New tank cycle

[Richard savage]

Hey guys, i'm not new to reefing but I am in the process of setting up a 180 gal aquarium. water is being added right now and then I am going to let it run its course and cycle for 3-5 months. when my dad and i first got into saltwater we were instructed to throw food into to water and let the perimeters spike and then the tank would cycle and thats how we have done it for years, Now I am curious if there are any newer more efficient methods. anything you would also recommend as far as additives that i could benefit from and add over the next couple months would also be appreciated let me know what you think !!

 

[Spare time]

Yes there are much more efficient methods that can cycle your tank anywhere between 3 days to a week. Use ammonium chloride from Dr Tim's (algaebarn has nitrocycle which is the same and so does brightwell aquatics), dose ammonia to 3ppm. Then dose bacteria (dr tims one and only, microbacter start xlm, and fritz turbo900 are the fastest. Wait till ammonia and nitrite is gone and then dose ammonia again. Check till ammonia and nitrate are gone. Once gone, do a big water change and then add fish. Alternatively, you could dose Dr Tim's Waste away or similar (Microbacter Clean is another brand and there are more) to get nitrate back down. Then add fish! There is no reason to wait 3-5 months. Adding live sand is a good idea. I recommend dry rock though as most live rock these days is concentrated with aquariums store pests and not much of the cool stuff.