Established tank how to cycle

[phild2gb]

Hi all, completely new to marine, always had tropical.

I have bought a tank set up from a friend, been running for a few years.

He's taking his fish out today.

The water will come out in the morning, I'll transport to my house, the live rock and sand kept wet. My containers didn't arrive so I have a local aquarium company delivering RO pre mixed water straight to my tank.

How to I cycle this and how long before I start to add anything?

Lastly what do you add 1st? Snails, shrimp, a fish?

Thanks for the help

 

[blaxsun]

If you keep the existing live rock wet and it's a relatively short trip (no heating needed), you should just be add the rocks back to the tank and insta-cycle it. Keeping the existing sand is optional as most of the beneficial bacteria is in the rock, ie: you could replace it with new, cleaned sand.

Alternately, to err on the side of caution, you can add something like Bio-Spira to boost the bacteria.

 

[cwerner]

Yeah, I'd throw in a bottle of Bio-Spira or Dr. Tim's (basically any live nitrifying bacteria for salt water will do) and go. If the rock doesn't dry out you are gtg. If the sand dries out at all I would replace it. Otherwise everything that died in it will cause a big nutrient spike. At least that's what happened in a previous tank of mine.

 

[phild2gb]

Amazing, thanks both.

 

[Quietman]

If you adhere to that schedule and keep the rocks wet, no cycle needed as the bacteria in sufficient numbers will be there for adding fish.

As for sand, as long as it's clean you're good. If you put in buckets and it's full of junk, give it a good rinse (tap is fine) or use fresh sand. Again, the rock will keep the bacteria and you'll be fine.

I wouldn't worry about adding any bacteria as it would take same amount of time to build up population to support, but if it won't hurt either.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

I would avoid adding cuc, snails, hermits etc, until you have finished cycling and once algae starts to grow
Good luck with your new aquriam

 

[Quietman]

Oh I should say that if there's a long delay between setup and adding livestock then you want to drop in a bit of food every now and then (or ammonia).

You didn't mention if any livestock is coming with it.

If you're not getting fish right away, think about just going with some corals for a while (months). Gets you used to managing the water without dealing with all the fish nutrients. Go with cheaper and easier softies for a few months, then add fish. You can be successful either way, but it's what I've been recommending for new reefers. If things crash or go south (and most of us experience that first 6 months to a year), it's a lot easier to get through if you haven't lost hundreds in fish and corals.