Which Cycling Method Will Help Me Succeed

[Iamdasauce]

Good Afternoon Everyone,

 

I am getting close to starting the cycle on my fish tank and should be good to start in a few weeks. I am thinking of going one of two routes as I already have Microbacter7 to help with the cycle and I am looking for input.

 

Option #1 - Microbacter7 to help jump start bacteria , grab some live rock from my LFS to go with my dry rock, throw in a hardy clown fish.

 

Option #2 - Microbacter7 to help jump start bacteria, Ghost feeding for ammonia.

 

I am leaning towards option #1 but I will take any other suggestions I know there are many routes to do this.

 

 

Thanks for any feedback

[Reefscape]

2 minutes ago, Iamdasauce said:

Good Afternoon Everyone,

 

I am getting close to starting the cycle on my fish tank and should be good to start in a few weeks. I am thinking of going one of two routes as I already have Microbacter7 to help with the cycle and I am looking for input.

 

Option #1 - Microbacter7 to help jump start bacteria , grab some live rock from my LFS to go with my dry rock, throw in a hardy clown fish.

 

Option #2 - Microbacter7 to help jump start bacteria, Ghost feeding for ammonia.

 

I am leaning towards option #1 but I will take any other suggestions I know there are many routes to do this.

 

 

Thanks for any feedback

 

 

[TerraIncognita]

If you want fast fish.

 

look at my journals to see what I did to jumpstart.

 

if you want to be boring and get dry rock, dry sand, no booster, and salt water from the tap then go ahead and do that throw some rotting fish inside your empty tank and wait 2-3 months.

[Tired]

Do NOT put a fish in during your cycle. The ammonia will harm it.

Don't be in a rush to stock your tank, especially not since it's your first one. Nothing good happens fast in saltwater. A lot of these tanks you see that have fish and corals added all at once, right at the start, collapse later. It looking pretty for a month doesn't mean it'll last long-term. 

 

I don't recommend any sort of "fast" method, except the simplest one: adding established bacterial colonies. If you get good live rock, it's loaded with bacteria, and will cycle your tank within a couple weeks. If not faster. Less good live rock will take longer, like if it's not the nice, years-established ocean stuff. What kind of live rock does your LFS have? Is it just rock they've had in an aquarium, or is it rock that someone got from the ocean? 

 

Microbacter is good. Your best option is live rock, and you can put the microbacter in since you already have it. Microbacter and dry rock will work, but will take longer, and will take much longer to reach stability after cycle because you won't have the well-established live rock. Ocean rock comes with years worth of bacteria colonies and detritivores established, and dry rock takes a long time to ever get to that state.

 

Don't be in a rush to cycle your tank. Do it properly, take your time. When it's ready, stock SLOWLY, a few things at a time. 

[TerraIncognita]

OP If this is your first tank, please also state that, you did not state this was your first tank, and per your comment seems you did some research already on cycling, thus why i haven't also laid out the entire formula for cycling a tank here....

[Iamdasauce]

Thanks for all of the replies so far! I've been through most BRS videos over the past 3 months and Yup it will be my first saltwater reef tank and I appreciate all of the advice. I forgot to mention that I will also be using live sand. 

[Iamdasauce]

@Tired Awesome advice! Thank you. The live rock they have is in one of their tanks with water. I know I may be taking a chance on having a hitchhikers with the live rock.

[Iamdasauce]

@TerraIncognita Awesome advice. I will be looking at your builds to gain even more knowledge on cycling. I have been doing LOADS of research in preparation of this tank. Thanks!

[Iamdasauce]

@TheonlyDaan Thank you for the video suggestion.

[Tired]

Most hitchhikers you'll get will be harmless, even helpful. The chance of getting bad ones is pretty low. Really, the most important thing you can do to prevent harmful organisms getting in is dipping your corals and quarantining your fish. 

 

You should ask where the rock is from, and take a look at it. If it's just bare rock, or solid purple with no other color, it's probably just rock they put in a tank. That will have some bacteria on it, and is a decent start, but it's not the really nice stuff. Really well-established live rock, like from the ocean, will be a lot of different colors and will visibly have things growing on it. 

