Need A Second Opinion Soon!!!

[SundownRocker]

Ok, so I am planning on setting up my tank tomorrow. I was going to wait the normal 2 weeks for the tank to cycle. Today I was at my lfs (who happen to set up nano cubes for customers) and they said that with the proper ls, cured lr and this bacteria goo stuff added, fish and coral can be added the next day... I just need to wait for the water temparature to normalize. I talked to several employees who said they have never had a problem setting up a nano cube for a customer like that. Of course, they said to start off with hardy fish and coral.... does this sound WAY off to anyone?

[bowfront26]

yes. If everything is from an established tank, i would still wait a week. They are just trying to get u to buy buy buy. patience is a virtue

[ProFlatlander15]

yea, i'd agree, your still going to get atleast a mini cycle, and i would definintely not put coral in right away. ditto bowfront, patience is a virtue.

[slickchick]

My LFS said the same thing and this is possible; however, I still waited and took my time. Patience is the best virtue in this hobby. I'd wait until I was sure I was happy with my arrangement of LR, let the tank cycle a bit, get the clean up crew, etc. Nothing good happens fast in this hobby and you will be glad you waited. I don't think anyone in this hobby has ever regretted waiting and being patient...on the other hand, I am sure there are many people who have regretted impulse buying.

[artarmon42]

If the goo is Marine Bio-Spira, I suppose that is possible. But until the LR and LS fully populate with bio-diversity, you'd probably be limited to a Damsel or Chromis and xenia or shrooms (stuff that pretty much can't be killed )

 

Alternatively, they could give you everything (LR, LS and water) from their fully cycled tanks. That would result in a "truly" cycled tank immediately.

 

Personally, I advocate the normal longer cycle period. You'll end up with a more stable tank in the long run.

[SundownRocker]

good stuff! I will probably wait... can I at least get a few cleaners... crabs and shrimp?

[drparker]

My LFS had me use cured LR, LS, Bio-Spira and told me about a week. It took 6 days for the levels to drop to zero. Then we added half the cleanup crew waited another week added the other half etc...

 

Drew

[artarmon42]

I am personally a fan of adding cleaners (hermits and snails, NOT shrimps) during the cycle. I find that it helps get rid of the dead stuff on the rocks quicker, minimizes the diatom bloom (doesn't stop or quickens it, just makes is less visually yucky) and doesn't really hurt the system.

 

For what it's worth, I don't bother aclimatizing the cleaners (just dump them in) and let them go to work. Never had one die on me yet (cycled 3 tanks this way), but think I'm just lucky.

 

Because of the risk of the cleaners dying during the cycle (or later), don't use expensive critters (e.g. my LFS sells a dozen nas snails for $5). I usually get 12 nas (great for taking out that dead stuff on the LR), 6 astreas and 6 hermits for a 12G.

[Chronicles]

I used stuff from a 3 year old tank, took me 2 days for the cycle to be over. I say if you're gonna try it, just test your water, when they reach 0s, then add SLOWLY. Doesn't matter if your tank is cycled or not, at that point it can support itself, doesn't mean you can throw in 20 fish the next day and expect it to handle the bioload. So go slow.

[SundownRocker]

good advise!

[SundownRocker]

ok, so here is what I am gonna do. Get the cured lr and ls and the water with the bacteria starter. I will go ahead and grab a dozen snails, and six hermits to start the cycle. Does that sound reasonable. I'll wait the week - 2 weeks to get any corals/fishes and do water tests till then. Cool?

[slickchick]

Sounds good. But I'd get 12 hermits and I'd still wait until levels are at zero. I've always good luck with them and when you have fish, they will eat any leftover food the fish miss. Snails don't unless they are nass or bumblebee.

 

I meant to include the fact that the bacteria is unecessary because that is what the LR and LS are for but it won't hurt.

 

(I was posting at work and was in a hurry ;-)

[Naperville Reef]

why bother putting in the snails and hermits? if the LR is already cured then any mini cycle you have will be relatively short. meanwhile you will run the risk of killing some of your clean-up crew and at the very least severly stressing them out.

 

imo, put in the LR, LS and wait 2 weeks. when everything tests appropriately then add your clean-up crew.

 

everybody on this thread with the exception of 1 has told you to wait on the clean-up crew. to me it seems you already had your mind made up. take it slow and everything will work out for the best

[Chronicles]

Most bacteria starters are snake oil, and useless. Just make sure you go slow, your "mini cycle" should be over in less then a week. Only add one thing at a time and wait a little so you don't get ahead of yourself. Mini or long cycle aside, you will get the normal algae progressions, so be ready to deal with that instead of adding all your corals at once and ending up with an algae fest.

[yoshiod9]

personally, when i set up any new tank i make sure to use cured lr and 'old' tank water. the new ls can cause a tiny cycle but nothing to worry about really. i've used this method and dosed two capfuls of 'cycle' for kicks and haven't ever had any problems. hth.

[schaadrak]

Is the starter just bacteria, or is it nutrients? If it's nutrients I could see it possibly working with cured LR and LS. However, it doesn't matter how much bacteria you dump in a tank if there's nothing for them to eat, they'll just die and you're pretty much at square one (as far as cycling goes).

[drparker]

ok, so here is what I am gonna do. Get the cured lr and ls and the water with the bacteria starter. I will go ahead and grab a dozen snails, and six hermits to start the cycle. Does that sound reasonable. I'll wait the week - 2 weeks to get any corals/fishes and do water tests till then. Cool?

 

As has been said most bacteria stuff is junk. Bio-spira is different. Only one LFS carries it around me and not all the time. This is because it must be kept refrigerated, not frozen and expires. Keep it refrigerated and add after 48 hours so you have an increased ammonia level starting.

 

I setup two fresh water 125 gal tanks last year identical system one used Bio-spira and the other nothing. The nothing tank took 7 weeks to cycle. The one with bio-spira cycled in 16 days.

 

I'd add the hermits right away but not the snails. You could easily get a spike in ammonia that might kill a snail. If that happens the additional load from the death will cause an even longer cycle. Hermits are pretty hardy.

 

Test or get your water tested before adding additional species. You can add several snails and hermits at a time, for coral or fish add 1 or two small things and then wait at least a week before getting anything else and test again before adding.

 

Drew

[SurfOnH20]

Slow down...Do be in any hurry..Your in the wrong hobby if you dont want to wait and give your tank time to stablize. Time=heathly tank and corals..

[cbianco]

Originally posted by SurfOnH20

Slow down...Do be in any hurry..Your in the wrong hobby if you dont want to wait and give your tank time to stablize. Time=heathly tank and corals..

 

Agreed!!! Patience Danielson. We all want our tanks to bew finished as soon as we start, lol. Remember that the LFS (many times) is there to make money. If you prolong the process, the gratification will be much more (than if you didn't).

 

This is just my opinion...

 

Christopher