Sourcing bacteria. All base rock.

[scottpanek]

Hello, getting close to adding water to my first tank. I will be using all dry rock from reef cleaners. I was thinking of using bio-spiria or Fritz-zyme turbo start 900. In my reading some people suggest just using a raw shrimp. Can all or most of the bacteria my tank needs come from a few raw shrimp? Any help is appreciated.

 

[SaltyReefDog]

Just one raw shrimp is needed, or feed the tank some flake/pellet food every day. No need to go out and buy bottles of stuff to cycle with.

 

[Sk8r]

Got a friend with a tank, or a local saltwater shop?
A gallon of their discard water, a small piece of their rock, or a scoop of their sand. The resident bacteria will take off in the new tank. You risk importing ich, but in the likely 12 weeks to cycle all-dry rock, it will starve to death. Another 4 weeks with inverts-only even a diehard pest will die off.

 

[whosurcaddie]

I used Microbacter7 and the raw shrimp. I like the idea of adding beneficial bacteria even though its not needed. It's just peace of mind for me.

 

[E46Twist]

I will get flamed for saying this. I used Dr. Tim's as per instructions and it worked fantastic. From reading around though it looks like people who stray far from what you are supposed to do have little luck with it. I have 3 fish in a 125 a week after went in and I have yet to see a trace of ammonia with them in. I will add that I have another tank the fish can go back to if something happens, and I check for ammo twice a day to be safe. I tried it this way to see if it worked and it seems to. My first two tanks were setup using dry rock and LR that I brought home in buckets of water from LFS to avoid die off, and it probably a much better method.

 

[scottpanek]

Wow! A gallon of water will contain all the types of bacteria needed to get my system up and running. I'm suurprised!

 

[KAMIKAZE0214]

Wow! A gallon of water will contain all the types of bacteria needed to get my system up and running. I'm suurprised!

Well, you still should add a piece of shrimp/flakes to feed those bacteria and get them to multiply.

Rock/sand would be best from what I've read.

Good luck!

 

[kurt_n]

Wow! A gallon of water will contain all the types of bacteria needed to get my system up and running. I'm suurprised!

Actually, no. Very little bacteria exist in the water column. You can't make an instantly cycled tank by just transferring water. Not sure why Sk8r suggested the water, but the rock and sand will be bringing in all the bacteria.

As amazing as it seems, all the bacteria you need to cycle will just come from the air. Provide the virgin tank with an ammonia source, and the bacteria will find it. That's all you need.

 

[disc1]

Wow! A gallon of water will contain all the types of bacteria needed to get my system up and running. I'm suurprised!

The air around your tank and your hands that you keep putting in there will get you the bacteria you need to get your cycle running. Biodiversity might be a little lacking, but if you want biodiversity then you shouldn't be using all dry rock.

 

[shesacharmer]

Reefcleaners dry rock is really great stuff by the way! I like mine very much. If I were starting a tank with it I'd add at least one Live Rock to the pile.

 

[dkeller_nc]

Actually, no. Very little bacteria exist in the water column. You can't make an instantly cycled tank by just transferring water. Not sure why Sk8r suggested the water, but the rock and sand will be bringing in all the bacteria.

Uh - no. There's a ton of bacteria in average reef tank water, as noted in this article. Certainly much more than enough to get a start on cycling a new tank.

But you're also correct to say that adding precisely nothing to a tank other than "sterile" rock, sand, saltwater and a nutrient source (even an inorganic one like ammonia) will also produce a cycled tank after month or two.

 

[kurt_n]

Uh - no. There's a ton of bacteria in average reef tank water, as noted in this article. Certainly much more than enough to get a start on cycling a new tank.

Interesting read. Obviously I was wrong about there not being bacteria in the water column. Also interesting how much of a variability there is between tanks, and between reefs.

You agree though that the air will supply all the bacteria you need to cycle a tank. This, to me, seems like a much safer route in establishing a new tank. Why even consider using someone's potentially parasite-rich water to supply something that you don't need to supply?

 

[scottpanek]

I love this site! I'm just reading along waiting for a conclusion. Have at it!

I am planning one live rock and I'll transport it submerged. I'm thinking a bottle o bacteria could help. I'm planning more than a month for it to do its thing. Thanks for participating!

 

[E46Twist]

I would not add a bacteria additive. If the LR stays submerged you will have little to no die off and there for little to no cycle. Lots of us have experienced this when transferring all of our stuff into a new tank right next to the old one. I would only use the bacteria in a bottle in a sterile tank, and people that did not follow the exact directions given by Dr. Tim usually had problems. I not saying it would hurt in the long run but I have read several threads of people that get LR shipped them and add the bottle and the cycle takes a long time. The most optimal cases are completely sterile or as close to completely live as you can get. However the tried and true method of using LR die off as a cycle starter works just fine as well.