 

What size tank is it? You might consider ordering some live rock online. It doesn't take much of that really good rock to seed a whole tank, and IMO there is no better start to your aquarium than some really, really nice rock. You can even get corals on ocean rock. 

 

Just for future reference, it's generally good to consolidate all your replies into one post. If you make a lot of posts all at once, it'll fill up the thread pretty fast. There's no thread limit, but it's much easier to read if it's not a very long thread. 

Also, you can use the little 'like' button at the bottom right of a post to let someone know that you appreciate their advice. I don't use it very much because I don't really think to, but it's a cute feature. 

[TerraIncognita]

9 minutes ago, Iamdasauce said:

@Tired Awesome advice! Thank you. The live rock they have is in one of their tanks with water. I know I may be taking a chance on having a hitchhikers with the live rock.

Yeah it's rare you get super negative ones, BUT It does happen.

 

There's also ugly ones which aren't harmful but still lol.

 

I've used Live Wet Rock a lot of time and always had great success, but again just used dry rock on my 10G and having a lot of success there.

 

I think key is that you feel CERTAIN before you do anything. If you feel uncertain bro, dont do it. I always feel 100% certain behind everything I do.

 

Well that's a lie, but when I don't, that's when the problems arise.

[Tamberav]

1 hour ago, Iamdasauce said:

Good Afternoon Everyone,

 

I am getting close to starting the cycle on my fish tank and should be good to start in a few weeks. I am thinking of going one of two routes as I already have Microbacter7 to help with the cycle and I am looking for input.

 

Option #1 - Microbacter7 to help jump start bacteria , grab some live rock from my LFS to go with my dry rock, throw in a hardy clown fish.

 

Option #2 - Microbacter7 to help jump start bacteria, Ghost feeding for ammonia.

 

I am leaning towards option #1 but I will take any other suggestions I know there are many routes to do this.

 

 

Thanks for any feedback

Option 3: No fish...good live rock...not crappy rock they call live.. let it cycle naturally from any die off... ..can add a little biospira if you like.

 

Go slow...add a cuc... When you think it's cycled and the rock life is looking happy and healthy ..then wait a bit...then a fish..

 

Don't rush and do whatever fast YouTube bullshit method.

 

Here is my current 5g pico started with live rock and a proper cycle...I think it is about 6 months along. No pest algae..no dino.. no rushing! 

 

It's not perfect but it's also not a headache either.

 

 

 

 

 

[TerraIncognita]

FYI OP.

 

90% of the people here will tell you to cycle longer.

 

I'm not in disagreement, because I never encourage anyone to do anything I do in life. Be original man 😛 HAHAHA jk.

 

Just look at it this way, the longer you take, and the safer you are, the less risk.

 

If you feel risky, dont do it bro. Dont kill fish for fun.

 

If you want to PM Me. I'll send you a more detailed list of exactly what I did when I "jump started" these tanks.

 

there's a lot of little nuances I do that I don't necessarily list out. I have a lot of time right now cuz of COVID for husbandry.

[Tired]

If you don't encourage people to do things the way you do, why are you in this thread giving advice on how to cycle a tank your way? Certainty about your method doesn't mean anything- plenty of bad decisions are made by people who were certain it was a good idea.

Saying that your method seems to be working out is fine, but I'd like to see more than a couple months time on them to be sure. And I don't think anyone who's new to the hobby should be advised to use a deliberately rushed method that hasn't had much testing. There's a reason 90% (if not more) of people on here will say to take longer with the cycle, and that's because it's known to work and carries no risks. If nothing else, it's good practice- if someone can't wait a couple weeks to add fish, this is probably not the hobby for them. 

You have a sped-up, somewhat risky method that's worked for you so far. That doesn't mean it will work for everyone. It's also the sort of thing that's best not done by someone with no experience. 

 

OP, you really can't go wrong with some really nice live rock and a bit of time. Bad live rock is better than dry, but not by much. Dry rock can work, but generally more slowly, and carries more risk of dino or other pest algae outbreaks. 

The most reliable way to cycle your tank is with good live rock. Like Tamberav suggested. Just put the rock in, wait for ammonia and nitrites to spike and fade, then add a few snails. Assuming it's stable with cleanup crew, you can start with a fish and a hardy coral or two a little while after the snails are added. Simple, easy, should be relatively fast. Good enough rock could cycle your tank in a day, if it's already had dieoff over with or was shipped in enough water to not die in the first place. 

