Another cycling question(no LR)

[Dome001]

I have purchased some base rock form www.hirocks.com and someone gave me an unopened bag of aragonite sand. Can i set this up in the tank to start my cycle while I wait for LR? The money I had set aside for the LR and LS purchase is being diverted to buy a puppy for my wife so that I can continue with my hobby when more money comes in in about a month. I was thinking I should setup the baserock and add the sand then drop in a coctail shrimp(as i have heard suggested) and just let the dead sand/rock cylce. Then when I can get the LR and LS add them and let them cycle. (i'm in no rush to get through it all, i kind of enjoy the setup process) Does this sound like a good plan?

 

Dome

[geekreef_05]

Id say to hold onto the aragonite sand and wait for the LR. Then put in the LR and the sand after and let it cycle.

 

happy reefin'

[Dome001]

so should i cycle the rock and wait for the sand? or not cycle anything till i can get the LR in?

 

Dome

[FAC_WNY]

You aren't going to "cycle" a damn thing without LR....lol.

 

Cheers,

Fred

[Dome001]

wouldnt bacteria still develop if i put a dead shrimp in there to feed it?

 

Dome

[nalbar]

please dont dome, i beg you.

 

it serves no purpose. all you are doing is dumping a bunch of phosphate in your tank. you are NOT 'helping' the cycle, no matter what some say.

 

 

you are more likely to get an algae problem down the road than anything else.

 

 

nalbar

[nalbar]

you need to do quite a bit of research about what a cycle is.

 

 

start here, read myth 15 in this article;

 

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-01/eb/index.htm

 

 

nalbar

[nalbar]

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...le&pagenumber=1

 

 

nalbar

[Dome001]

Thanks for the information nalbar, this is why I asked before I did it. I was told by someone else to setup all the LR and LS then drop in a shrimp so I was thinking that even if I was missing the LR and LS i could drop in a shrimp and the bacteria would still develop. This comes partially from my knowledge of fishless cycling a FW tank and I thought a similar process could work w/ SW. Thank you all for an answer and stopping me from making a mistake.

 

Dome

[BKtomodachi]

Well, like nalbar's name says, he/she is a "contrarian". That means they tend to say the opposite of what others say. Get it?

 

Go ahead with the shrimp *IF* You arent getting a good amount of ammonia going. Thay way your cycle will "strengthen".

[Dome001]

should i not add any shrimp until i have the LR and LS or should I add it with the base rock and sand? I'm a little confused now.

 

Dome

[nalbar]

no BK, it will not 'strengthen'. by throwing a shrimp in you will get two things in large quantities, both of which we strive to REMOVE from tanks.

 

ammonia and phosphate.

 

according to 'shrimp people' you want the ammonia because it increases the bacteria. but once the shrimp is consumed (read ROTS) in your tank you have excess bacteria. this is because the bacteria population has sky rocketed. then that bacteria dies from no food, creating ANOTHER cycle. you say 'if you aren't getting a good amount of ammonia going'. you only NEED as much ammonia as you HAVE. you need no more than that. if your tank is not 'creating' ammonia, its a good thing not a bad thing.

 

then there is the phosphate issue. you have dumped a LARGE amount of phosphate in your tank. more than that, you have dumped it in for NO reason. there is no gain to your tank by adding ammonia. the live rock creates enough ammonia for the bacteria.

 

these methods of 'helping' a cycle (an absurd notion) are the greatest myth in reefing. you will not find one single 'expert' author who reccommends either the shrimp or fish way to 'help' a cycle in a tank that contains live rock. all of them say the rock is all you need. i am firmly convinced that at least some of the 'after cycle' algae blooms can be attributed to these methods.

 

of course a fish only tank is totally different.

 

yes, i am a 'contrarian'. but on this subject i am in the mainstream. its the shrimp/fish cycle helpers who are fringe.

 

my 'contrarianism' is my opinions on skimmers/lighting/.

 

 

 

nalbar

[nalbar]

dome, you 'cycle' when you add your live rock. until you add live rock you will not 'cycle'. if you add a fish or shrimp now you will still cycle when you add rock. the rock has die off, causing ammonia. that die off from the rock is all you need to cycle a reef tank.

 

nalbar

[Dome001]

I'm just trying to understand the right way. to do this. my thought process behind doing the shrimp thing before the LR is so that the base rock develops bacteria in it since that was what i thought would eventually happen anyway. Now i know that that would be pointless. now i will see if i can get the LR and LS sooner and set that up and let my tank grow on its own for a few months.

 

Dome

[nalbar]

yes, you will get the bacteria. but then that population of bacteria will die back from lack of 'food' (ammonia) after the shrimp rots, leaving little net gain in bacteria, but a LOT of phosphate.

 

if you want, throw a margarita/astria snail in the tank, 'poof', you have bacteria.

 

 

 

nalbar

[Dome001]

i wasn't aware that a byproduct of the cycleing process was phosphoros. Thank you for all the help nalbar.

 

Dome

[BKtomodachi]

You know, I'm just going to solidly disagree with your methods here. But all the more power to you.