Can I cycle dry rock with established bio balls?

[Scotty LaBeouf]

Hello,
I have a 5 gallon shallow tank and am going to upgrade to one of the new UNS marine 9g peninsula tanks. Can't wait, they are sick!

Question: I have a new scape glued up for the 9g (dry marco rock). I put it in a 5 gallon bucket with about 2.5g of waste water from my auto water change reservoir and about 1.5g of fresh saltwater (pump and heater too of course). I have 6 bio balls from my LFS sump, which is a very old system, and just a couple drops of Microbacter 7 in the bucket with the new rock. Is that enough to cycle it? Should I drop a shrimp in there or some drops of phystofeast to spike the ammonia?

 

[Jedi1199]

Hello,
I have a 5 gallon shallow tank and am going to upgrade to one of the new UNS marine 9g peninsula tanks. Can't wait, they are sick!

Question: I have a new scape glued up for the 9g (dry marco rock). I put it in a 5 gallon bucket with about 2.5g of waste water from my auto water change reservoir and about 1.5g of fresh saltwater (pump and heater too of course). I have 6 bio balls from my LFS sump, which is a very old system, and just a couple drops of Microbacter 7 in the bucket with the new rock. Is that enough to cycle it? Should I drop a shrimp in there or some drops of phystofeast to spike the ammonia?

The Bio-balls will work. Their small size and limited surface area may add a few days to your cycle. If you have a rock from your existing tank, going from 5g to 9g should be a non-issue. A chunk of rock from the existing tank will skip-cycle the new one no problem.