How to get the quickest cycle going?

germs101 · Feb 15, 2017

It's been years since I've actually cycled and started a tank from scratch. I'm giving a nano cube to my son for his birthday this weekend, and it would be ideal to get SOME sort of life form in there as soon as possible to give life to a glass box :) He's going to need to wait the 76 days for any kind of fish anyway, but I'd love to get a shrimp friend for him.

If I use water from our large display, put in live Carbi Sea sand, and a good piece of cured liverock, how soon would it be realistically safe to put some inverts in? Based off of my coral QT I set up, I'd think right away, but I'd like outside input.

pdt7361 · Feb 15, 2017

The water won't really help much - I've always used a couple of pieces of live rock mixed in with my dry, live sand, and Bio-Spira. For both of my tanks put up in 2016, I had them fully cycled within a few days.

Bluefish9 · Feb 15, 2017

germs101 said:
It's been years since I've actually cycled and started a tank from scratch. I'm giving a nano cube to my son for his birthday this weekend, and it would be ideal to get SOME sort of life form in there as soon as possible to give life to a glass box :) He's going to need to wait the 76 days for any kind of fish anyway, but I'd love to get a shrimp friend for him.

If I use water from our large display, put in live Carbi Sea sand, and a good piece of cured liverock, how soon would it be realistically safe to put some inverts in? Based off of my coral QT I set up, I'd think right away, but I'd like outside input.

Bio Spira!
I used it (skeptically with one eyebrow raised) for my most recent 150g FOWLR. dumped it in, put in a pair of black occelaris 20 minutes later and the tank has been perfect ever since!

It takes the usual amount of time for nitrites and nitrates to read zero but even so, those levels were VERY low the whole time.. the highest my nitrates got to was 5. Ammonia never registered from first drop of water to this day. Mind you I didnt use any live sand or live rock. Started with dry rock and sand. The stuff is pretty good! Given that the other nitrifying bacteria still has to populate, Id give it a little while before adding your inverts but if you use bio spira, you can add a fish or two right away.

Denisk · Feb 15, 2017

If your only using live rock. You should be good to go in a day or two. If not all of it is live, I always use ATM Colony marine and it good to go in 7 days. It says instant but never instant for me haha.

beaslbob · Feb 15, 2017

Macro algae.

add macro algae to balance out the system, wait one week, add 1 single male molly, don't add food for one week. start feeding 1 flake per day.

Macro (and other) algae prefer to consume ammonia first then nitrates second. So it is normal and expected that the cycle will actually be no (or low) ammonia spikes with a possible initial nitrate spike. Then about 3-4 weeks later nitrates will drop indicating the aerobic bacteria has expanded and is then consuming the ammonia. With the algae consuming the nitrates.

my .02

tankstudy · Feb 15, 2017

germs101 said:
If I use water from our large display, put in live Carbi Sea sand, and a good piece of cured liverock, how soon would it be realistically safe to put some inverts in? Based off of my coral QT I set up, I'd think right away, but I'd like outside input.

If you add a bottle of biospira with the above you probably could have it pretty well cycled by this weekend.

mkutsch · Feb 15, 2017

Yeah, chaeto would work. Unfortunately for cooler looking macros like dragons breath, bad water chemistry would cause it to bleach (sort of--more like pull apart and turn clear orange; weird, huh?) and die. But I don't think you have to wait 76 days for a fish, just a week or three of constant parameters. Cheers!

mkutsch · Feb 15, 2017

Oh, and side question, what is this bio spira you speak of?

germs101 · Feb 15, 2017

mkutsch said:
Yeah, chaeto would work. Unfortunately for cooler looking macros like dragons breath, bad water chemistry would cause it to bleach (sort of--more like pull apart and turn clear orange; weird, huh?) and die. But I don't think you have to wait 76 days for a fish, just a week or three of constant parameters. Cheers!

I was going to do 76 days to avoid ich transferred on any inverts that go in.

Bluefish9 · Feb 15, 2017

mkutsch said:
Oh, and side question, what is this bio spira you speak of?

http://www.instantocean.com/Product...up/bio-spira-saltwater-aquarium-bacteria.aspx

aaron23 · Feb 15, 2017

fastest cycle is get a friend who has marine pure or ceramic media established in their system for a decent amount of time and take that put that in your tank. instant cycle.

mkutsch · Feb 15, 2017

Ahh, I see. I made the mistake of getting a six line on day one. Long story short, I stepped on him.

brandon429 · Feb 15, 2017

its possible to skip the cycle fully with the approach listed in the first post, that's the only way ive ever built a reef tank. day 1 is the same as day 3000 for me. when you move live rock among tanks they don't die at all, its the same bac just relocated.

large marine aquarium conventions are set up and stocked immediately in just the same way. making an insta nano is mighty easy.