Jump to content
Pod Your Reef

Cycling tank


sb_MD

Recommended Posts

I had a question. I'm new to nano reefs. I have a 29g coralife biocube. I purchased 30 lbs of the caribsea liferock which is basically a dry rock with coating. My LFS sells bags of live rock cured rubble. If I threw a bag in my tank with the dry rock, will this be enough to start a cycle along with live sand or will I need a better source. I plan to remove the rubble nice the cycle starts. Thank you

Link to comment
fishfreak0114

You'll need an ammonia source in the tank. Pure ammonia dosed to 2ppm or raw shrimp or fish food. And if there's ammonia, bacteria will come regardless of whether there is the live rubble or not. It may help speed it up a bit though.

Link to comment

just put a raw shrimp in there and see if someone you know or your lfs is willing to sell/give you a cup of sand and that will help a TON but you have to put shrimp/ pure ammonia i prefer shrimp because its a lot less work, i hope this helped :)

Link to comment

I have lots of Ammonia to give if you need some just let me know. I ordered way too much Dr Tim's Ammonia Chloride and I don't need it anymore. Just sits in my cabinet. Take a peek.

 

You have a brand new unopened bottle? How much you want?

You'll need an ammonia source in the tank. Pure ammonia dosed to 2ppm or raw shrimp or fish food. And if there's ammonia, bacteria will come regardless of whether there is the live rubble or not. It may help speed it up a bit though.

 

So even with the live rock rubble and sand, I will need the ammonia source to help the bacteria flourish and seed the dry rock? My girlfriend and I started this project and are very new to it. She was nice enough to buy me the rock but I want to make sure I do cycle correctly. Will the rubble speed up the cycle on the dry rock? Can the rubble be removed after about a month? Will that be enough time for rock to be seeded?

Link to comment
fishfreak0114

Yes you will still need an ammonia source. The live rock and sand have the bacteria already on them, the ammonia feeds the bacteria. The live rock rubble will help to seed the rock with critters, like Copepods and such. That doesn't help it cycle but it is a nice bonus. If your already using live sand then I'm thinking that the rock will not make the cycle go any faster. Yes you can remove the rock after a month, by then the tank will most likely be cycled, and any pods or similar on the rock will have moved about the tank. If you dose the ammonia up to 2ppm, once the tank can convert that into nitrites and then nitrates within 24 hours, the tank is cycled and ready for a CUC. Sorry for the long pot, hope it helps :)

Link to comment

Research bro! I haven't seen many truly awesome cycling articles recently but here's a decent one: http://www.nano-reef.com/articles/_/beginners/cycling-your-tank-r8

 

Try to think of the cycle as a continuous process rather than a 1 time event. Adding the rubble and live sand is enough to get things going. What people are talking about has to do with growing your biological filtration (the bacteria that will break down the fish poop).

 

Right now there's only a few bacteria - not enough to support life. By artificially adding a food source you cause them to multiply until there are sufficient bacteria to break down all the waste in a fully stocked aquarium.

 

Try to take in all the advice you get and please don't be afraid to ask why. For example if someone says to add a raw shrimp, or do a 50% water change, don't just take their word for it but try to understand the reasoning behind the suggestion.

 

Finally - don't remove the rubble for now. Bacteria multiply by cell division, so you want as many in there as possible for now. Once you get the primary rock established you can remove the rubble,

Link to comment

Awesome. We tried to get everything ready before hand. Will be starting up tank in a few weeks once school gets less crazy. We also had Dave install a retro nanobox with bluefish wireless controller, have the tunze 3155 ATO, rw-4 wavemaker, upgraded main pump to cobalt MJ1200 and neo therm 150w heater. We plan on doing the in tank media basket and tunze 9001 skimmer as well. Think it will be a good start to get everything right away rather than adding piece by piece. Found these all by reading forums and hope they do the trick

Link to comment
fishfreak0114

Sounds like you have a good plan :). Be sure to make a build thread when you get it going, it's a great way to get advice and track your progress.

Link to comment

Any recommendations on the Arag alive Fiji pink vs special grade? I was leaning towards special grade since easier to vacuum clean, less blowing around with high flow and goby (eventually) even though I like look of Fiji pink better. Any pros and cons?

Link to comment
fishfreak0114

I have Fiji pink, and it has been good. I haven't tried vacuuming it, I just stir it up with a skewer before water changes. It doesn't blow around either if you aim your power head right. It took me a couple days to find a direction to aim it that didn't make a big hole in my sand bed but now it's fine.

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recommended Discussions

×
×
  • Create New...