MrNoahCount Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Today I went to the LFS to get some bagged live sand and some Instant ocean. I've had it with my CC substrate and am going to do what I should have done in the first place. LS!! Anyway, as I was checking out there was a woman ahead of me that asked if I had a saltwater tank. When I answered yes she said she was just starting. I told her to have patience to which the clerk replied "Oh she doesn't need patience, she's buying her saltwater from us so she doesn't have to go through all the cycling." Excuse me? even with bought saltwater and cured LR won't there be die off and a nitrogen cycle? Doesn't the biological filter still have to be established? I'm new to this so I just let it go. I didn't want to contradict the guy but that goes against everything I've read. Wonder what you guys think? Michael Never argue with a fool, people may not know the difference! Link to comment
AZDesertRat Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Find another LFS! They probably sell lots of Nemos to kids too. Rather than buying expensive bagged supposedly live sand you can probably get Southdown at your local Home Depot in your part of the country for about $3.50 per 50lb bag. Find a local fish club or if you have friends bum or barter a few cups of truly live sand to seed your tank. The more diverse the better. And yes the tank will need to cycle. Even when you add rock or sand to an established tank you cycle again although it may be more of a mini cycle but worth paying attention to. Link to comment
Jandree22 Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 those be dead fish... I agree, get a new LFS Link to comment
tinyreef Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 what a nice lfs! "Oh she doesn't need patience, she's buying her saltwater from us so she doesn't have to go through all the cycling." they sell their customers their daily/weekly change water from their very own systems to help their customers cycle their own new $$$ tanks. whadda guy! jagoff! yes, the wc water will carry some bene bacteria from it but you're right a stable colony(ies) of bene bacteria must develop within each system to support the bio-processes of each system (i.e. bio-filter as you said). now the lady ahead of you may just be getting fish (FO/FOWLR) but the lfs probably also sold her a pricey wet/dry. (wouldn't put it pass them, sneaky guy) then the LR is just decoration basically because the wet/dry will out-process the LR up to the point of nitrates but there it stops. the LR/LS must take over from that point to breakdown the nitrates. her setup then may be adequate, depending on the stamina of the fish/livestock. (i'm skipping some points here tho; bio-diversity on the LR and etc.) ah, but the sneaky lfs is selling her wc water to try and keep up with the continual nitrate buildup. he gets his cake and eats it too. Link to comment
myelin Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 That is a half truth. I am sure that at one point they were saying that is you use our water, and our LR, you will have a fairly short cycle. That is what my LFS told me. So, I bought their LR and pre-mixed water and went to town. My tank cycled in about a week and one day. After that it was smooth sailing. I do agree - it sucks when sales are more important than ethics. Link to comment
MrNoahCount Posted July 17, 2003 Author Share Posted July 17, 2003 This is not the store I normally shop at. I go there on occasion because they keep later hours than my preferred store. In this case I was there because I needed the salt and my normal store was closed. I even had to pay a bit more for it. BTW, I live in the boonies. There is no such thing as a local fish club around here. Closest one is Atlanta and I do plan on joining it soon. Link to comment
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