Frag Tank cycling question

[oigimsar]

I set up a 20 gallon tank to hold my corals and a couple of fish while I tear down my tank and put together my new build.

It has been set up for a week. I have no live sand and no live rock. Will there be a cycle? How will it cycle with no bio load?

When can I move corals into it?

 

[Murfman]

If you don't get some kind of filtration, the corals are going to excrete waste and cause an ammonia spike. Yes there will be a cycle, once you move livestock in to it.

 

[oigimsar]

This makes sense but it seems like I regularly see frag tanks with no live sand or live rock. How do I safely get the cycle started without either?
I am running a skimmer. What filtration should I add?

 

[xxbrianxx]

often times they have frag tanks either hooked up to an existing system, or simply have a sump where they house all the biological filtration. Technically bacteria will colonize on the surfaces of the frag tank and the plugs/rocks, but I'm not sure if that's really enough to support much of a bioload. If it's only a 20 gallon tank, you could easily just put a HOB filter with some bio media/carbon. IMO a skimmer isn't really necessary if it's just a temporary holding tank. Just make sure to keep the bioload low or stay on top of water changes

 

[oigimsar]

Should I just move a piece of live rock or two from my display tank and put it in the sump?
I already have the skimmer set up...I can run some carbon in the sump if I need to.

 

[larryl]

I would just keep up on small water changes. You can add a little live rock for the bacteria.

 

[Murfman]

My frag system is tied in to my display. I can also segregate it to turn it into a QT system, if needed.