Fastest way to cycle my new system?

[Dr. Reef]

After testing 9 major manufacturers I have come to conclusion and its posted in a very lengthy forum here on R2R under "bacteria in bottle myth or fact"
Fritz Turbostart 900 worked with anything I threw at it including leaving it in a garage for 3 months.
Dropped 8-10 ppm ammonia to 0 in a 5g tank in 2-3 days.
Dr Tim and Bio Spria also work but a a day or 2 slower.
Rest all I tested also worked fine but needed carbon source to kick start cycle.
Only 3 that worked well in sterile tanks was definitely number 1 if Fritz Turbostart 900 then Dr Tim and Bio Spria.
On thing I noticed is tanks with sand and rocks will cycle faster than bare bottom.
Also dropping a pinch of fish food helps cycle a little faster as it adds carbon source to the equation.

 

[will25u]

Cured liverock from an established system.

^^^thats the quickest way to cycle any tank, but its definitely not cheap.

This is what I did and haven’t had an issue in six years except my heater meltdown but my tank bounced back (mostly).

 

[huckjai]

If you dosed some MB7, no need to add bio-spira. Just test your water to make sure no ammonia after you added the shrimp. And your tank should be good to go since you got love rock from the LFS. Looks like your bioload will be low.

 

[brandon429]

Per the thread, true live rock needs zero support it shows up ready. It wouldn’t need feed or rotting items, it’s ready because bac do not die moving tank to tank, covered on page one

If you bought dry rock then some various bottle bac options exist

So do you have live rock or dry rock, all cycling advice has to assess that first to know which procedure to recommend. Post a pic of the rock you bought along with a history of its submersion before you got it

 

[CoralReefer1019]

If you dosed some MB7, no need to add bio-spira. Just test your water to make sure no ammonia after you added the shrimp. And your tank should be good to go since you got love rock from the LFS. Looks like your bioload will be low.

yea will only have like 2 fish max and the rest inverts, snails, shrimp, Porcelain crab, and soft corals

 

[CoralReefer1019]

Per the thread, true live rock needs zero support it shows up ready. It wouldn’t need feed or rotting items, it’s ready because bac do not die moving tank to tank, covered on page one

If you bought dry rock then some various bottle bac options exist

So do you have live rock or dry rock, all cycling advice has to assess that first to know which procedure to recommend. Post a pic of the rock you bought along with a history of its submersion before you got it

I started with dry rock, and added some live rock today from lfs. The live rock was in a rub that has been there for live 10 years so I’m pretty sure it has the good bacteria on it. The pieces I have are non-man made and more natural looking from the ocean. I did add some mb7 before adding the live rock. Then after adding the live rock I added a very tiny piece of mysis shrimps. That’s all I have done. Tank does have live sand as well. I haven’t tested any parameters as of yet. Water is a little cloudy and lights have been off for the most part

 

[Gareth elliott]

Good advice above.
My own input on the fastest way to cycle to an aquarium.

 

[Lasse]

15 Steps to Starting a Saltwater Aquarium: The Lasse Method

15 Steps to Starting a Saltwater Aquarium: The Lasse Method Display Tank. Photos are all courtesy of Lasse Forsberg. ©2019, All Rights Reserved. INTRODUCTION There are many methods to start a saltwater aquarium--each major aquarium product manufacturer has its own. Common to most, however...

www.reef2reef.com

Sincerely Lasse

 

[CoralReefer1019]

This is my ammonia reading after 3-4 after adding 2 medium pieces of well cured live rock, mb7 and a few pieces of mysis shrimp

 

[CoralReefer1019]

should I add more shrimp and continue to ghost feed the tank? Or just let it ride out?

 

[Nasir]

Take your time are you will pay for it later. Costly!

 

[CoralReefer1019]

Take your time are you will pay for it later. Costly!

just let everything ride out? Don’t do anything?

 

[Lasse]

just let everything ride out? Don’t do anything?

Exactly - at least it is the way I would handle it if it was my aquarium

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Malifry97]

Me personally id add a large raw shrimp in a nylon bag...It is easy to remove when ready and produces plenty of ammonia to keep BB populations up.

 

[CoralReefer1019]

Me personally id add a large raw shrimp in a nylon bag...It is easy to remove when ready and produces plenty of ammonia to keep BB populations up.

I currently have ammonia, should I continue to ghost feed a little? I’m using live sand, dry and live rock

 

[Malifry97]

I currently have ammonia, should I continue to ghost feed a little? I’m using live sand, dry and live rock

Yes, I would still keep adding ammonia because once that ammonia runs out you BB populations will fall...shoot for 2ppm each day being processed down to nothing...thats when the cycle is done

 

[Malifry97]

I currently have ammonia, should I continue to ghost feed a little? I’m using live sand, dry and live rock

Yes, I would still keep adding ammonia because once that ammonia runs out you BB populations will fall...shoot for 2ppm each day being processed down to nothing...thats when the cycle is done

 

[Paul B]

These Cycle threads drive me crazy and I am fed up to here (my hand is under my chin)
A tank does not cycle in 28 days or 28 minutes by using bacteria in a bottle or any other magical potion.

