first timer looking ahead to my first cycle.

[sgtfuzz]

Hello everyone, I'm sgtfuzz and I am setting up my first saltwater tank. Currently I am in week 3 of curing my pukani dry rock. After week 4 I plan on starting the nitrogen cycle.

I've been reading up on different methods on how to cycle a tank. And I'm not sure of the best way I should go about doing so. I like the idea of just adding a piece of shrimp and letting it decay. An alternative method I've been thinking of going with is using Dr.Tim's one and only. I'm even open to any other methods that may work even better.

 

[deputydawg88]

I'm not experienced so take what I say with a pinch of salt but I got some Fijian live rock with a nice amount of algae growth on it and the die off from that did the rest.

 

[Reef_Chief]

Just throw a small shrimp in and let it do its thing keep measuring parameters and keep a check of where you're at. You will be ready in no time but if you want to try speed things along then you could get some live sand or a cup of mature sand from another reefers tank.
I'm not sure what dr.tims one and only is as I'm from the UK but I'm guessing it's a bacterial product to boost the cycle along. If you do go for that option just make sure it's not a bottle that's been sat on a shelf for a long time.

Good luck

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[TokiHacker]

Please read the sticky on cycling....

Either the shrimp or pure ammonia (no other added ingredients) is what needs to be used. Miracle potions can help the process but not complete cut it out.

 

[JUNBUG361]

You could go to your LFS & purchase some rubble or live rocks to add in your system. Ace hardware store has ammonia in a bottle. Ask some people from a Local reef club with established tank for live rocks, if they have extra to spare or a friend with a established tank. Bring a bucket to reduce bacteria die off.

 

[sgtfuzz]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not looking to get it done fast or skip it altogether, i just wanna make sure its done correctly.

There is a ton of information on the web and it seems anything i read aboout cycling is slightly different from one article to the next.

 

[Reef_Chief]

As long as there is an ammonia source then you will be good. Just keep checking parameters​ until ammonia is 0 nitrite 0 and nitrates have stopped increasing. At that point you are good to go after a water change. It doesn't really matter which method you use to get those parameters just as long as you wait until you get there before stocking

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[Reef_Chief]

And remember to stock slow, slow, slow to begin. Happy reefing!

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[Stolireef]

Here's the tried and true recipe.

Once you've got your water to the correct salinity (about 1.024-1.026) and temp (76-80 degrees), you can go one of two directions. Neither is better than the other and you'll end up in the exact same place.

Either add sufficient ammonia to the tank to raise the level to about 3ppm on your test kit. You can get the ammonia at any Ace hardware store. Make sure it is the janitorial strength version (10%). It's an orange/red bottle. There are several calculators that will tell you how much to add based upon your total water volume.

Alternatively, if you don't mind waiting a little longer, get a raw shrimp from the supermarket. Stick it in a media bag or your wife's most expensive stocking and drop it into the tank. About four days later, you should be reading ammonia on your test kit.

Once you read ammonia, check that about every two days and start checking for nitrites. You will see the ammonia spike and then start to come down over a period of a week or two. You'll see a similar but likely shorter spike with nitrites. When both ammonia and nitrites read 0, start checking for nitrates. These will probably be high since thats what happened to the ammonia and nitrites. Do a nice big water change, add a clean up crew and wait another couple of weeks to add your first fish or two.

And you're now keeping a salt water fish tank.

Note that the miracles in a bottle to work to some extent. I did an experiment with my current build using Bio-Spira. I'd say it knocked at most a week off the full cycle. Not really worth the money IMO.

 

[Rcj520]

I prefer going the ammonia route. It's way easier and you know exactly how much ammonia you are adding compared to the shrimp method. Shrimp works fine, but I'm a numbers guys, so I just like that ammonia dosing is more accurate

 

[nycluis718]

Here's the tried and true recipe.

Once you've got your water to the correct salinity (about 1.024-1.026) and temp (76-80 degrees), you can go one of two directions. Neither is better than the other and you'll end up in the exact same place.

Either add sufficient ammonia to the tank to raise the level to about 3ppm on your test kit. You can get the ammonia at any Ace hardware store. Make sure it is the janitorial strength version (10%). It's an orange/red bottle. There are several calculators that will tell you how much to add based upon your total water volume.

Alternatively, if you don't mind waiting a little longer, get a raw shrimp from the supermarket. Stick it in a media bag or your wife's most expensive stocking and drop it into the tank. About four days later, you should be reading ammonia on your test kit.

Once you read ammonia, check that about every two days and start checking for nitrites. You will see the ammonia spike and then start to come down over a period of a week or two. You'll see a similar but likely shorter spike with nitrites. When both ammonia and nitrites read 0, start checking for nitrates. These will probably be high since thats what happened to the ammonia and nitrites. Do a nice big water change, add a clean up crew and wait another couple of weeks to add your first fish or two.

And you're now keeping a salt water fish tank.

Note that the miracles in a bottle to work to some extent. I did an experiment with my current build using Bio-Spira. I'd say it knocked at most a week off the full cycle. Not really worth the money IMO.

well said.. how long do you keep the raw shrimp in the tank?

 

[nycluis718]

Also once you add raw shrimp, do you need to feed tank fish food or ammonia to raise it to 2-3ppm?

 

[Stolireef]

You leave the shrimp in the tank until you register an ammonia spike. You want the ammo to get to about 2ppm. The breakdown of the shrimp releases the ammonia so if you go in that direction, you don't add any ammonia. Basically, either you do the ammonia method or the shrimp method. Either way works fine. I just like using Ammonia because it speeds things up just a tad.

 

[GovernorG]

Welcome to this amazing hobby!

All I can advise on is to read, read, and read some more. The amount of information out there is tremendous.

Regarding your question, I recently reset up my tank although this time I went with using a piece of raw shrimp. This was the first time I had ever tried this method and it seems to be working well (currently in the cycling process). If possible try to add some live sand or a small piece of live rock from a LFS or friends tank. I personally do not believe in adding additional "chemicals" to my tank and would rather have the process occur naturally rather than "speeding" things up. Just my two cents. Best of luck!

 

[Troublekitty]

Hello everyone, I'm sgtfuzz and I am setting up my first saltwater tank. Currently I am in week 3 of curing my pukani dry rock. After week 4 I plan on starting the nitrogen cycle.

I've been reading up on different methods on how to cycle a tank. And I'm not sure of the best way I should go about doing so. I like the idea of just adding a piece of shrimp and letting it decay. An alternative method I've been thinking of going with is using Dr.Tim's one and only. I'm even open to any other methods that may work even better.

Hey man. I'm currently cycling my tank using Dr Tims bacteria and ammonia. I have a thread going if you want to see what I'm going through. If you choose to go that route I'd suggest buying a decent test kit. I got fouled up using those strips. Anyway here is the link if you're interested

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2637001

 

[Stolireef]

Welcome to this amazing hobby!

If possible try to add some live sand or a small piece of live rock from a LFS or friends tank. I personally do not believe in adding additional "chemicals" to my tank and would rather have the process occur naturally rather than "speeding" things up. Just my two cents. Best of luck!

If the live sand is the stuff you get in a bag, you're basically adding the same stuff that's in Dr. Tims or Bio-Spira. Doesn't hurt anything though.

I have to say that I really prefer adding pure ammonia rather than a raw shrimp. The scent of the shrimp when you remove its rotting carcas is truly epic in the worst possible way. I'd rather sniff the pure ammonia (which is also awful).

 

[Frank H]

I like the pure ammonia method too. I have used it before in freshwater and will be doing that in my new reef tank. I just wonder if it can be used being its a couple years old now or if I need to go buy more.