Cycling Tank

Hetts · Apr 2, 2023

GatorGreg said:
Future readers of this thread. If you buy LIVE WET rock FORGET about the dr Tim’s fishless cycle stuff. It’s not for you

it’s for people using dead, dry and white rock and dry dead sand. Put your wet live sand and wet live rock in your tank and you’re rolling. Wait a week if you’d like but you’re ready now. The rock you bought has an established bio filter already. Yes your tank needs to adjust to every addition so go slow.

So should I do a water change and get some fish or what. Idk what to do cause I get so many mixed answers lol

vetteguy53081 · Apr 2, 2023

Stephen8169301 said:
Would changing water slow the process down?

It will reduce amount

Bruttall · Apr 2, 2023

twentyleagues said:
According to the thread I posted above when using Dr Tim's if you follow the directions you are ready for fish when the calender says you are. Regardless of nitrite readings if you show nitrates it's cycled. That goes against everything I have ever done. I've always waited for everything to be 0 except nitrate, do a water change and add fish slowly. That thread states nitrite isnt applicable in salt water....???? I found a few other things on this but nothing concrete. So many stalled cycle threads. I'm worried I'm about to go through it too.

a Fish In cycle can't stall out, you just have to monitor it a lot more closely and be prepared to say goodbye to a 30-dollar fish (Assuming clowns are about the same price for you as me) I'm not a fan of using chemicals in tanks. Not for algae, not for bacteria. And since all you need to start a bacteria cycle is a tank with circulating water in it, and a little flake fish food, or pellets, ground up as fine as you can so it disperses and decays in the water faster. I did a fish in cycle on my marine tank. best way to cycle a tank IMO.

twentyleagues · Apr 2, 2023

Bruttall said:
a Fish In cycle can't stall out, you just have to monitor it a lot more closely and be prepared to say goodbye to a 30-dollar fish (Assuming clowns are about the same price for you as me) I'm not a fan of using chemicals in tanks. Not for algae, not for bacteria. And since all you need to start a bacteria cycle is a tank with circulating water in it, and a little flake fish food, or pellets, ground up as fine as you can so it disperses and decays in the water faster. I did a fish in cycle on my marine tank. best way to cycle a tank IMO.

On all my fresh tanks I've used live fish or snails and microbacter7. Never had an issue.

Dbichler · Apr 2, 2023

All this talk with use of live rock in the first place. There is no cycle. This is clearly a tank transfer which many people do all the time no matter what the test results say he’s been cycled since day one. Adding ammonia is showing he has nitrites because that’s the process of converting ammonia to nitrites then it will be to nitrates. If he did a waterchange or not this tank is capable of handling a fish.