Cycle experiences

[Frostyfish]

I will be setting up a 29 bio cube in the next week or so and as the title states I would like to know your cycle experiences and also the method you used. I have an established 20 gal that is about 8 months old and would like to use sand/rock from that to help the cycle. Any input is always appreciated!! BTW I do not want to use a hunk of dead shrimp to start the cycle....

 

[sethsolomon]

I used Bactiv8 for my main tank and it worked great.

My fish system I tried Nite out and it caused things to go haywire and added some bactiv8 and it stabilized the tank from the addition of Nite Out.


Odd other things to get your cycle going:

flake food once a week
the raw shrimp
bottled bacteria supplement
pure ammonia solution

 

[Frostyfish]

I used Bactiv8 for my main tank and it worked great.

My fish system I tried Nite out and it caused things to go haywire and added some bactiv8 and it stabilized the tank from the addition of Nite Out.


Odd other things to get your cycle going:

flake food once a week
the raw shrimp
bottled bacteria supplement
pure ammonia solution

That bactiv8 sounds intriguing, did you only use it during the initial cycle or do you still add it?

 

[sethsolomon]

That bactiv8 sounds intriguing, did you only use it during the initial cycle or do you still add it?

only for the initial cycle.

 

[CRW Reef]

Here is the other two I would recommend as well along side Seth's suggestion. Dr Tims is one of our sponsors as well so I def suggest you check them out.

http://brightwellaquatics.com/products/microbacter7.php

http://store.drtimsaquatics.com/One...-for-Reef-Nano-and-Seahorse-Aquaria_p_96.html

 

[SynDen]

Well the tank I bought came with quite a bit of live rock to start, which I used. I also used a few bags of live sand and a few bags of non-live sand for substrate. I then just fed a bit of chopped up krill a few times a week to get it going. Likely because of the rock I used but the tank went through a very light initial cycle, although when it hit the 6 month mark it suddenly and explosively went through a heavy algae phase that took me about another 6 months to get under control

 

[FishTV]

Depending on your set up, I always seed my new "dead" rock with my changed out filter socks. If you have a HOB, you can use the sponges, or what ever you trade out regularly. I like this method for starting a good population of pods as well, as Im sure I wash about 1000 down the drain every time I pull my socks.

 

[SkyShark]

I will be setting up a 29 bio cube in the next week or so and as the title states I would like to know your cycle experiences and also the method you used. I have an established 20 gal that is about 8 months old and would like to use sand/rock from that to help the cycle. Any input is always appreciated!! BTW I do not want to use a hunk of dead shrimp to start the cycle....

Was the rock good "cured" live rock when you bought it before? If it was dry, it still might be a little light on the beneficial bacteria within it.
For my current tank I used new live sand and live rock from an old established tank which gave me a very minimal cycle. No major algae growth, but I did have cyano for a couple weeks. Either way, take it slow stocking the new tank.

 

[Frostyfish]

Was the rock good "cured" live rock when you bought it before? If it was dry, it still might be a little light on the beneficial bacteria within it.
For my current tank I used new live sand and live rock from an old established tank which gave me a very minimal cycle. No major algae growth, but I did have cyano for a couple weeks. Either way, take it slow stocking the new tank.

Yes the rock was cured before it was put in my current 20 gal. I'm thinking I will take out the live rock from my 20 to put in the BC and leave the dead rock I have in the 20 until the BC has cycled. I will definitely take it slow adding the 20 gal inhabitants to the BC, learned that lesson the hard way with my 20. I can't believe how ignorant I was when I started, lol. Didn't help that the lfs I used to go to told me the worst advice ever, but you learn most from mistakes!!!

 

[Frostyfish]

Here is the other two I would recommend as well along side Seth's suggestion. Dr Tims is one of our sponsors as well so I def suggest you check them out.

http://brightwellaquatics.com/products/microbacter7.php

http://store.drtimsaquatics.com/One...-for-Reef-Nano-and-Seahorse-Aquaria_p_96.html

Have you used Dr Tims? Just curious about the accuracy of the 10-14 day cycle. The reviews I saw were all great but more info is much appreciated

 

[Frostyfish]

I used Bactiv8 for my main tank and it worked great.

My fish system I tried Nite out and it caused things to go haywire and added some bactiv8 and it stabilized the tank from the addition of Nite Out.


Odd other things to get your cycle going:

flake food once a week
the raw shrimp
bottled bacteria supplement
pure ammonia solution

Forgot to ask you how long it took to cycle using the bactiv8

 

[CRW Reef]

Sorry no its been a long long time since I have cycled a tank thank goodness However I'm pretty certain Vince @ Great White is an avid fan as well as Dr.HarlemTutu as well. Might PM one or both of them to get their thoughts or maybe they will catch this thread and chime in.

 

[jahmic]

I'd use the established rock with a new bag of live sand. A pee-cup sized scoop of sand would help seed the tank and may transfer over some microfauna, but I'd be hesitant to reuse and transfer all of the sand out of the 20.

