Dr Tims fishless method

A$AP-Reefer

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Hey my fellow reefers!

im going to be starting up my tank within the next few days, it comes in tomorrow. I have my rock scape which is Aquamaxx reef saver rock (DRY) also got carib-sea araig-alive sand.

QUESTION. has anyone done this method to a new tank?? if so how long does it take for the tank to normally take to cycle to where I can put some fish and a few corals (SOFTIES ZOAS) to start with. any help will be greatly appreciated! ive looked at tons of videos and never gotten any straight answers. thanks for any help!
 

Robert_ellis

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Hey my fellow reefers!

im going to be starting up my tank within the next few days, it comes in tomorrow. I have my rock scape which is Aquamaxx reef saver rock (DRY) also got carib-sea araig-alive sand.

QUESTION. has anyone done this method to a new tank?? if so how long does it take for the tank to normally take to cycle to where I can put some fish and a few corals (SOFTIES ZOAS) to start with. any help will be greatly appreciated! ive looked at tons of videos and never gotten any straight answers. thanks for any help!
I've used dr. Tim's 2 times and put fish 2 days after I put in the bacteria. It works.
 

IslandLifeReef

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@A$AP-Reefer, to answer your question, probably 2-6 weeks. I know that is a very broad range, but each tank and cycle is different. I used Dr Tims method and ammonia, but used Fritzyme 9 bacteria instead of One and Only. The reason for the Fritzyme? It was available at my LFS and was a known quality product. My cycle took 3 weeks.

My advice for you would be to follow the method exactly as written. Don't overdose the ammonia. I would recommend starting with half of the recommended ammonia and see how that works. Once nitrites spike and go down, if everything worked well, try a full dose of ammonia to get your tank to 2 ppm. The reason for the half dose is a lot of people have had trouble overdosing ammonia when following the directions on the bottle. The method also doesn't recommend relying on what a test kit says to get to 2 ppm of ammonia.

Just try to be patient.
 
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I've used dr. Tim's 2 times and put fish 2 days after I put in the bacteria. It works.

thanks for the feedback! did you use anything else besides that for the fish to go in so soon??

@A$AP-Reefer, to answer your question, probably 2-6 weeks. I know that is a very broad range, but each tank and cycle is different. I used Dr Tims method and ammonia, but used Fritzyme 9 bacteria instead of One and Only. The reason for the Fritzyme? It was available at my LFS and was a known quality product. My cycle took 3 weeks.

My advice for you would be to follow the method exactly as written. Don't overdose the ammonia. I would recommend starting with half of the recommended ammonia and see how that works. Once nitrites spike and go down, if everything worked well, try a full dose of ammonia to get your tank to 2 ppm. The reason for the half dose is a lot of people have had trouble overdosing ammonia when following the directions on the bottle. The method also doesn't recommend relying on what a test kit says to get to 2 ppm of ammonia.

Just try to be patient.

thank you for the info! Ive been in the hobby since early 2012 and I never was able to use a fishless method! so this is new to me, I been out the hobby for some years now! when I heard of this I was in shock and super stoked that I didn't have to wait like 2 months normally. as per directions I will obey them and try a half dose at first and then ramp it up or so depending. I truly thank you for the feedback guys! any videos or links you can link me to that would be greatly appreciated !
 

Robert_ellis

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thanks for the feedback! did you use anything else besides that for the fish to go in so soon??



thank you for the info! Ive been in the hobby since early 2012 and I never was able to use a fishless method! so this is new to me, I been out the hobby for some years now! when I heard of this I was in shock and super stoked that I didn't have to wait like 2 months normally. as per directions I will obey them and try a half dose at first and then ramp it up or so depending. I truly thank you for the feedback guys! any videos or links you can link me to that would be greatly appreciated !
I was moving and had to move the old tank from house to sell it. I set the new one up Saturday, added dr.tims and fish moved Monday.
 

IslandLifeReef

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Robert_ellis

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thanks for the feedback! did you use anything else besides that for the fish to go in so soon??



thank you for the info! Ive been in the hobby since early 2012 and I never was able to use a fishless method! so this is new to me, I been out the hobby for some years now! when I heard of this I was in shock and super stoked that I didn't have to wait like 2 months normally. as per directions I will obey them and try a half dose at first and then ramp it up or so depending. I truly thank you for the feedback guys! any videos or links you can link me to that would be greatly appreciated !
I didnt add anything. I even moved corals and didnt even lose asap.
 

Hemmdog

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If you cycle your rocks first, like in a brute can, you will be able to add fish quicker once you set it all up.
 
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A$AP-Reefer

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If you cycle your rocks first, like in a brute can, you will be able to add fish quicker once you set it all up.

trust me I would love too! but i live in a small apartment, I am barely pushing it with what I already have in hear, adding this fish tank is gonna be hurting the space! so im getting rid of a few things. got rid of my Dresser where the 65" T.v was on that I never watch, I went hipster and used these awesome cinderblocks! lol go figures. but Its like a studio/1 bedroom I converted this huge big room into a living space and bedroom with a partition I made. so space with curing the rocks in a big brute isn't gonna work for me. lol, I just want to know about this fishless cycling :) its fun re learning when your just getting back into the hobby! lol
 
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A$AP-Reefer

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These are some good links.

Tank cycling thread on R2R.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/cycling-an-aquarium.306554/

Vivid aquariums reefer 170 build.


BRS/WWC 4 month cycle. I know this is longer than you are looking for, but it is interesting.
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/vide...sps-tank-cycle-the-brs-wwc-system-ep12-brstv/

thanks for these videos, gonna check them out when I get back from home depot! going to buy 2 brute 50gallon buckets for water mixing! in the next 2 days or so!
 

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