The Cycle?

[fagundespavinp3]

Hello All, I'm new to the saltwater side of the Aquariums. in to my Question, from what i have read the Cycling of the Tank has shown to be one of the most important things to do for you emerging ecosystem but there are a few things hat I'm still un clear about. 1) when beginning you cycle process dose one have the tank up and running i.e. ( pumps, Sump, skimmer, power heads...) with your Uncooked shrimp decomposing on the bottom of the tank , Or is the water stagnate with maybe very little flow. 2) when the cycle process is going is the Lights to be on or is it to left dark, or is the lights to be set on the timer as if it was going to be operating with that particular light cycle for the life of the tank. 3)what is the realistic time frame to expect the tank to fully cycle if left to work "organically" no liquid Boosters, 1.2.6 months? If some one could help that would be great I'm not going to start this till I have enough info that I feel comfortable to have nearly 100% success rate chance so do not harm any of my future inhabitance.

 

[Love the Tang]

I would leave the tank running as if it were fully stocked and up light cycle pumps power heads skimmer ect. The good bacteria needs time 8-13 weeks or until your ammonia and nitrites test 0 some nitrates are ok.

 

[Krimzon]

I think you'll be fine with just the pump on during the cycle, unless you want the diatoms to show up earlier you don't have to have your lights on nor your powerhead. Don't forget there's multiple cycles that go on not just the nitrogen cycle(ammonia-nitrite-nitrate) you should also get your nitrates and phosphates down to 0 before fully stocking the tank. You can add a fish or some inverts after 4-6months(assumption) but I'd wait on fully stocking it as you will have to fight with nitrates and phosphates and algae problems later on.

 

[fagundespavinp3]

Thank you for the responses. I cant wait to get my first tank up and running.

 

[fagundespavinp3]

Another Question. I live fairly close to the Ocean and have access to open ocean water could this be used to help with start of the cycle or wait to use ocean water for water changes. or Avoid collecting real ocean water???

 

[Reefing Madness]

There are quite a few residents by the ocean that use the water, go ahead. Some will say its a bad idea, but others continue to use it without issues. So you can throw it in there from the start.

 

[glb]

I used seawater but stopped because the ph and alk were never consistent. I found that if the water was stored for any length of time it had to be dosed before I used it.

 

[fagundespavinp3]

That's weird one would think that the seawater would be the prime water that one would want to use as ocean water is stable and consistent. Thanks for the feed back. Keep em coming.

 

[glb]

I think if you use it right away you might not have those problems. I bought mine at a lfs so it had been sitting by the time I got it home. Also, you want to make sure the water you collect doesn't have pollutants. I know it's been used successfully by a lot of people.

 

[fagundespavinp3]

Ok thanks for the feed back! I'm going down today to my Local Acrylic plastics Shop and try and get a few 4x8 Sheets and see what I can come up with. I'm a big fan of the low and Wide tanks no so much the Big Show tanks. Also I have heard a lot that it is easier to maintain a large volume of water tank than a small nano tank as a beginner. true or false??

 

[glb]

It depends on how you define easy. Smaller tanks are harder to keep stable and things can go wrong fast, so you have to really be disciplined and keep an eye on them. But, water changes,maintenance and dosing are much quicker. Large tanks are much more stable for beginners but all of the above takes longer and costs more. So it's a tradeoff IMO. If this is your first saltwater tank, a 40g breeder would be a great compromise. Good luck!!