New Biocube 29 Startup

[Aceaviator182]

Hello all, I am new to the saltwater aquarium world and I need a little advise on cycling my new Coralife Biocube 29. What I have in the tank so far is as follows:

• 25 lbs Caribsea Fiji Pink
• 21 lbs Real Reef Live Rock
• Seachem Matrix Bio Media (1 Liter)
• Seachem Matrix Carbon
• 2 Eshopps Sponges
• Stock Pump

Would you recommend just throwing some shrimp in there and let it cycle that way? Or use a product like Instant Ocean Bio-Spira? Or just feed it with some fish flakes every day?

Thank you in advance!

 

[thegrun]

I like using either a dead raw shrimp or adding pure ammonia. If you use pure ammonia, find some without surfactants (available at most hardware stores, I got mine at Ace Hardware) or perfumes. To be sure the ammonia does not contain surfactants shake the bottle and if it bubbles up like dish soap it has surfactants in it, pure ammonia will not have bubbles. To raise 100 gallons of water from 0 to 2 ppm ammonia you would need to add 0.8 grams (8 ml) of standard 10% pure ammonia. I would suspect your true water volume would be around 20 gallons, so you would add 1.6 ml of 10% ammonia.

 

[Aceaviator182]

Using the raw shrimp method, how long would you leave it in the tank? And should I use a media bag to hold the shrimp?

 

[thegrun]

Leave the shrimp in the tank until your ammonia hits 2ppm, then remove it. It is easier to remove it if it is in a bag but it certainly isn't necessary to have it in a bag, or even to remove it after the ammonia hits 2ppm, although you will likely have slightly lower nitrates at the end of the cycle if you take it out.

 

[Aceaviator182]

Sounds easy enough, so after the ammonia hits 2ppm the cycle should complete itself once the shrimp is removed?

 

[isomorphic85]

I have a biocube 29 that I use as a quarantine tank... I always throw biospira in it when starting it up and it has worked great...

Biospira has consistently worked for me .... it's just pricey.

 

[05cummins]

I have used the raw shrimp as well as biospira and Dr Tim's. All work the same in the end. The supplements just speed it up a little.

 

[Aceaviator182]

so using the raw shrimp method, I would basically throw a jumbo shrimp in the tank for a month or so and keep monitoring ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels? Once the ammonia level peaks and drops off and mainly nitrate is left the cycle is complete and then remove the shrimp? Or would the shrimp be removed around 2ppm and let the cycle continue without the shrimp until ammonia is reduced to nearly zero ppm? Thanks for the help

 

[05cummins]

I doubt the shrimp would actually last a month. You should be fine putting it in there and watching ammonia to make sure gets over 2 ppm and then when you start seeing nitrites take it out.

 

[Aceaviator182]

I doubt the shrimp would actually last a month. You should be fine putting it in there and watching ammonia to make sure gets over 2 ppm and then when you start seeing nitrites take it out.

Sounds good, Ill throw one in there tonight. Thanks

 

[davehead86]

Put the shrimp in a media bag. The thing will be impossible to get out otherwise.

You have a TON of liverock in that biocube. If your tank feels cramped you could drop 10-15 pounds of rock.