Lets open a can of worms

[Zoso2142]

I know opinions are alot like buttholes everyone has one and they all dont smell like roses .

I have read alot of threads and videos on the subject of tank cycling and am still undecided which approach I wanna go.

That said was wondering the consensus around cycling tank methods. Between fish in, no fish, kits. Please provide reasons behind your choice.

There will be reef safe fish eventually and a clean up crew.

Please be respectful of everyones opinions in the thread.

 

[KrisReef]

Corals don't need a cycled tank, but they like ones started with live rock.

What kind of animals are you looking to keep?

 

[Uncle99]

Rock, saltwater, sand, flow, 2 different bacteria blends + 7 days and I’m cycled.

Why?
Fast, cheap and has never let me down.

 

[Zoso2142]

Corals don't need a cycled tank, but they like ones started with live rock.

What kind of animals are you looking to keep?

Cleanup crew, clowns, wrasse, goby.. etc

 

[timmyrules]

Live rock+live sand!

 

[Lavey29]

Cycling with fish is cruel and inhumane to the animals since modern products cycle tanks very easily without fish.

 

[corosato]

I am no expert by any means but I have gone with ocean direct sand + a percentage of Gulf Live Rock for my two tanks and then a bottle of bacteria as insurance. Once water settled, tossed in pods. Both sets of live rock came with plenty of inverts and a few corals, so they were active essentially form the jump. I still waited for fish for a few days and had an ammonia checker but never had an issue. most of the corals survived, other than ones that came in too far gone from shipping. First fish went in after a few days. Was it perfect? no. Did I lose a few corals I placed too fast? yes. but that was me learning.

 

[exnisstech]

Live rock. I keep rock in wet storage and can pretty much insta cycle a tank.
My latest tank an IM 20 AIO live rock and a bag caribsea aragalive sand.
2/14 filled the tank and tossed in a piece of shrimp for ammonia
2/20 tested and had 1.1 nitrate
2/22 added some inverts
I haven't added fish or coral because I'm not sure how I'm going to stock the tank yet.

 

[Zoso2142]

Thank you everyone who voiced their opinions on the subject it is very much appreciated.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

To me this is a hobby where we take care of these animals and should provide the best care for them possible, so it makes no sense to me to cycle with a fish that will potentially hurt or kill the fish, just to avoid a couple of weeks waiting. Just my take on it. Thanks.

 

[Troylee]

Find a local reefer or store and grab 10 pounds of rock and throw it in your tank the cycle is skipped! Instant gratification and do what you want besides tons of new fish at once.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

It depends on your goal and budget, but most folks agree that starting with real ocean sand and rock gets the tank off to a better start, but is certainly pricier.

Starting with dry rock is cheaper and allows somewhat more flexibility on aquascaping.

I'm not a fan of bottled bacteria. I think getting bacteria from a real reef tank is a better bet. Sand, rock, rubble, etc.

If you want to do a standard cycle by adding ammonia, that's a fine way to go, but not the only way. Adding consumers before fish (macroalgae, hardy soft corals, etc.) can work too.

 

[SomeHappyFish]

I tried both, bottled bacteria and used live rock from a 2 year old display and its night and day IMO. Skip cycle, no algae bloom, better coral health.

You can always do both.

Bottle bacteria + 20% Live rock. Which allows you to make a nice aquascape then cycle it quickly.

 

[56longroof]

Just my opinion but, you'll get the most biodiversity using real live rock and live sand. Nothing in a bottle can even begin to compare.

 

[Besieged]

Far from expert, here - I've been out of the hobby for a long time, still working on putting my tank together.

However working extensively with local reefers with very successful systems, it was suggested to me to do a fish & coral-in cycle using bottled bacteria and coraline booster, which I'm modifying slightly.

I'm starting with dead-rock that's currently being aquascaped, and dead, thoroughly rinsed sand. Once aquascaping is complete, I'll wash and soak the rockwork again, and get it in the tank with water. Same day or the next, I'll also introduce some cycled biospheres and matrix taken from other local reefer's tanks - I also hope to get one of them to cycle a small bit of rock, sand and rubble for me in the meantime, but failing any of that, I'll fall back on the bottled bacteria.

Either that same day (or within the next few) after rock and media go in, I'll put in 3 - 5 hardy starter corals. The day or so after that I'll add 1 - 2 clowns and a neon goby. Hopefully I'll be able to arrange for CUC to come in about the same time.

After that, I don't intend to add anything else at all to the display tank for a few weeks - though I might add a few small inverts to the refugium section like feather dusters, micro brittle stars and a porcelain crab. After that point, I'll probably send off an ICP-OES test, and start slowly adding decorative macro algaes to the refugium as needed, and then start gingerly working through my livestock plan.

 

[Reefer Matt]

My methods (Old school):

Live rock tank: Start stocking after a few days to let everything settle out. Insta tank. See comment below.

Dry rock tank: Use your favorite bottled bacteria, add in a whole raw shrimp, and install an ammonia alert badge. Run tank with lights on to start the diatom bloom, it will take about a month to go away. When the ammonia alert turns back to yellow in 3-6 weeks, the tank is cycled. Remove what’s left of the shrimp, test parameters and do a water change as required to adjust them. See comment below.

Both tanks: Sand is optional, but much harder to establish a no sand/dry rock tank. Add livestock slowly. Don’t buy a dozen or two frags and fish and dump them all in a day. Add a few fish gradually during the next few weeks after cycling, then a few test coral after that (softy and/or lps). CUC can be added as needed anytime after the cycle is complete. Timeline will vary depending on algae build up. After 8 months or so, try some sps coral if desired.

 

[CHSUB]

Imo, “cycling” a tank is a process from the 70s and 80s that has been continued like a myth. My first tank started with an undergravel filter run with an air pump and dead coral skeletons, a completely sterile environment; added a few damsels and waited a month or two while testing. Today i build a reef add a few corals and away I go, cycle done.