Carbon Dosing during Rock Cure / Tank Cycle

[redfishbluefish]

I'm in the process of starting all over since my ten plus year tank blew a seam and starting leaking. I've purchased a new tank and have new rock bleaching right now. So my mind starts to meander, and one of the twisted thoughts I had was using carbon dosing during the rock cure/tank cycle to assist in bacterial growth. I'm figuring I'd do part of my rock cure and initiate the tank cycle in the new DT. With the rock still curing, it will "produce" nitrates and phosphates. So I'm figuring if I throw in a carbon source, that's the Troika of ingredients for bacterial growth. I'm guessing it will accelerate my cycle. Has anyone every done this.....or what do you think? Am I nuts? And no skimming so the bacteria can hang out and simply multiply.

 

[Ocelaris]

I think it won't hurt, anything to get the bacterial film developed. I would just think that when you transition back to the tank you'd want to maintain the carbon source so as to keep the inputs up.

 

[Leez]

In Dr. Tim's articles, it was not recommending to add organic carbon source during cycle. He said that the carbon source would slow down the cycling process because it would promote the heterotrophic bacteria to out-compete the nitrifier.

 

[Ocelaris]

Found a good article by fritz that supports that contention:

Auto vs Hetero Bacteria

 

[SDK]

The Red Sea cycling kit includes controlled dosing of an included bottle of NoPox. I used it last year to start up a tank and it worked very well.

 

[brandon429]

There's an important big picture element of cycling I think is missing from today's statements about filter bacteria

implied consequence
consequences of action or retention X are overstated, by many. Here's what I think proves that:

If you simply buy today's bottle bac from any source, you can do fish in cycling consistently. You can attain as little initial fish loss day one with X brand of bottle bac for cycling as you can doing cocktail shrimp and careful measures + time
They're designed for fish in cycling, per the labels and threads we can source. What kills fish soon after is the disease protocol skip but it's never nitrite
and it's not free ammonia which is classically lethal overnite in an uncycled system, with predictable cloudy smelly water. The cycle consequence of adding or withholding carbon, or starting with fish when you shouldn't, is no consequence in cycling at all. Same outcome either way via bottle bac

If you move live rock from lfs to home, or tank to tank, that doesn't kill bacteria so they're ready upon new setup to carry on. Wouldn't matter to live rock cycling one way or another if you dose carbon dose ammonia or dosed nitrite, or dosed bottle bac redundantly or just failed to clean your sandbed correctly, all of this boosts heterotrophs and nothing happens to our fish or ammonia ability

no matter what procedure you read in type or on paper, consider what the real consequences are...we aren't stopping or stalling cycles. If you check on an aquarium forum every action under the sun is supposed to limit hydrated bacteria into some weakness

It doesn't. cycling always works on predictable timelines that involve boosters used and number of days underwater. It's so predictable that google cycling charts relying 50% on a #days axis have been known fifty years, long before google they're in books

We use guess testing that shows partial readings incorrectly, and base advice on that.

Try inputting a clean up crew and some fish in an uncycled 15 gallon system with dry sand and dry white rock, the consequence is clear, consistent, agreed by all and obvious, not just typed. It happens by a certain date independent from test kits.

At no time in reefing has nitrite rendered a consequence. That seems amazing considering the hype in today's ted talks about cycling.

You've got Aquabiomics stating he's measured nitrifers in tank water. Dr Tim says he's measured none, see how there's no real agreement across the board? Consequence is where it's at and today's cycling is consequence free whether you test params or not.

Unless someone creates marine water with literally zero suspended planktors or suspended floc (never associated with reefs has to be lab created) my money would be on finding all kinds of bacteria rafting about, with no mechanism to prevent nitrifers riding too