Newbie tank cycle question

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scottj2

AC Members
Oct 21, 2004
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Hi everyone-
My 12g Nano Cube will be here wednesday :D I bought some salt, a hydrometer, a test kit and a heater. I'm thinking about using the cocktail shrimp method for cycling the tank. My question is...do I run the filter during this time, or just let the shrimp decompose without any filtration? Also, my LFS sold me some "Stress Zyme" biological additive which she said will drastically speed up the cycling time. Is this something I should use, or avoid? I plan on adding some live sand and rock after the initial ammonia spike subsides. Thanks for the info...

Jeremy

oh, and one more thing... Is it necessary to use a power head during the cycling phase?
 
Yes, you want to run the filters and powerheads during cycling. The filter is where you want the bacteria to colonize, so having water moving through there is important. The powerheads will help, as well, and also encourage the sand to settle out. I wouldn't bother with the Stress Zyme--there's no proof I've seen to indicate the bacteria present in it are the same ones that colonize aquariums--meaning, it doesn't do anything beneficial. Adding some live rock rubble or a scoop of sand from a healthy tank will do far more to speed the cycle than the bottled products.
 
Thanks oriongirl, I just picked up a powerhead, test kit and play sand today to set up the base of the DSB and I'll add live sand later. A question about the play sand though...I bought a bag of Quikrete brand Sand Box Play Sand at Lowes for under $3. It says "Sterlized, sifted and dried" on the package, but doesnt tell if its argonite or not. Does anyone know if this sand is ok? I think you can probably find it at www.quikrete.com under play sand. Lowes was the only place in my area that had sand box sand.

I get the Nano Cube tomorrow and the cycling will begin :D I can't wait. I'll post pics of the whole cycling process because I haven't seen any for a 12g Nano cube yet.

Take it easy....
Jeremy
 
Think that most here will agree that although the silica sand, Quikrete, won't give you any of the added benefits like aragonite sand will it still will work fine for you tank. Hope it's ok anyways cause that's what I had to use. I'd suggest washing it really good first so it isn't as dusty.
 
Well, I just got my new Nano Cube DX today and just finished setting it up. I've gotta admit...I've only had a saltwater aquarium for about 4 hours and I'm already hooked.

Anyway, I put 10lbs of argonite sand in and filled it with water using a plastic bag over the sand to avoid stirring the sand up too much. I then added the salt and put in an extra power head to help mix the water up. Now I'm just going to wait a day or two for the salt to dissolve and the SG to stabilize. So far so good... In the next couple of day's I'll be adding a cocktail shrimp to help the cycling, and then eventually 10 lbs of live sand and probably 15 or so pounds of live rock, but only after the ammonia spike subsides. Let me know what you think and if you have any pointers.

Tank 003.jpg Tank 004.jpg Tank 006.jpg
 
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Just a follow up...
I let the tank run over night and checked the salinity when I woke up this morning; 1.022, good deal. I checked the ph and ammonia....both perfect. So I figured I'd throw in the cocktail shrimp to get this cycling going. I just checked the ammonia after the shrimp has been in there for about 12 hours and it's over 1.0ppm. Nitrites and nitrates are still perfect and so is the PH. I guess this thing is starting to go...We'll see what happens over the next couple of weeks.
 
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