Have Three Weeks To Cycle Frag Tank - Ideas???

[nuxx]

Hey everyone,

We're going out to LA in 2 weeks and will be picking some coral to start our frag tank out with.

Will have it sent back a week later after we get back from a road trip back for my wife's 30th

Anyway...

Just finished filling up the tank today and will be adding salt in about an hour.

Tank is 60x36x16" (150 gallon) with a 75 gallon sump.

It has 80 lbs of Special Grade Reef Sand and I'm adding two large rocks I've had in my display's sump for around 18 months (~ 30-40 lbs) as well as a 8x8x4" MarinePure Ceramic block.

I'm going to add two bottles of BioSpira that treat 75 gallons each and also have some other bacteria I can add.

I'm curious what else you think I can do to speed up the cycle?

 

[bertoni]

If you don't feed the tank much in the way of food, there shouldn't be much ammonia buildup from photosynthetically-enabled corals. The two large pieces of live rock might be enough, especially to get the system going.

 

[KingTriton1]

Do you have another existing tank that's already been cycled? Do you have a filter sponge in it? If so rinse the sponge into the frag tank and you'll have an instant cycle.

 

[cb684]

If it is very important to you, here what I would do: I would pull this sand out (you can add later after washing it with RODI water for a week with daily water changes). Connect the frag tank to my main one (nothing inside, no rocks, sand or anything that would start a cycle) and let water run between the two. During the 3 weeks I would add a few rocs from the main system and then, once you are back from your trip with your frags I would disconnect the two tanks and go from there.

 

[nuxx]

The frag tank is about 80 feet away from the display

I added half a bottle of some nitrifying bacteria I had sitting around and am going to add 2 bottles of Biospira today.

Also added in the 8x8x4" MarinePure block and will be moving over two big rocks from the sump of the display today. Might also take the filter pad I had in the display as well. It's nice and full of all sorts of nastiness

 

[nuxx]

Just added two large pieces of rock that were in my display's sump forever as well as some nasty filter pads.

Waiting for the BioSpira to show up today...

 

[KingTriton1]

Congratulations you are fully cycled

The rinsing of your filter pads should be enough as it is. With the additional live rock you are just golden.

 

[nuxx]

Congratulations you are fully cycled

The filter pads should be enough as it is. With the additional live rock you are just golden.

LOL yeah very nice and dirty

 

[CuzzA]

The Bio Spira, while expensive on the retail side, really does work amazingly well. I recently put a bottle into a sterile tank, waited a week while ghost feeding pellets and then added 18 fish in one day. I never got an ammonia or nitrite reading. Just nitrates. Today all fish continue to do well and the tank is now fully stocked with corals.

 

[nuxx]

The Bio Spira, while expensive on the retail side, really does work amazingly well. I recently put a bottle into a sterile tank, waited a week while ghost feeding pellets and then added 18 fish in one day. I never got an ammonia or nitrite reading. Just nitrates. Today all fish continue to do well and the tank is now fully stocked with corals.

Add it to all QT tanks before adding fish

Then do Stability everyday as well.

Already seeing some skimmate on the frag tank