anyone? any suggestions would be much appriciated.
2007-09-10 16:10:22 · 3 answers · asked by tonzi 3 in Pets ➔ Fish
well i am living in an unsual area. its pretty hard for me to find anyone that is into this hobby as well. even LFS in our place dont sell matured live sand/rock...
so another question would be does introduing amonia on my tank would help on fast cycling? like putting a cocktail shrimp? or some hardy fishes?
2007-09-10 23:15:34 · update #1
getting used live sand and live rock. That would be a way to cheat. While your tank will still need a couple of months to become established, it will help cycle your tank.
Try ebay.com, i know there is a guy selling live sand from his saltwater tank, as well as live rock from his established tank.
Again it wont skip the clock, but it will help shave a month or two off of establishing a saltwater tank.
2007-09-10 16:16:08 · answer #1 · answered by Coral Reef Forum 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Use live rock. This already has the bacteria needed, and you can stack it to create hiding places (caves) for your fish. Just be sure there's good water flow though the rock. By having a good amount of bacteria on the rock to start, the population builds faster. You can also use live sand, but I only recommend sand from running tanks - not the kind that comes bagged.
If you know anyone that has an established tank (without disease or nuisance algae problems), you can ask for old filter media or sand to add to your tank - both contain the bacteria as well.
If you don't have fish or live rock in the tank yet, you can turn up the heaters. The warmer the water, the faster the bacteria multiply. Fish can tolerate it into the mid to upper 80 if changed slowly, but if you already have live rock, don't go above 84o.
NOTE: If you use enough live rock (generally 1 pound per gallon of tank volume), the cycling should only take weeks - if it's pre-cured and in good condition so you don't get a lot of die-off, it may cycle in as little as one week.
2007-09-10 23:19:39 · answer #2 · answered by copperhead 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
yep, you can buy something called cycle, or just go to a saltwater pet store and they have a variety of solutions, like sand with the bacteria already in it. Hope that helps
2007-09-10 23:16:17 · answer #3 · answered by mary b 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