I cycled my reef tank in record time!

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Ok I didn’t…not yet anyway!

But I am wondering what’s the fastest time our R2R’ers have cycled a tank?

 

[commod0re]

Someone on here recently reported that they cycled a tank in 24 hours with fritz 900 and nitrocycle

Edit: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/is-24hrs-enough-time-for-a-fishless-cycle-to-happen.1155579/

 

[Fish Fan]

Having been a part of A BUNCH of tank cycle threads here on R2R I'm going to say instant cycle using real live rock, 24-48 hours for "fish safe" with Fritz TurboStart specifically, and 3-4 weeks for all other bacteria products such as Dr. Tim's One and Only.

 

[Troylee]

2 hours? lol… moved rock from and established system into a new tank. Kept sps since day 1 lol

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

There some folks struggle with this, it is a learning curve. Even if you are new and had all the resources available to you. A reefer has to know what to do and what to watch out for.
My tanks are pretty much insta- cycled. What you need to do that is the following:

1.Live rock/sand from an current healthy system. While live rock and or sand from a places like TBS etc. are great, they need to be processed first to get rid of die off during shipping. If you are not going to put fish in right away, it is a great way to get started. Corals can process the ammonia and the ammonia from the die off will help with expanding the nitrifying bacteria colonies. But if you are not doing that, you need to add current system live rock/sand, and then only add a ammonia load your current system can handle.
note: you can also use seasoned media plates from an existing system.
note-2 If your are gathering live rock/sand from an existing system that is going to continue in operation. Be aware you are taking away that systems biome. Nitrifying bacteria grows and shrinks with bio-load. So be aware of how much you take out.
2. NSW, unfiltered straight out of the ocean. While many ppl argue that NSW does not contain anything that a mix does not, I disagree. It contains the seeds of a successful biome.
This option is not available to a majority of reefers, but a bucket of water from a heathy tank might help.
3. Knowledge from experience.
4. Start small and don’t over stress your bio load...

Truthfully the most difficult part for me when starting a new tank is not the cycle, but trying to keep nutrients in the tank. Corals that came from a healthy nutrient system are now in a system that wants to rapidly deplete itself. it is all about testing and having the proper additives until the new tank becomes stable.
If you check out my sneeky pete build you can get an idea of what I did...

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Ha! I’m talking about a brand new tank, no moving old inhabitants, rock, etc.

 

[56longroof]

I started mine with real live rock and live sand. Had fish in it the next day and corals within a week.

 

[exnisstech]

Insta cycle with enough live rock.

 

[Fish Styx]

Ha! I’m talking about a brand new tank, no moving old inhabitants, rock, etc.

Oh, sure. Just go on and move those goal posts, why don't 'ya!

 

[JayM]

Mine cycled in about 24 hours. Water and Fritz one day, couple of fish the next.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Ha! I’m talking about a brand new tank, no moving old inhabitants, rock, etc.

So am I.... I would never start a tank sterile... Unless you need extreme Bio- security. There is no need. If you are not taking Biome from your own tank/s you should get some from another source.

 

[vlangel]

Ha ha, the last tank I cycled from scratch was in the 1990s so I can't remember how long it took. I am thinking 2-3 weeks back then and I bought live rock.

 

[diverjm]

Someone on here recently reported that they cycled a tank in 24 hours with fritz 900 and nitrocycle

Edit: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/is-24hrs-enough-time-for-a-fishless-cycle-to-happen.1155579/

That was me!

 

[diverjm]

I can confirm that it was indeed cycled that quickly as I have had no deaths, no detectable Ammonia or Nitrites and my Nitrates had been steadily rising before water changes. I did however add 4x’s the recommended amount of Turbo 900 (they claim you can safely add 5x’s the amount). I believe the large quantity was the key to success along with a good fuel source.

 

[Project1004]

If starting with dry rocks, I think nitrogen cycle really depends on the size of your tank and the solution you use. I’ve only done nitrogen cycle from the scratch twice (65G and 15G). 15G took about 3 weeks using raw shrimp on caribsea rocks and 6 week on the 65G using silver dollar on Marco rocks.

I think there are much more benefits from using decaying matters for the tank than that of simple ammonia solution. But that’s just me.

 

[tzabor10]

Oh, sure. Just go on and move those goal posts, why don't 'ya!

They only moved the goal posts once in football.
Just set up a new nano cube with sump. Rocks originally from @LiverockRocks and have been in a 75 for 2 years. I dare to say no cycle.

 

[bjsreefer]

Ok I didn’t…not yet anyway!

But I am wondering what’s the fastest time our R2R’ers have cycled a tank?

I had to set up an emergency QT last year. Using Fritz turbo 900 and dr Tim’s ammonium chloride to feed the culture, I was shocked to see ammonia at 0 24 hours later. I actually dosed more ammonia and tested to ensure it was measurable right after just to be safe and waited another 24 hours. 0 again. Turbo start is an insane product.

 

[BadDadto6Kidz]

I’m new to the hobby (and already losing patience, haha), so I figured I’d jump in here. I’m sure there are thousands of threads on this topic, but this one popped up at the top of the new posts list.
I set my 280 gallon tank up completely sterile about 5 weeks ago — no live rock, no live sand, and no transplanted biology. I used a big bottle of Fritz 900 along with Dr. Tim’s Ammonium Chloride to start my cycle. My AOB kicked in pretty quickly, but my NOB seems to be taking forever.
I’ve done the 24‑hour dose/test cycle twice in the past couple of weeks. Ammonia hits zero within 24 hours, but nitrite shoots over 2 ppm both times and then takes several days to come back down.
Since I’m very new to all this, I don’t really have connections to get live rock or other seeded material easily. Just trying to figure out if this timeline is normal or if I’m missing something.