Cycling with live brine shrimp?

M

manowar669

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Sep 11, 2004
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On a small marine tank, could you start cycling with live brine shrimp? They've probably got bacteria in their tiny guts, they're cheap, and if they die, oh well, they'll rot and provide ammonia that way.
I just set up a small tank, and it'll be a while before I can put anything in it, and I had some live brineshrimp for my freshy tanks, so I thought I could introduce SOME life until I can get some liverock in there. Opinions?
 
Yeah, the smell is horrible. But either way you will get a horrible smell if you decide to use uncured liverock or dead shrimp method.
 
You don't need live brine to cycle!
You can use frozen food, flake food, freeze dried, whatever.
What you need is a source of ammonia and as the food decomposes, ammonia is produced. Once ammonia is in the system, the bacteria develop to process the ammonia and you don't have to add the bacteria.
Personally, I use ammonium chloride that I purchased at the pharmacy.
I have heard some claim to have used household cleaning ammonia that doesn't have anything else in it, but I've never tried it myself.
 
Personally I like the al natural way and just let it cycle with the live rock unless you are in a big rush. Biological filtration is the most important part of the filtration system. If you need to add something, perhaps a cycle product would work as well but I just tend to shut the lights off and let her run for 20-30 days.

Mike
 
Go to your LFS and ask for some skimmate it may get you some funny looks but what better to cycle your tank than the exact thing you are skimming useing LR to get rid of!
 
Sevenstar said:
Yeah, the smell is horrible. But either way you will get a horrible smell if you decide to use uncured liverock or dead shrimp method.
Click to expand...

Oh you're not kidding! I used the dead shrimp method to cycle the tank in my bedroom. The living room couch was my new bed for almost 3 weeks.

:rolleyes:
 
5xevy said:
Oh you're not kidding! I used the dead shrimp method to cycle the tank in my bedroom. The living room couch was my new bed for almost 3 weeks.

:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I'm about to do this shrimp method. why does it smell? I don't get it.
 
Usually, when something is dead and rots, it smells...Its a part of the decomposing portion of life...

Saying that, when i used the shrimp method on my old 46gal for cycling, i never smelt a thing from it...

Niko
 
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