New to hobby cycling question

[EastCoastJon]

Hey I'm new to the saltwater hobby(done fresh water for years) and looking to start up a reef tank 20g how long should the cycle be I've been hearing a lot of mixed answers hoping to clear the air I have live sand and I'm going to do dry rock I know you are supposed to do fish before coral but how long before adding fish then adding coral?

 

[cvu]

Please search the net for Dr Tim method. There are some measurements you have to do before adding fish.

 

[Jimbo327]

The cycle will go as long as it needs. So you need to add some type of ammonia (this can be a piece of food, or ammonia solution), now people frown on using fish to cycle the tank. Anyways, the cycle will go on until your bacteria in the tank is built up sufficiently to go through the nitrogen cycle of ammonia > nitrite > nitrate. So people starting their tanks will test for these to see when each will go down. When the cycle is done, you will detect zero ammonia and nitrite...or at least very very low. I would add in a big of live sand or rubble from another reefer to kick start the bacteria. Other also add in bottled bacteria to speed the process.

Or you can just wait it out, and keep feeding to get ammonia into the tank, and wait a month. That's usually how long it takes.

 

[drexel]

I'm not a fan of dry rock, so brace yourself for a very long waiting period before you can keep coral, which can take up to a year before your tank is stable enough to support coral. I would definitely add some trusted live rock (or rubble) and sand to the mix. Bottled bacteria is very limited and in the end not the most important bacteria that you want to culture. I also would advise you to buy volume III of The Reef Aquarium by Delbeek and Sprung, especially if this is your first reef tank. The information contained in this book (and volume I) will give you 99% of what you need to be successful in this hobby. If you're worried about pests, then the new Marco "live" rock might be an option or you could buy some sand and rubble from Aquabiomics, as it is tested for pathogens(to make sure it's free of them) and bacteria stains that you want.

 

[tygerjace]

I agree with Jimbo327. Cycling process is no different from freshwater cycling as for time, usually takes 1mnth min given that you do what you're suppose to do; feed tank etc.

I'm actually cycling a 150g as we speak using arag-alive sand and acid wash/bleach washed live rock. i fed the tank mostly with flake food and used Bio-Digest Probidio for bacteria. I waited 1.5mnths since 1mnth is the bare minimum. Added a clown fish and a frag of space invader pectinia as a gauge. Clownfish is happy, pectinia is doing good but would probably be happier if lights are on. Space invader i actually put in a wk prior to adding the clown. I'll pull the space invader out since i don't plan to turn on lights yet because I don't want an algae bloom.

You can add HARDY corals right after the cycle with fish. Go slow don't pile in corals and fish all at once. Take this with a grain of salt. There's alot you'll need to know so do your research.

I also recently added bottles of copepods, this is optional and not needed after cycling but it will help seed your tank a lot faster.

Hope that helps

 

[OldReefGuy]

Hey I'm new to the saltwater hobby(done fresh water for years) and looking to start up a reef tank 20g how long should the cycle be I've been hearing a lot of mixed answers hoping to clear the air I have live sand and I'm going to do dry rock I know you are supposed to do fish before coral but how long before adding fish then adding coral?

"I know you are supposed to do fish before coral but how long before adding fish then adding coral?"
Just curious where you got this from??

 

[N2SWIMN]

I suggest you view the BRSTV series on YouTube. Lots of good information that will save you time, heartaches, headaches, and money.

 

[krayzie321]

Also listen to reef therapy podcast lots of info there just maybe like the first 50 episodes with Jake


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Corksandcorals]

I agree with watching BRSTV!!! But the answer to that question differs like if your using dry rock or live rock or size of the tank. Corals need stability and new tanks are all over the map with parameters. Most of my new tanks i use dry rock and wait over a month before adding coral. Live rock will def speed up the process but at a risk of adding unwanted pests


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[joseserrano]

Dry Rock, specifically Marco rock is a pain. Caribsea and other man made crocks are not as challenging to work with