Hi Everyone,
I'm as new to the aquarium hobby as they come.. have never done anything close this.. and yes I picked one of most complicated- a FOWLR saltwater tank. I've learned a few lessons along the way and have been researching and trying things out for about 2- 3 weeks now.
I have a 42 gallon octagon tank with 5 pounds of live rock (3 Tonga branches), Florida crushed coral, and Emperor Bio Wheel 280 filter, and airstone and a heater.
My question is in regards to cycling. I have everything set up and used Cycle the first few days- no change in nitrate, nitrite or ammonia levels...then tried Stability- all levels are still normal. I just bought Bio Spira- after reading about the damage cycling does to fish- I'd really like to take the humane way and have a fishless cycle.. or at least prevent as much damage to my fish as possible. Can I cycle using just the small amount of live rock and the Bio Spira i bought?.. I don't have any friends with tanks and don't trust the LFS tanks for gravel. Should I add ammonia to sustain my bacteria? What do you guys think of the fish food method (putting flakes in the tank to create the ammonia)? Sorry if this was a little long. I appreciate any advice I can get!
I'm as new to the aquarium hobby as they come.. have never done anything close this.. and yes I picked one of most complicated- a FOWLR saltwater tank. I've learned a few lessons along the way and have been researching and trying things out for about 2- 3 weeks now.
I have a 42 gallon octagon tank with 5 pounds of live rock (3 Tonga branches), Florida crushed coral, and Emperor Bio Wheel 280 filter, and airstone and a heater.
My question is in regards to cycling. I have everything set up and used Cycle the first few days- no change in nitrate, nitrite or ammonia levels...then tried Stability- all levels are still normal. I just bought Bio Spira- after reading about the damage cycling does to fish- I'd really like to take the humane way and have a fishless cycle.. or at least prevent as much damage to my fish as possible. Can I cycle using just the small amount of live rock and the Bio Spira i bought?.. I don't have any friends with tanks and don't trust the LFS tanks for gravel. Should I add ammonia to sustain my bacteria? What do you guys think of the fish food method (putting flakes in the tank to create the ammonia)? Sorry if this was a little long. I appreciate any advice I can get!