[mcarroll]

1 hour ago, Iamdasauce said:

Good Afternoon Everyone,

 

I am getting close to starting the cycle on my fish tank and should be good to start in a few weeks. I am thinking of going one of two routes as I already have Microbacter7 to help with the cycle and I am looking for input.

 

Option #1 - Microbacter7 to help jump start bacteria , grab some live rock from my LFS to go with my dry rock, throw in a hardy clown fish.

 

Option #2 - Microbacter7 to help jump start bacteria, Ghost feeding for ammonia.

 

I am leaning towards option #1 but I will take any other suggestions I know there are many routes to do this.

 

 

Thanks for any feedback

It's not too clear what your priority is and what your options are.

 

Is it going to be a fish-only tank?  

 

Or a fish-only, with live rock?  

 

Or a reef tank with coral?

 

Is there a reason you need to start quickly or would you be better off taking your time and doing "the natural method"?

 

If you haven't read Marine Aquarium Handbook Beginner to Breeder by Martin Moe, I would do that.  A classic that every hobbyist used to read before starting a saltwater tank.

 

There are already bacteria on your hands and in the dust in the air that will create a functional bio-filter in 30-40 days with more or less no help from you.  (Worth noting that live rock ≠ bio-filter.  That is one function of it, but not the reason for it.)

 

Build your ammonia inputs to the tank SLOWLY.  The smallest critters emit the smallest quantities of ammonia...so start small as well slowly.  

 

Cleanup crew snails are a good fit for the first critter.  Start with one in a small system, or just a few in a larger system.  Wait around a month in between additions.  When you get to the bigger critters (fish) add them only one at a time, with the same wait (or more) in between additions.  It's hard to go too wrong with that approach.  👍

 

If there IS a good reason to start fast (really, there aren't many) then the bacterial additives are a good bet.  BioSpira is probably the most advanced form....Dr Tims has a parallel product.  Both are more or less instantly acting....they contain a "full dose" of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria for the size tank the bottle is listed as treating.  Others like MicroBacter can help, but do not work the same as the first two.

[debbeach13]

Hi welcome to NR. You stated you watched a lot of the BRS videos. That is great! I actually just watched most of the 5 minute series this week. You most likely already realize there are many ways to start a tank. Some work some do not. I like to try and stick with the ideas that have worked for many with out causing harm to live stock. It has been said so many times that patience in this hobby is rewarded. You can start with live rock, dry rock or both. Please do not cycle the tank with live fish it is not good for the fish as stated above. There are better ways to get started. Keep researching about cycling methods. This thread came up as a hot topic so your getting plenty of opinions already. So good and bad. In a video by Dr. Tim Hovanec - Quick Cycle he says the following to speed things up.. Use sand, add ammonia, testing is approx. there either is ammonia and nitrite or there isn't , up the temp. to 84, lower the SG to to 18-20 PPT, no lights, do a water change when nitrites are 5mg. No GFO, organics, vodka or carbon. Watch the video if you can this is just what I remember Or what ever the directions on the micro bacteria 7 bottle says. Most important have fun. 

[Clown79]

Best methods

 

Good liverock and let it cycle naturally. No need to do anything but be patient and wait.

 

Cured liverock from established system- no cycle.

 

Dry rock cycling with ammonia dosing and biospira 

 

 

 

Cycling with a fish is not recommended and cruel.

 

Food and shrimp method work but less accurate with ammonia level's and adds unnecessary waste to a tank.

 

 

2 hours ago, Tamberav said:

Option 3: No fish...good live rock...not crappy rock they call live.. let it cycle naturally from any die off... ..can add a little biospira if you like.

 

Go slow...add a cuc... When you think it's cycled and the rock life is looking happy and healthy ..then wait a bit...then a fish..

 

Don't rush and do whatever fast YouTube bullshit method.

 

Here is my current 5g pico started with live rock and a proper cycle...I think it is about 6 months along. No pest algae..no dino.. no rushing! 

 

It's not perfect but it's also not a headache either.

 

 

 

 

 

Looks awesome!