Question on cycling brand new tank

C

Captain Ron

Reefing newb
So its been a few months and I am finally ready to start cycling my tank. (Perhaps I'll write a separate longer post sometime detailing my journey to entertain other obsessive compulsive people out there if there is interest.)

I have dead rock, dead aragonite sand, RO/DI water mixed with Instant Ocean salt to 1.025 at 78 degrees. All of this is in my tank with my mp10 powerhead and 200W heater.

My question is this, can I just add my 1 raw shrimp? As I understand it doesn't matter if it is frozen or not as long as it is uncooked? Can I remove the shell?

Do I need to add some established LFS water or live rock, or does the magical nitrifying bacteria come out of the air, or stay preserved on the frozen uncooked shrimp?

Thanks in advance. I did some forum searching but it seems like almost everyone is starting with something live and as far as I know, my tank is starting out totally dead and sterile.

-Capt. Ron
 
Just to be on the safe side, I would suggest you go to your LFS and buy one piece of live rock. It doesn't have to be very big. Even rubble that they sell for sumps would get you started. Be aware that starting with all dry rock and sand will greatly extend the cycle time. It might not be that much in a 20 gallon, but is a 75+ system it could take months.
 
Seeding with some live rock is a good idea. If you don't want to go this route there are other options as well. Either way you do have to introduce some bacteria to the tank to get them cultivated in any reasonable time.

Microbacter7, which many people seem to have had success with, is an example of these products. Just dump the whole bottle in with the circulation off and let it settle. Then add your shrimp. I'm not sure if frozen matter. I've only ever used non-frozen shrimp from the grocery store, personally.
Seems like you're on the right track, though. Good luck!
 
Those guys are right. :) You should add some sort of bacterial culture -- whether it be on a piece of live rock, or as an additive. And it doesn't matter if you use fresh or frozen shrimp. Just as long as it's raw or unseasoned. I doubt peeling it matters either.
 
Thank you for the advice everyone. I talked with a guy at the LFS and he recommended one of three options:

1. a piece of live rock
2. an additive
3. the natural sea water they have someone get, filter and bring in.

The LFS guy (I think he's the owner) claims he started one of their display tanks by cycling with just the sea water. I didn't want to dump one of their rocks in my tank, so since they raise lots of corals in their tanks with that water and they look fine, I figured why not and bought 5 gallons of their sea water. (all I had with me was a 5 gallon container) and dumped it into my 37 gallon tank. I suppose time will tell if it worked or if I was being foolish. I suppose I can always add in an additive later if the ammonia doesn't decrease. I measured today and it is at zero as one would expect :-)

-Capt. Ron
 
The bacteria actually don't live in the water. They live in the rocks. If you're going to seed your tank with something, it should be a piece of LR. The water, unfortunately, won't do anything for you.
 
I think ive read water can seed a tank if its from an established aquarium. Not 100% on that, but still pretty sure, either way your best bet is the rock and I would also suggest getting at least a piece or few pieces of rubble to do the job.
 
Your best option is to use the live rock. As Erin pointed out, the water will have very little bacteria in it. I think it will still work -- it will just take a really long time. Why do you have an issue with using live rock?
 
I was worried about bring home undesirables like aiptasia or bristle worms. I'll go with everyone's suggestions and go back to the LFS tomorrow and fetch myself a live rock. Any suggestions on what to look for? Is it possible to know ahead of time if I'm introducing a pest to the tank or am I just worrying too much? Thanks for all the help!

-Capt. Ron
 
Bristle worms are actually desirable. They're fabulous detrivores and are an invaluable part of your clean up crew.

Aiptasia you can usually see on the piece of rock, just look at the tank and pick out a piece that looks pest free. Even if you do bring home a rock that has aiptasia on it, it's super easy to get rid of it. Nothing to worry about. :)
 
You also have another option if you are scared of adding pests to your new tank... you can use a product called DrTim's Aquatics One and Only Live Nitrifying Bacteria for Cycling Reef and Nano Aquariums.

this will speedup the cycling process dramaticly...
 
Yes, bristleworms are good guys. :) They are a good member of the clean up crew.

