I live sand wasted during tank cycle?

J

jnocerin

Premium Member
OK, I am getting darn close to starting the new tank setup, and wanted to find out of I would be wasting the live in the live sand by using it during the cycle.

Heres my plan.
1) fill tank with water (ensure no leaks)
2) add salt and them acclimate the heater and start it.
3) once water is at proper temp add the live sand
4) once live sand is settled, fire up the filtration, and powerhead.
5) Cycle away! Test ...Wait..repeat.
6) Once cycle is done fire up protein Skimmer and get the critters moved over from my smaller tank.

I think my biggest concern right now is killing all the nice live critters in the live sand.
 
I may be wrong, but if you are using 100% live sand....then that should be an instant tank......right? You might get some small spikes in trites, trates and amm, but thats it.
 
is this true???? I would really like to know???? I am converting a tank on saturday so this would come in real handy
 
I am nearly positive that this is untrue. Tank cycling takes from 3-6 weeks, there is no shortcut. In essence what occurs is Nitrogen enters the system through food or the death of livestock (hence the common shrimp recc) which is converted to ammonia(NH3) and Ammonium (NH4) which then will metabolize into Nitrates (NO2) and it is then converted into Nitrates (NO3) which is good.

My confusion lies in whether or no all the live critters in the sand will be able to withstand the cycle ot if I would need to re-seed the sand after the cycle.

Right now I have 5 bags of live sand , if the cycle will "kill" it I will only put in 1 or 2 to start, if not they will all go in.
 
well i don't know about the live sand issue but there are shortcuts to cycling (aka reduce the time)
i just worry how old that live sand is and how hot and/or cold it got sitting in a wharehouse somewhere
 
ummmm please don't leave us on the edge of our seats LOL you tell us there is a shortcut but you don't tell us how???? lol well what is it???
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9594285#post9594285 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnocerin
I am nearly positive that this is untrue. Tank cycling takes from 3-6 weeks, there is no shortcut. In essence what occurs is Nitrogen enters the system through food or the death of livestock (hence the common shrimp recc) which is converted to ammonia(NH3) and Ammonium (NH4) which then will metabolize into Nitrates (NO2) and it is then converted into Nitrates (NO3) which is good.

My confusion lies in whether or no all the live critters in the sand will be able to withstand the cycle ot if I would need to re-seed the sand after the cycle.

Right now I have 5 bags of live sand , if the cycle will "kill" it I will only put in 1 or 2 to start, if not they will all go in.
Click to expand...

Well, from what I have learned.......the whole purpose of "cycling" a tank is to establish the bacteria needed to convert your ammonia to nitrite, etc., etc.,.........if 100% of the sand you use is already live and the bacteria is already establlished.......then why would you need cycle again, if one would happen at all?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9594822#post9594822 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kookerson
Well, from what I have learned.......the whole purpose of "cycling" a tank is to establish the bacteria needed to convert your ammonia to nitrite, etc., etc.,.........if 100% of the sand you use is already live and the bacteria is already establlished.......then why would you need cycle again, if one would happen at all?
Click to expand...

good point I don't understand this either. Everyone told me in SW you don't need any media at all... just run sumps and HOB empty and let the live rock do the work. Ok well then if I literally remove live rock from a tank and put it into my tank.... then why isn't my tank cycled??? I don't understand.... samething with the live sand.
 
If in fact you are setting up a new tank from (going bigger) an existing tank, currently well established, and already cycled. As long as you make the exchange in a reletively quick manner (dont let sand, rocks sit out of water long enough to kill off bacteria) you shouldnt see any cycle at all. Remember if you dont allow any die off while transferring youare golden.
 
No, your tank is going to cycle! In the lamest terms, when you add a new fish, a new piece of Live Rock or anythiing for that matter, your tank is giong to cycle--Of course, not as dramatic as when you first setup your tank, but it's still going to go through the motions. the cycle is all about the bacteria, and when you add something new, the bacteria wont be able to handle the bioload until, that is, more bacteria generates.
 
Sorry, I didn't respond to the original post, b/c i got caught up with the other comments. few things. you can throw in the heater right away, you don't need to wait for the salinity to measure out. also, if you are going to be adding live rock, do it now because your tank will cycle all over again when you add it. lastly, and to answer your question, some of the critters will die off, but they will repopulate. so no, the live sand is not going to be a waste. just make sure you put in good quality sand that is aragonite based.
 
I actually bought 100% so called "Live Sand" made by Natures Ocean. And had about estimated 40 lbs of live rock. When I was cycling my tank I saw a spike in ammonia for about 3 days since I boosted the cycling with dead shrimp. The Live Sand does help to speed up the process but you still need to wait 2 weeks minimal just to have some insurance when putting your expensive livestock on the line.

Bottom line is Live Sand does help in the cycling process I would go for it.
 
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