Willbennett00 Posted September 1, 2020 Report Share Posted September 1, 2020 Hey everyone, I was in the reef tank hobby back in high school a few years ago. I’m getting back into it with a nano tank as that’s what space will allow for, and would like some advice. Soon I will be starting my tank and would like to know how you all go about getting the tank cycled and ready for fish and corals. I’ve seen some great tanks that are setup all in one day and never have an issue like the cube from Reef Builders. I’ve also seen tanks where the cycle was done over a four month period. When I first started I took the longer approach but didn’t really look into any other way. Would you all recommend a long cycle or is it really just up to the owner? I of course would love to get it up and off the ground as soon as I can but I don’t want to set myself up for failure in the long run. I’ll be running a Nuvo 10 with an AI prime 16, ghost desktop skimmer (after cycling), and a filter basket holding filter padding, gfo, and carbon. It’ll have a 2” sand bed and a fairly light rock scape. Hoping to do mainly LPS and softies with maybe a low maintenance SPS or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGrand Posted September 2, 2020 Report Share Posted September 2, 2020 I used Dr. Tim's cycle process with new unseeded rock. The sand was "live" sand. I used Dr. Tim's One and Only, MicroBacter7, and Prodibio Digest as the bacteria additives. It still took a solid 3-4 weeks to get through all the peaks and valleys of ammonia, nitrates and nitrites. I can not tell you anything about the tanks that are setup in a day. All I can tell you is take the cycle stage slow and steady as that is the most important part to a solid tank. Test daily for ammonia and nitrites until you have that under control and then start on the perimeters. I documented my cycle on reef2reef.com Here is the link: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/cycling-levels.544637/ and also https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/cycling-new-tank.537812/ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryansweet Posted September 2, 2020 Report Share Posted September 2, 2020 Every tank I’ve started has been cycled for at least a month. I’ve never used any of the beneficial bacteria’s, but have heard good things about them. I have rock that was dry cycling in a brute that will be there for a few months before I start my next endeavor, as well as at least a month once the new tank is up and running. I’m not saying that a tank can’t be successful with shorter cycles, just that I’ve never done it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulS.46122 Posted September 2, 2020 Report Share Posted September 2, 2020 My NUVO 10 was started with live rock and some live bacteria. It worked, but I still lost fish in the beginning. Personally for me, in the future if I ever start up a tank again, it would go through a full natural cycle. Rushing in this hobby isn't a great idea in my honest opinion. Also if you get in the habit doing 2 gallon waterchanges weekly, you don't need a skimmer. Save that money for frags! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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