Bio in water

I know technically water isn't supposed to carry any good bacteria, but if an aquarium was filled with real ocean water and dry rock would it eliminate having to go through a cycle? Or would it help at least to speed it up?

 

No.What you must understand is the "cycle" is happening constantly in a sw tank.There is an ebb and flow of populations that are dependant on alot of factors.These swings become less intense as your system matures but sudden deaths or polution are a constant threat. Rushing through anything will get you and your animals in trouble.Time heals alot of wounds and people who tinker too much end up frustrated and leaving.

 

I wasn't thinking of this to rush it, I will be using ocean water periodically but decided to do my install 90 gallon fill with ro water. I was just curious if the process would speed up if I went through the hassle of getting the full 90 gallons from the ocean first or not.

 

It probably wouldn't make a great difference. The bacteria will populate according to the environment.

 

You may wish to reconsider using sea water for fills or water changes. Depending on how far out you go to get the water, i can have significant amounts of contamination such as fecal coliform bacteria, oil, etc.... unfortunately we continue to use our oceans as dumps. If you have access to Ro, you may just want to use that all the time. As for the original question, using sea water will not speed the cycle, that is dependent upon bacteria which is primarily found in your live rock. Dr. Tims or a similar product will help with the initial seeding if you want things to move along a bit faster, but it is all dependent upon providing an ammonia source and letting the bacteria population take hold and stabilize. There several good threads with detailed explanations in the beginner section that I have referred to many times and have found helpful in understanding exactly what is happening in the tank and what I need to do when starting a new tank. Good luck.

 

The main advantage to using NSW over fresh-mixed artificial seawater is that it is mature and stable, which may allow the addition of more sensitive pets earlier in the tank's life. One can reap the same benefit by using old tank water from an established system, so long as it's clean.

To answer your question, no, it will not affect your cycle at all.

 

Well guys I went with the full mix of RO/DI and salt for the startup. I thought it would be too much to bring back that much water anyway. So maybe I will just do my water changes in the future with ocean water... who knows. I have the new RO/DI now anyway so either way is fine