 

[Aaron]

I recently cycled my quarantine tank for some new fish with Seachem Stability. It's readily available at most fish stores including PetCo/ PetSmart and works great. I just poored it in the recommended doses over my filter media in my back chamber.

 

[Frostyfish]

I'd use the established rock with a new bag of live sand. A pee-cup sized scoop of sand would help seed the tank and may transfer over some microfauna, but I'd be hesitant to reuse and transfer all of the sand out of the 20.

Thanks! I'll ditch the old sand. What's the reason live rock can be transferred but not sand?

 

[Frostyfish]

One more ? Should I use the water I have in the 20 for the BC? Would that eliminate the cycle or just make it have lower levels of ammonia to nitrite to nitrate levels

 

[jahmic]

Thanks! I'll ditch the old sand. What's the reason live rock can be transferred but not sand?

Rock is rock. When you move it, bacteria on the outside stay there, and anoxic bacteria that live in low oxygen environments stay on the inside of the rock. Your sandbed is a relatively fragile bacteria filter. There are layers of bacteria in the sandbed, and potentially pockets of partially decayed waste in "dead zones" of the sandbed. By stirring up and transferring the sandbed, you run the risk of introducing that waste to the new system (which adds ammonia), and also risk killing large numbers of bacteria as colonies in the low O2 zones are exposed to oxygen rich water (which adds more ammonia through die-off). Conversely...a single scoop will seed the tank with bacteria, and allow it to populate to a level that is supported by the tank's bioload with minimal die off. It's not that transferring sand ALWAYS leads to a bad situation, but it's definitely a risk. Microfauna including filter feeders, worms, and pods that live in the sandbed will also need a stable system to thrive in, and moving them to a new, somewhat sterile environment that may suffer an ammonia spike will only add to the initial spike in ammonia when they die off.

One more ? Should I use the water I have in the 20 for the BC? Would that eliminate the cycle or just make it have lower levels of ammonia to nitrite to nitrate levels

The water itself has a very low concentration of bacteria floating around. IMO you are better off just using a fresh salt mix. If you are transferring coral directly from the 20 to the 29 from day 1...then re-using the water can help ease any problems caused by a sudden shift in parameters, otherwise it's not necessary and has little benefit.

 

[CRW Reef]

There is a very common hobby misconception about re-using old water in thinking it will keep the new tank from cycling. When actually the cycling is occurring in the rock, sand and whatever else (no liquid) you have in there that might have dad organics in or on them. So re-using your water generally only keeps you from having to make or buy new saltwater. However if your tank is low in some portion of the desired chemistry or say high in nitrates then certainly the new batch of Salt Water would be greatly beneficial. A some what common practice I think is to safe half the existing and then do half new water. Alas in the end you cant go wrong with 29 gallons of all new water to start everything off.


Since it sounds like you might have the option to set up the BC29 before breaking down the 20 gallon, I would def setup the BC29 with what ever rock you are planning to use, new sand and new water. Let it cycle and then once you have tested it and get all zeros on ammonia, nitrites and nitrates and your levels are all stable; go ahead an move things over.

 

[zombie]

There is a very common hobby misconception about re-using old water in thinking it will keep the new tank from cycling.

+1. However, it may be to his advantage to use water from the old tank to ease any acclimation of fish an corals. Below is what I did when I upgraded from my 75 to my 125 and no coral were mad for more than a few hours when they got moved.


Set up new tank with new salt mix, 1 scoop of sand from old tank, all the new rock, and 1 rock from the old tank. Additional bacteria seeding from dr tims one and only

Twice weekly for 1 month:
- remove 10 gal of water from 125
- replace with 10 gal from 75
- rop of 75 with fresh salt mix

Weekly
- move one rock with no coral on it from 75 to 125

Daily (weeks 3 and 4)
- put 5 gal from 125 in a bucket
- put 5 gal from 75 in a bucket
- put 125 bucket into 75
- put 75 bucket into 125
- feed 10 drops of phyto

Week 3
- add bottle of copepods


The result of this was both tanks running at exactly the same levels of everything by the time I moved everything over and no acclimation was needed. I just plopped them from the 75 to the 125 (after temp was within 0.1 degrees) Pod population was booming too.

 

[SkyDiv3r17]

Just so you know it can be much easier. I just moved from a 75g with 29g sump to a 40 breeder AIO. I set up the 40 where I wanted it, and filled it with new live sand and about 10 inches of old tank water. Put about 4 peices of live rock from the tank over and let the water (using pumps) clear b over night. Next morning I filled the tank with all the rock I wanted and about 1/3 the rest new salt water. Let sit for about 2 hours for water to clear, then I added all of my corals and fish.

Literally everything was in specs and all was well. Just went through 3 filter socks lol.

Keep in mind a cycle is caused by something dead. So if nothing is dead or dies, likely you won't have a problem (like myself). When you stir your old sand, add dry rock, that can kill stuff, thus causing a cycle. (And so can a lot more).

All your doing is changing sand, doing a water change, and changing tanks. Just keep things stable and you'll be ok!