Additives to use during cycle with dry rock?

[mikee002]

I'm planning on getting dry rock from reef cleaners and noticed that the have an additive called Two Little Fishies Bactiv8® NPX. Is an additive like this beneficial to cycling or is it unnecessary? I've heard of adding a shrimp to start the cycle... Are these additives doing the same thing or is it something completely different? Thanks

 

[tankstudy]

This looks like a product to seed biopellet reactors. These bacteria are generally good for removing nitrates. This is not a necessary item for cycling.

However, this will be good for when your ready to remove nitrates from your system.

 

[MmmmBalf]

Bactiv8 is nothing to do with cycling - as stated above it's for use in removing Nitrates (used with biopellet reactor). The shrimp is a source of ammonia. You need a source of ammonia to start the cycle, as that's what the beneficial bacteria use as an energy source, converting it to Nitrite in the process. You can also use pure bottled ammonia or some people use ghost feeding. You can buy Dr Tim's ammonia online or at an LFS. With dry rock you can add bacteria such as Dr Tim's One & Only (for saltwater) to speed up the cycling process.