Maybe the live sand is enough but I think that recommendation is for live rock. If you have zero nitrates, I can’t see how you could be cycled. Ammonia gets converted to nitrite, then nitrate. If you have close to zero of all of them, it tells me there isn’t enough organic nitrogen in the system.
Hello! I started two small tanks last November using TBS sand and rock, so maybe I can help. You absolutely do not need to add any additional bottled bacteria to your system; you paid A LOT of money for that sand because it's teeming with microbes.
Glad you chimed in! I did not realize the TSB stuff was such high quality. I don’t consider most of the live sand like the arag-alive stuff from caribsea to be much different from dry sand. At least I don’t put it anywhere close to comparable to live rock.Hello! I started two small tanks last November using TBS sand and rock, so maybe I can help. You absolutely do not need to add any additional bottled bacteria to your system; you paid A LOT of money for that sand because it's teeming with microbes.
I think what other posters are suggesting is that because you used the live sand, your tank is essentially cycled, but you're not yet seeing nitrates because there's not much for ammonia at this point.
When I started my tanks, I definably had something of a 'mini-cycle' that really lasted a couple of weeks. There's so much life in the TBS sand and rocks, and even though they ship it quickly and carefully, there is without a doubt going to be die off. This die off, in my opinion, is all the ammonia you need to get your tank going.
For dry rock and sand, I'm a fan of bottled bacteria and bottled ammonium chloride, but I WOULD NOT add the ammonium chloride to your system. I'd be afraidyou'd add so much ammonia that you'd cause more die-off of the microbes you're hoping to cultivate.
In this case, I'd ghost feed some flaked or pellets, and see if you start to record some nitrates.
And FYI - You're going to love the rocks when you get them
Good luck with your tank!
Hello! I started two small tanks last November using TBS sand and rock, so maybe I can help. You absolutely do not need to add any additional bottled bacteria to your system; you paid A LOT of money for that sand because it's teeming with microbes.
I think what other posters are suggesting is that because you used the live sand, your tank is essentially cycled, but you're not yet seeing nitrates because there's not much for ammonia at this point.
When I started my tanks, I definitely had something of a 'mini-cycle' that really lasted a couple of weeks. There's so much life in the TBS sand and rocks, and even though they ship it quickly and carefully, there is without a doubt going to be die off. This die off, in my opinion, is all the ammonia you need to get your tank going.
For dry rock and sand, I'm a fan of bottled bacteria and bottled ammonium chloride, but I WOULD NOT add the ammonium chloride to your system. I'd be afraidyou'd add so much ammonia that you'd cause more die-off of the microbes you're hoping to cultivate.
In this case, I'd ghost feed some flaked or pellets, and see if you start to record some nitrates.
And FYI - You're going to love the rocks when you get them
Good luck with your tank!
Yeah, the TBS sand is 'real deal', they collect it off the ocean floor just like their live rock. Definitely not the same as Arag-alive type sand in a bag. TBS is all good stuff, loaded with microbes, but the OP likely got snails, crabs, and other critters too.
Again, the TBS stuff is really, really great, your tank will settle down in no time. And I think you're doing the right thing by getting the sand first and the rock later. I ordered all at the same time, and I likely had more die off than necessary.
I believe you're mistaken about the sand Tampa Bay Saltwater sells. They do not claim it to be free of diseases. To the opposite, the sand is pulled up from the Gulf of Mexico, just like they do with their maricultured live rock. This sand is absolutely teeming with microbes and macro life, both good and bad, just as much as if the OP had used TBS live base rock.
Poppycock!
But if the "cycle" bacteria population is always in flux, expanding with load, why wouldn't it expand into the rocks as the need arise? This isn't complicated. Just don't dump 20 fish on there on day 1
Not necessarily. No bio load and live sand.
