Cycling a new tank - need advice

xfer · May 9, 2024

Hi everyone! Exciting to be on this forum after seeing this from the 5 minutes series on YouTube.

I am moving house in 2 months time and was thinking of starting only then. However, I noticed the cycling period may take around 6 weeks before I can introduce fish/corals. I came from freshwater background and there is something which can help speed up cycling but seems like with live rocks, sands, corals and fishes, it’s better to play it safer for long term benefits.

Got me wondering if I should just start cycling my tank now and bring it over to the new place. I’m thinking of getting a 3ft x 1.5ft x 1.5ft tank as a start. I can bring this over via my car by emptying most of the water later, but at least I would have provided the live rocks and sands some bacteria it requires.

How would you do it? I feel like I can do something during this time. I won’t be able to do up a sump though - ain’t got the right equipment and space for that until I move over.

Thank you!

Reef.TRD · May 10, 2024

Probably best to just wait it out. Gonna have to learn patience if you want to have any success in reef keeping. Rushing anything in reefing is the cause of 99% of failures in this hobby. Nothing good happens fast in a reef tank, best of luck!

Mr. Mojo Rising · May 10, 2024

I would wait, knocking down a tank then building it up again is very hard work. Saltwater is very different than freshwater, better to practice patience and then build the tank correctly in your new home.

ScottJ · May 10, 2024

Why not get some rock going in a bucket with saltwater, a pump, and a heater if needed. That way you will have a small head start.

OrionN · May 10, 2024

You can get the live rocks and put it in water to cycle. Make sure you keep water at the correct temp and circulation.
The majority of the wait is for curing of the live rock. This can shorten you cycle significantly.

Ben's Pico Reefing · May 10, 2024

If you use live rock you won't have to worry about cycling at all. You can also use fritz turbo start and add right away.

What cycling is, is establishing bacteria that your tank needs to break down waste ammonia and nitrite. Nitrate is the last test of this conversion. Testing we do for these only tells us there is bacteria. It's a bit more complex than this but gives the general idea. Our tanks are always cycling. Question is do we have enough bacteria to handle the bioload.

Live rock and sand has the bacteria especially if it's mostly live rock and not dry rock. If you add live rock/sand you can start right away. But you will need to acclimate the rock if using a different salt than where it came from and make sure temperature is within a couple degrees. While the bacteria will be fine, this is where the hitchhikers and everything else attached or crawling may have some die off and cause an overload where you will see ammonia. Adding coral as well their structures attached will bring in this bacteria just like live rock as well. Corals usually produce minimal waste and can be great to cycle or may not even experience. The issue is understanding the coral needs which most hobbyist starting don't quite understand yet and some corals like a bit more stability and will take great husbandry when in a newly setup tank.

Bottle bacteria is not all the same. Some claim to have fresh and saltwater bacteria for both in same bottle. I recommend avoid these as they can not coexist. I personally have used fritz turbo I believe 900. Just added and throw everything in. Other items like doctor Tim's has a protocol. Many refers have used this as well and there are plenty threads and guides. There are others out there. But Tim's is most popular.

The other and traditional way is to add ammonia source wether dosing or food and wait it out. This can take the longest. If you have only a little bit of love rock, this will help populate as well.

It's all about approach and we have great people that can help how ever you choose. All of these have had success and failures. Most due to human error lol

Like others stated, I would wait until after move.

OrionN · May 10, 2024

Live rock, in the old days, are rock directly from the ocean with a lot of died off so you really need to cycle these until the die off decomposed. These day, you can get live rock for the Gulf of Mexico. These are nice rock with a lot of live reef creatures on them. Tampa Bay live rock shipped them direct to your airport via air cargo. Die off is minimal and the cycle is short. Highly recommended.