Your $2.00 test kit may say it is cycled but the truth is that your tank is cycled only enough to process that dead shrimp, bottle of ammonia or dehydrated emu you threw in and thats it.

After your silly kit reads zero you can't buy 3 lookdowns, 6 tangs and a barracuda and throw that in your perfectly decorated 20 gallon tank, or even a 3,000 gallon tank.

The bacteria to process those creatures needs time to reproduce and 28 days isn't going to do it unless you live next to Chernobyl reactor in the former Soviet Union.

A member here PMed me yesterday because his fish have ich. The tank is 2 months old and was "fully cycled".

His LFS sold him 2 tangs, a butterfly, a coral beauty and a clown and the fish are all sick.

Of course they are sick. If Moses started a tank like that tomorrow with the help of Mother Theresa and the Pope, the fish would still get ick and probably croak. They may go to Heaven, but they will still be dead.

A 28 day old or even a 2 year old tank is not fully cycled which is why they all have problems. Just look on the disease forum.

Even if you can get the right bacteria (it will not come in a bottle) you will not have the correct diversity that is needed and only comes with time, not thyme in a bottle.

If you are in need of starting a tank and have it up, running and healthy in 28 days, take up the clarinet.

A healthy, thriving tank is a tank where there is no need for medication, nothing gets sick, everything eats and the fish only die of old age and never disease. That is a healthy tank, nothing else.

That only comes with time. I feel we need to start to cycle the tank and after a month or so add one small fish, not a halibut, maybe a juvenile clown. In a couple of weeks add another small fish, maybe a bleeny.

Another couple of weeks or a month, add another "small" fish. Eventually, maybe in a year you should add some larger fish or a tang if you like. But the tank should have some algae and growth on the rocks.

If you want to do this in 28 days, go on the disease forum first and ask how to cure a tank full of fish with ich. ;Bucktooth

 

[CoralReefer1019]

These Cycle threads drive me crazy and I am fed up to here (my hand is under my chin)
A tank does not cycle in 28 days or 28 minutes by using bacteria in a bottle or any other magical potion.

Your $2.00 test kit may say it is cycled but the truth is that your tank is cycled only enough to process that dead shrimp, bottle of ammonia or dehydrated emu you threw in and thats it.

After your silly kit reads zero you can't buy 3 lookdowns, 6 tangs and a barracuda and throw that in your perfectly decorated 20 gallon tank, or even a 3,000 gallon tank.

The bacteria to process those creatures needs time to reproduce and 28 days isn't going to do it unless you live next to Chernobyl reactor in the former Soviet Union.

A member here PMed me yesterday because his fish have ich. The tank is 2 months old and was "fully cycled".

His LFS sold him 2 tangs, a butterfly, a coral beauty and a clown and the fish are all sick.

Of course they are sick. If Moses started a tank like that tomorrow with the help of Mother Theresa and the Pope, the fish would still get ick and probably croak. They may go to Heaven, but they will still be dead.

A 28 day old or even a 2 year old tank is not fully cycled which is why they all have problems. Just look on the disease forum.

Even if you can get the right bacteria (it will not come in a bottle) you will not have the correct diversity that is needed and only comes with time, not thyme in a bottle.

If you are in need of starting a tank and have it up, running and healthy in 28 days, take up the clarinet.

A healthy, thriving tank is a tank where there is no need for medication, nothing gets sick, everything eats and the fish only die of old age and never disease. That is a healthy tank, nothing else.

That only comes with time. I feel we need to start to cycle the tank and after a month or so add one small fish, not a halibut, maybe a juvenile clown. In a couple of weeks add another small fish, maybe a bleeny.

Another couple of weeks or a month, add another "small" fish. Eventually, maybe in a year you should add some larger fish or a tang if you like. But the tank should have some algae and growth on the rocks.

If you want to do this in 28 days, go on the disease forum first and ask how to cure a tank full of fish with ich. ;Bucktooth

very well spoken, in my situation what do you advise me to do? I don’t have any livestock in the tank atm. I understand it does takes time

 

[Quietman]

Once my "initial cycle" was complete I added 1 or 2 ppm ammonia every few days (when it read 0, I would add more) until I had fish (and I only added 3 small fish initially).

You can find some data on how much waste a fish produces...but it's not an easy find. But if your tank can clear 2 ppm in 24 hours, then you're probably good for a few small fish or one larger fish. And then as a rule, don't add more than double the bio load in any 30 day period. That will allow tank to compensate with a bacterial populations.