"Instant" cycling

you got the rest of your life to do this and fill your tank unless your 95 and have heart trouble.

 

I know, and believe me, I would never endanger an animal out of impatience. I guess this thread came off differently than what I was thinking.

 

Regardless of everything previously said, I am going with a 20 Gallon tank that will be filled with Live Rock and water from my reef and dry sand. Because there will be no die off and there will be enough bacteria already to handle the bioload of the tank, the tank won't cycle. Thats what an instant cycle is I guess.

 

Agreed. Only bad things and bank account drains happen quickly in saltwater. "Go slow & let it grow." If you rush now it will never stop...

 

I always steer clear of adding chemical to speed up something Mother Nature will do with time. That to me is just a waste of money, but that's just me.

 

If you can get your hands on some fully cured LR from a good LFS then purchase it. The rock I bought was full of life and full of coraline algae. I never saw an ammonia spike when I started my tank and nitrite barely moved. I was suprised by this. You still need to take your time and don't expect an instant cycle.

 

I agree with this statement. I personally dont like the "artificial" way of reefing, I like it as natural as it can be. Even if it is good and safe, I dont like it. Just my 2 cents. Luna

 

I'm amazed at how "off" your thread is being read. It's kind of bothering me a bit.

Anyways, God had it right from the get-go. I say no chemicals, just use precured precycled rock, sand without anything dead in it, and water from your established tank and you will be good to go.

This isn't necessarily true. There will be no die off, correct, but there will still be a mini cycle. The bacteria in the tank have to adjust to the new load and new tank setup, but it will be fish ready instantly and your mini cycle will last a few days to a week tops as the bacteria adjusts to the new home. It's the same effect as if you added live rock to a pre established tank, the rock has to "adjust" to the new amount of filtration, leading to a small mini cycle, but your fish and inverts survive it without problems. (if they didn't, we wouldn't add extra rock when we needed it would we?)

I say go with the plan you have right now. It will be fish read instantly, but I would still slowly stock it. If you do not put a fish in there at the start, be sure you have something in there making poo. Or waste of some sort.

 

I think my favorite part of the hobby is waiting.. watching things slowly take off... from your first fan worm, to speckles of coraline, to the nerve racking algae blooms. I like a challenge. Now I'm in the anticipating my coral and coralline spreading through the tank. My favorite part was waiting, researching, and wondering what to put in my tank. Oh.. those sleepless nights. I have room for another fish, but I want to wait. If you have used these products with success, by all means, it seems your gonna do it anyways regardless of what people say. I understand, because I like to hear peoples' opinions to sway my decision. Good luck!