Ready to Start My cycle?

[fernalfer]

Ok i'm ready to start my cycle but not sure which way i shall do it. I Have completely dry Marco Rock, no live rock. I put in Caribsea live sand. I have 120 gallon tank.


1. Shrimp method: Which i heard can cloud the water, smell, and could cause algae blooms.


2.Or go with a Nitrifying Bacteria in a bottle product like, Bio Spira, Dr Tims, MicroBacter7
and adding ammonia to feed it.


Which method should i go with? #2 sounds like the easier of the 2 but would like some pros and cons of either or.

 

[JPSika08]

I just went through shrimp method and have used this on my last 4 setups, it works, I even have the same rock.

As you are using Dry rock I would recommend to have some sponges or media filter in high flow areas in the sump so bacteria can colonize it and if you don't put in any live rock, you'll need to use bacteria in a bottle just to kick start the cycle.

That's my 0.02 cents.

 

[Zero Nitrates]

Bacteria in a bottle.

 

[Tahoe61]

Bacteria in a bottle and a pinch of dry fish food.

As previously posted seeding the system with filtration medium from a running system is of assist.