I think you are worrying too much about the live rock. There is always the risk of bringing in pests, but they are usually easy to get rid of (once you spot them) and the good guys that come in on live rock outweighs the bad.
 
Most pests are fairly easy to deal with. You really just need a few pieces of live rock. You can feel a little better about buying it when they're smaller and you can examine more of them. Regardless, most rock at an LFS isn't truly what "live" rock is. That is just partially cured rock with the bacteria cultures on it (being sold at a premium).

True live rock is literally COVERED in stuff (check out d2mini's tank in the Tank Showcase section for an idea on what real live rock looks like). He just added hundreds of pounds of the stuff to his tank. Sure, it will definitely come with some pests, but its worth it for all the extra goodies.

The stuff I've seen at every LFS I've ever been to is just rock that's sat in a tank for awhile and therefore has the bacteria on it necessary to establish a bio filter, but it isn't REALLY live rock.

I wouldn't worry too much about adding it to your tank.
 
All live rock means is rock with bacteria.

The stuff that looks like Dennis' is ridiculous premium rock. I have never come across anything like that at my LFS.
 
Yeah, when I set up my 240, I set it up with 500 lbs of all live rock. There were some pests that came with it. But it was worth it. :)
 
That 500 lbs of live rock had to be super expensive. I got about 1 LB of live rock from one of the LFS and it started my cycle very nicely. Just have a 55 G so its only taken about 2 weeks and I am already pasted the ammonia spike and on to the nitrite spike.
 
I agree with Biff. I used 85 lbs of fully cured live rock in mine. I had a soft cycle. No ammonia spike at all. None of my parameters ever went above .25 and there was never detectable ammonia. I still let it run for a full 6 weeks before I added fish. I ran the skimmer for the last two weeks of that to break it in. If I had any pests, they never showed themselves.

My rock came from Vanuatu, Fiji and off the coast of Japan. I ordered it from various regions hoping for some interesting hitchhikers. Oh well.
 
cvcdrk said:
Most pests are fairly easy to deal with. You really just need a few pieces of live rock. You can feel a little better about buying it when they're smaller and you can examine more of them. Regardless, most rock at an LFS isn't truly what "live" rock is. That is just partially cured rock with the bacteria cultures on it (being sold at a premium).

True live rock is literally COVERED in stuff (check out d2mini's tank in the Tank Showcase section for an idea on what real live rock looks like). He just added hundreds of pounds of the stuff to his tank. Sure, it will definitely come with some pests, but its worth it for all the extra goodies.

The stuff I've seen at every LFS I've ever been to is just rock that's sat in a tank for awhile and therefore has the bacteria on it necessary to establish a bio filter, but it isn't REALLY live rock.

I wouldn't worry too much about adding it to your tank.
Click to expand...

Yup you nailed it. I picked up a pound of small fragments on Sunday and it was exactly how you described. Just pieces of rock with purple algae on it and I think some coraline algae. It is sitting in the tank now. The shrimp is going in tonight with or without the stocking to keep all the shrimpy bits together.

-Capt. Ron
 
So I've had the shrimp in the tank for 8 or 9 days in a stocking. Should I leave the shrimp in until ammonia and nitrite reach 0 or is there a benefit to leaving the shrimp in? Readings from Salifert test kits (my estimates of the color reading) are:

9/10 or 9/11 shrimp went in

9/15
ammonia 0.75-1.0 mg/L (NH3 + NH4+)
nitrite 0.1 mg/L (ppm)

9/16
ammonia 1.25-1.35
nitrite 0.2-0.3

9/17
ammonia 1.3-1.35
nitrite 0.4-0.5
nitrate 12-15

9/18
ammonia 1.4-1.5
nitrite 1.35

9/19
ammonia 1.35-1.4
nitrite 2

-Capt. Ron
 

Similar threads

F
New to marine.
Replies
2
Views
1K
kbuser92
kbuser92
Mike
We're Back!
Replies
0
Views
654
Mike
Mike
Susan
Cycling question
Replies
3
Views
3K
Susan
Susan
R
New to the hobby
Replies
3
Views
1K
SantaMonica
SantaMonica
J
Hello everyone! New tank issue @#$!
Replies
9
Views
4K
SarahSmile
SarahSmile
Back
Top