[wijames]

I have set up my 46 gallon tank with 59 lbs of Gulf live rock and the cycle has finished. I plan to add another 35 to 40 lbs this coming week and wondered if I should expect as hard a cycle as I did with the first batch or if it will just trigger a mini cycle? (This will be full life live rock from the Gulf of Mexico I'm adding).

Thanks

 

[JWINK]

That's a lot of live rock for that tank. Are you sure you want to add more? 59lbs in a 46 gal is more than enough. You need to make sure that you have room to syphon all around your LR during your water changes or detritus will collect and cause you major nitrate problems.
But to answer your question, it depends on if the new LR is totally cured. If it stays in water the whole time, then it may not cause any cycle. But if it comes in out of water, then you will need to "cook" it separately or expect a huge new cycle. If you have any livestock in the tank now, I would not suggest adding this much LR unless you are completely sure that it is cured.

 

[wijames]

That's a lot of live rock for that tank. Are you sure you want to add more? 59lbs in a 46 gal is more than enough. You need to make sure that you have room to syphon all around your LR during your water changes or detritus will collect and cause you major nitrate problems.
But to answer your question, it depends on if the new LR is totally cured. If it stays in water the whole time, then it may not cause any cycle. But if it comes in out of water, then you will need to "cook" it separately or expect a huge new cycle. If you have any livestock in the tank now, I would not suggest adding this much LR unless you are completely sure that it is cured.

I was told I should have 1.5 lbs of rock per gallon of water and I do have space as I plan to stack it since my tank is tall. This rock is not cured at all, straight from the gulf and it will be in water the during transport. This is what my tank looks like now. No live stock except a small crab that came in on the first batch of rock.

 

[JWINK]

Tank looks good.
Most use 1-1.5lbs of live rock, but it really comes down to what you want your tank to look like. If the rock never leaves the water, then it should be ok to use. Personally, I would expect some new cycling, so you need to monitor the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates before adding any new livestock.
Be sure to post new pics after you add the new LR.

 

[wijames]

Tank looks good.
Most use 1-1.5lbs of live rock, but it really comes down to what you want your tank to look like. If the rock never leaves the water, then it should be ok to use. Personally, I would expect some new cycling, so you need to monitor the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates before adding any new livestock.
Be sure to post new pics after you add the new LR.

Thanks. I do expect a little cycling but hopefully not as much as this first batch. It's only taken 10 days to cycle but I've had to do 20% water changes every other day to keep levels down to where I could save most of the life. I got some pretty cool stuff on the rocks, from feather dusters and sponges and some nice looking plants. I'll post more pics after I add the new rock the first of the week.