Cycling a nano reef tank

[Marylynn11]

Hi!
I’m setting up a nano mixed reef tank. I have the waterbox 20 aio cube and the Red Sea 50 lights with a power head. I have 15 lbs of live rock and a thick bed of Fiji pink sand. I used dechlorinator and let it sit over night than added dr. Tim’s one and only. I also scraped in some coralline algae off of a rock given to me. Do you suggest cycling with or without fish? Do you cycle with lights on or off?

 

[Azedenkae]

Hi!
I’m setting up a nano mixed reef tank. I have the waterbox 20 aio cube and the Red Sea 50 lights with a power head. I have 15 lbs of live rock and a thick bed of Fiji pink sand. I used dechlorinator and let it sit over night than added dr. Tim’s one and only. I also scraped in some coralline algae off of a rock given to me. Do you suggest cycling with or without fish? Do you cycle with lights on or off?

Hola. Welcome to R2R.

Cycling an Aquarium

Cycling a new aquarium. One of the earliest topics a new aquarium hobbyist needs to learn is how to properly cycle their aquarium. There is a ton of information on this process and many different methods on how to accomplish it. There are many different chemical and biological cycles our tank...

www.reef2reef.com

That thread should answer a lot of your questions.

For the lights question in particular though, either/or works.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

If the rock is actually live rock then I have good news, you are cycled. Live rock means it was shipped/purchased wet. If your rock was dry when you purchased it then cycle without fish for about a week. I prefer to put the rock in a bucket with a raw shrimp or some fish food and a hefty dose of bottled bacteria. Leave it for a solid week and then into the tank.

Bacteria works with an ammonia source so ghost feed the tank. You can also read up on the thread posted above.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Welcome and as stated above, if you started with wet live rock (truly live as in cured and been in system for a while) you are all set. No cycle will be seen. Have fun. Keep us posted.

 

[Marylynn11]

Hi! It is dry rock! So assuming it’ll be a long time till cycled. I’m just trying to decide if I should cycle with fish or without?

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Cycling with fish can burn the gills. Just use some fish food and hold off on the fish for a week or two.

 

[Marylynn11]

Cycling with fish can burn the gills. Just use some fish food and hold off on the fish for a week or two.

Perfect! Thank you so much!

 

[Marylynn11]

Perfect! Thank you so much!

Also what’s the best food to ghost feed with?

 

[MarkyMark_]

Hi! It is dry rock! So assuming it’ll be a long time till cycled. I’m just trying to decide if I should cycle with fish or without?

I suggest using Dr. tims ammonium chloride. This way you can control exactly how much ammonia enters your system. Once the cycle completes, do a large water change (to lower the sky high nitrates you are sure to have) then your tank is ready for fish!

Nice tank BTW, I have the same one! Feel free to check out my build thread to follow my process with this same set up

 

[Azedenkae]

Hi! It is dry rock! So assuming it’ll be a long time till cycled. I’m just trying to decide if I should cycle with fish or without?

Since it is dry rock, I would suggest fishless cycling.

In my experience cycling with a fish is a pain. You have to try to keep it alive, etc., so that means water changes if ammonia gets too high, or you have to constantly dose Prime, which is also a pain. You are not as free to do whatever when there is a fish, as it could die. I mean not everyone cares about the life of their cycling fish, but that is not exactly the point - you kinda want it to be alive for a while for the ammonia production. I guess if it dies it acts just like a piece of shrimp. But then like, you also just wasted a bunch of money when you could have just bought a bottle of pure ammonia for like $8.

That's why I prefer fishless cycling, specifically with dosing pure ammonia. So much more control.

 

[Marylynn11]

I suggest using Dr. tims ammonium chloride. This way you can control exactly how much ammonia enters your system. Once the cycle completes, do a large water change (to lower the sky high nitrates you are sure to have) then your tank is ready for fish!

Nice tank BTW, I have the same one! Feel free to check out my build thread to follow my process with this same set up

Thanks so much! I'll check it out!

 

[Marylynn11]

Since it is dry rock, I would suggest fishless cycling.

In my experience cycling with a fish is a pain. You have to try to keep it alive, etc., so that means water changes if ammonia gets too high, or you have to constantly dose Prime, which is also a pain. You are not as free to do whatever when there is a fish, as it could die. I mean not everyone cares about the life of their cycling fish, but that is not exactly the point - you kinda want it to be alive for a while for the ammonia production. I guess if it dies it acts just like a piece of shrimp. But then like, you also just wasted a bunch of money when you could have just bought a bottle of pure ammonia for like $8.

That's why I prefer fishless cycling, specifically with dosing pure ammonia. So much more control.

Where can I find pure ammonia for a fish tank, reading some other posts and this sounds like the way to go. I don't want to add fish if they are gonna suffer or die!

 

[Azedenkae]

Where can I find pure ammonia for a fish tank, reading some other posts and this sounds like the way to go. I don't want to add fish if they are gonna suffer or die!

Just google 'Dr. Tim's Ammonia' and you'll see plenty of places to buy from. I got mine from Amazon.

You can also buy it directly from the Dr. Tim's Aquatics website: https://store.drtimsaquatics.com/Ammonium-Chloride-Solution-for-Fishless-Cycling.html

Bulk Reef Supplies, Marine Depot, etc. all stock them. Surprisingly LiveAquaria does not.

 

[Jekyl]

In your original post you said you added dechlorinator? Save money buying chemicals and get yourself an RoDi filter. In the long run tap water will cause way more issues than waiting a few extra days for the tank to cycle.

 

[Jekyl]

Toss a piece of uncooked shrimp in there and order some salifert test kits and an RoDi. By the time they show up and you get used to testing parameters it'll be time for a large water change and your first fish.

 

[JacobPF14]

Surprised no one suggested it, look into turbo 900 or biospira at your local LFS. Dumped an entire bottle into my tank and it was fish ready in 2 days. If I recall correctly, (though not sure if it's the best advice, has worked for me though) you can add fish once there is 0 ammonia. Clowns atleast arent so sensitive to lower numbers of nitrites and nitrates in the water.