New Setup

[misbekka]

Hey everyone. I just recently set up a new bowfront 36 gallon. Used I think brand was Carbsea Live sand and nutri seawater. It will be a fish only talk. I know from the sites they say no waiting to add fish when using those products but I am waiting anyways. Does anyone know using the sand and sea water how long it will take to cycle?
I took a sample to my lfs and they said levels looked good my PH was just a bit low.

 

[blaxsun]

If you use live sand with something like BIO-Spira you can insta-cycle your tank.

 

[misbekka]

If you use live sand with something like BIO-Spira you can insta-cycle your tank.

I used

CaribSea Arag-Alive Bahamas Oolite Aquarium Sand, 20 lbs​

What do you mean by insta-cycle? Still new to saltwater

 

[Karen00]

I used

CaribSea Arag-Alive Bahamas Oolite Aquarium Sand, 20 lbs​

What do you mean by insta-cycle? Still new to saltwater

Usually when you use live sand and/or live rock it already contains the nitrifying bacteria that handles ammonia, etc. When you start with dead rock or non-live sand then you have to go through the cycling process which essentially gets that bacteria going. If your LFS says your parameters are good then you are most likely good to go but that still means adding livestock slowly. You don't want to instantly fill your tank with fish as that can cause an ammonia spike. If you're still not quite sure about adding fish yet then give it another week and take a water sample back to your LFS but make sure you add some food to the tank (a bit of flake food is fine) to feed the bacteria otherwise it will die and you will have to cycle your tank.

 

[misbekka]

Usually when you use live sand and/or live rock it already contains the nitrifying bacteria that handles ammonia, etc. When you start with dead rock or non-live sand then you have to go through the cycling process which essentially gets that bacteria going. If your LFS says your parameters are good then you are most likely good to go but that still means adding livestock slowly. You don't want to instantly fill your tank with fish as that can cause an ammonia spike. If you're still not quite sure about adding fish yet then give it another week and take a water sample back to your LFS but make sure you add some food to the tank (a bit of flake food is fine) to feed the bacteria otherwise it will die and you will have to cycle your tank.

Thank you for the help!