substituting live sand for regular sand. help!

Mine cycled in a week to stable conditions. It would vary on how much LR is used and such.

A normal cycle can take months. Bio spira just introduces alot of nitrifying bacteria at once. I know they say rushing in this hobby isnt a good thing but 2 successful fish tanks later id still recommend it. Just remember to add fish, preferable a few cheap ones just in case...damsels. Just make rock work so they can hide at night. Read over my posts, more LR is a good thing.

Test everyday until you see good stable readings for a few days, remove damsels, enjoy!

 

why not cycle with a shrimp? i read through this and dont see why you wouldnt just use a shrimp. Damsels are hard to catch and are jerks to other fish. My cycle from a brand new tank with maybe a piece of LR took like 3 weeks. I used shrimp.....2 to be safe.

 

PS I'd use DR Tim's for cycling bacteria! He's a sponsor here and is always willing to personally help you out if ya need!

 

This isn't 1991 folks!
People need to forget the old adage of using hardy damsels for the cycle. Even if you want damsels you shouldn't have them go thru the cycle. Damsels suck anyways.

 

+1 I used it. Great product and if you need any help he has a forum here and will personally help you. He actualy made bio-spira too for IO. But now has his own line of products.