Charlene
Certified Reef Fanatic
I've had fish tanks for many years but to be honest I've always used rock and sand from existing tanks to get them ready. This time around I went a different route.
With my latest tank I choose to build it out of only dry rock and sand to minimize the chances for pests. My system is a traditional Berlin style system with only a large skimmer, UV sterilizer, chiller, heaters and the capability for a couple of media reactors. No DSB. The thing is basic in it's approach. After 2 ro rinses (the first one with bleach) I filled the tank with RO and added salt to bring my salinity to 35 ppt or ~1.026 specific gravity. I heated the tank to 78 degrees and other than testing the equipment for functionality I have my skimmer and UV sterilizer turned off. I am running filtration socks. My tank has a great deal of flow large overflows and a powerful return pump. The room has a dedicated backup generator.
My friend suggested using Turbo Start to make introducing fish in a few weeks. I'm skeptical. Instead, I put a raw shrimp in the system and a bit of microbacter. I put a few pieces of rubble from my small tank at home as well. Wont the tank still need to fully cycle with bacteria blooms and deaths? Can you truly achieve a stable population of bacteria in a couple of weeks like the products claim?
What does the science say? Would I be better off purchasing this bacteria and speeding the cycle up? I don't have fish in quarantine yet and I'm not in a big rush. Is there a benefit to introducing bacteria from a bottle that will result in a more diverse bacteria population or am I better off going slowly?
Also, where are the best threads on the topic of cycling a tank?
With my latest tank I choose to build it out of only dry rock and sand to minimize the chances for pests. My system is a traditional Berlin style system with only a large skimmer, UV sterilizer, chiller, heaters and the capability for a couple of media reactors. No DSB. The thing is basic in it's approach. After 2 ro rinses (the first one with bleach) I filled the tank with RO and added salt to bring my salinity to 35 ppt or ~1.026 specific gravity. I heated the tank to 78 degrees and other than testing the equipment for functionality I have my skimmer and UV sterilizer turned off. I am running filtration socks. My tank has a great deal of flow large overflows and a powerful return pump. The room has a dedicated backup generator.
My friend suggested using Turbo Start to make introducing fish in a few weeks. I'm skeptical. Instead, I put a raw shrimp in the system and a bit of microbacter. I put a few pieces of rubble from my small tank at home as well. Wont the tank still need to fully cycle with bacteria blooms and deaths? Can you truly achieve a stable population of bacteria in a couple of weeks like the products claim?
What does the science say? Would I be better off purchasing this bacteria and speeding the cycle up? I don't have fish in quarantine yet and I'm not in a big rush. Is there a benefit to introducing bacteria from a bottle that will result in a more diverse bacteria population or am I better off going slowly?
Also, where are the best threads on the topic of cycling a tank?
