Cycling my tank

[Steve Berguetski]

Hello everyone,

I got my aquascape done and filled my system with fresh ro/di. Next is to add salt and cycle the dead rock. How exactly do I accomplish this? Should I just run the system with no light for a month? Do I need to seed the tank with bacteria? Will the biofilm grow without light? Should the skimmer be on or off during the cycle? I guess I need more info before proceeding.

 

[mtraylor]

A little off topic, but I had to comment. Great rock work!

 

[Steve Berguetski]

A little off topic, but I had to comment. Great rock work!

Thanks, It was my first attempt at anything other than a pile of rocks. Epoxy, super glue, and a bit of patience....

 

[Rufus’ goofs]

I would either get a piece of live rock, or a bottle of dr Tim’s or biopsira, and then give it just a little fish food every couple days.

I would keep the skimmer off for the first week or two, and not run lights for about a month or so.

There are lots of methods and most of them work. If you would like to try some other ways, experimentation is always fun.

There are several threads on here that will list a couple different s ways to cycle effectively. I’d encourage you to do a search for them and give them a read

Happy reefing!

 

[Bob Weigant]

Not sure how many people here use this product but I started all my tanks off with Dr Tim's One and Only