knoxtnreef
New member
i've been out of the hobby for about 5 years. i picked up a 20g nano with non-live sand and non-live rock. what is the best cycling/bio/bacteria solution on the market today to get things rolling?
A piece of frozen shrimp or flakes will start you off.
A piece of frozen shrimp or flakes will start you off.
The best way, by far!
I agree on seeding the tank with live rock from an friends tank or LFS and shrimp, you can also use a cup of sand from another tank. In the early day we used sand to seed before live rock came into play.
Now I will throw you the CURVE BALL --
The longer you can wait without lighting the better.
I think 3 months is what they say.
This is important for bacteria & helps avoid algae blooms.
@ least that's what they say.
The guy who mentored me back in the early 90s was a huge fan of wild live rock for getting a reef systems started. Since only a tiny fraction of the microbial stuff in a reef ssytem can be cultured it's still the best source for the microbial stuff and sponges essential for a healthy reef ecosystem.
here's an article and some videos:
"Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R2BMEfQGjU
Changing Seas - Mysterious Microbes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7hsp0dENEA
Nitrogen cycling in hte coral holobiont
https://youtu.be/DWItFGRQJL4
BActeria and Sponges
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oLDclO7UcM
Maintenance of Coral Reef Health (refferences at the end)
https://youtu.be/dGIPveFJ_0Q
Optical Feedback Loop in Colorful Coral Bleaching
https://youtu.be/oadKezUYkJE
Richard Ross What's up with phosphate"
https://youtu.be/ZRIKW-9d2xI