First off.....let's remember, "There's more than one way to skin a cat".
I actually do the EXACT OPPOSITE.
The end result is the same but I just do it differently.
Not only have I set up many of my own tanks, I've helped many St. Louisans set up their tanks too. My local Reef Club has something called a "Mentor Program". When a newbie joins the club, they have the option of having a Mentor help them through the whole process.....picking out equipment, setting up the tank, cycling the tank, stocking the tank, yada, yada, yada.
I use shrimp but I use it in the exact opposite fashion. If someone is starting a tank with either dry dead live rock or dry base rock and there's not going to be any die-off, that's when I use shrimp. If someone buys LR locally and I don't think there's going to be any die0-off, I will use some shrimp then as well. If the rock is uncured, partially cured, or it was fully cured but it was shipped far enough that there will be die-off, that's when I don't use any shrimp.
There's a misconception that a tank "Cycles" at the beginning and then it's done.....it's now "Cycled". This is not true at all. The Nitrogen Cycle is going on 24/7 in our tanks for the life of the tank. (So is the phosphorus cycle, Sulpher cycle, Carbon cycle, etc.)
Quote:
|
Some begin their tank cycle with non-cured live rock, and in the process effectively "cure" the rock. However, I recommend the shrimp even in that situation as it produces an excellent amount of decay and boosts the ammonia to start the most effective cycle. One thing you do not want to experience is adding a fish to a tank you "thought" was cycled with live rock only to have another ammonia spike with potential fatal results. This would be the case particularly if the life rock you cycled with did not produce sufficient die-off to peak your initial ammonia-nitrite-nitrate cycle.
|
I applaud this authors efforts to help others but there's a few problems. A bacterial population is HIGHLY dynamic. If you purposely spike Ammonia as high as possible to get as many bacteria as possible, you are not really building up a mega-army of bacteria to solve Ammonia problems when you have your first fish. That's because when you remove the shrimp, some bacteria will go into stasis...most others will die and provide soluble phosphates for cyanobacteria, diatom algae, other algae spores that arrived with the LR. The VERY FIRST TIME your new fish poops or the very first time you add some food that goes uneaten, you will get additional Ammonia. It has absolutely nothing to do with the original size of the bacterial population. Ammonia Oxidizing Bacteria populations will increase immediately. If you throw 8 fish into your 55g the first day you cycled, you might lose one or two. Add one fish...let the bacterial population grow for a short time. Add another fish then.....yada, yada, yada. Additionally, Nitrite Oxidizing Bacteria are hampered by high Ammonia levels so trying to get that Ammonia spike high is merely extending your "Initial Cycle" (and the amount of algae you get while cycling because there will be more bacterial die-off. You don't have to give them fish food or fish poop for phosphorus....they can dissolve it right off of your sand and your rock).
Cocktail shrimp cycling? 
