means feed webs and light cycles are all set, but then again any number of retail frozen and dry feeds work just fine to replace feed webs for skip cyclers anyway. How long you take is a function of how well cured the rock was you moved to your sump, if your tank processes ammonia it can handle frags. some opt for no delay at all and that works just fine if hardware and procedures come second nature.