Dry Rock Live Sand Invertebrate Only Best Way to Cycle

[natattack]

Hello,

Just added rock, sand, and water to my 16 gallon macro algae display project (feel free to check build thread for stocking and equipment information) and am wondering about the best way to go about cycling this. A lot of the information I see comes from people with either live rock or some form of hardy fish they want to add. In freshwater I always did a fishless cycle with that pure aquarium ammonia you can find online. Would this be an effective way to start my cycle? I also am only stocking invertebrates so I cannot exactly add some to get my cycle going even though there won't be too much ammonia production at full stocking anyway.

Is the bacteria in a bottle stuff snake oil or should I just get a small piece of live rock from my LFS?

Thanks!

 

[Spare time]

The bottled bacteria works, if you get the right kind. Add a bottle of biospira with some ammonia (fish food or ammonium chloride) and call it a day. The live sand (depending on the kind) might also be enough.

 

[dontbuyxenia]

i think dr tims is good. Most liverock for sale at lfs these days is just base rock soaking in water and doesn't have much actual bacteria on it since its not been in the water long enough. If you have a local aquarium club, you may be able to buy an actual piece there