Cycling

[Bosnianblood69]

Wondering if i should use fish to cycle tank? And what kind?

 

[DIZZLE808]

Go fishless. use pure ammonia or a dead shrimp from the grocery store. if you end up using fish I've heard that people predominately use damsels although they may be a pain to get out of your tank once you're done with cycling.

 

[Mastertrcky]

If you go fishless you should get some sand from an established tank if you can. Or get some cured live rock that will speed up the process immensely.

 

[San Raphael Catfish]

Mollies work. And they are inexpensive. Cycling my tank with them right now. Paid 2.19 each.

SRC

 

[Bosnianblood69]

Mollies for a saltwater tank? Arnt mollies freshwater fish? Wouldnt they die?

 

[Bosnianblood69]

And i bought some live sand off of ebay for .87 a pound? Called pure fiji argonite live reef sand?

 

[Mastertrcky]

Yeah mollies are brackish so they are both fresh and salt.

 

[Mastertrcky]

And as far as the live sand goes I've heard mixed reviews on that stuff. I've heard a lot of the good bacteria dies off during the time it sits around on shelves. I considered it when I started but I ended up just using cured live rock and I had no issues.

 

[kwandrsn]

Mollies for a saltwater tank? Arnt mollies freshwater fish? Wouldnt they die?

You can acclimate a Molly to saltwater and back to freshwater lol
In the wild they live where at times high tide floods their water with saltwater and then it goes away.
They can be kept in freshwater, brackish or saltwater. I just got doing a lot of research about this subject after I was told this by a person at petco that I thought was "on some good stuff" lol turns out she is right

 

[ktomminello]

I didn't think they could go back to freshwater after going full salt, they will only be able to go back to brackish, that's why a lot of places consider them brackish now

 

[Bosnianblood69]

I bought ammonia so should i just put the fish in or put ammonia or both?

 

[kwandrsn]

From what I read up on them they can. they can adjust rather quick to different salinities. I'm not a Molly expert so I'm just going by what I've read I found it rather interesting but I personally know someone who cycled a saltwater tank with a Molly out of their freshwater tank and then put it back :-( I personally would have left it in salt

 

[kwandrsn]

I bought ammonia so should i just put the fish in or put ammonia or both?

DON'T PUT LIVE FISH AND AMMONIA IN A TANK
Ammonia is deadly to fish

Google aquarium nitrogen cycle

 

[Bosnianblood69]

Well which one would work better?

 

[kwandrsn]

Well which one would work better?

I am currently cycling a 36 gallon with live rock. personally I would use a raw shrimp from the grocery store. put it in a pair of pantyhose or a aquarium filter sock

 

[kwandrsn]

I just saw, you said you bought ammonia. Is it pure ammonia?
I'm not sure how much you would add I haven't tried it before but it is fine you just need to keep the ammonia at a certain level someone who has used ammonia should chime in. Do you have a good test kit (not strips)

 

[Bosnianblood69]

Thats the one i bought and whats a good test kit i can buy one tomorrow

 

[kwandrsn]

Shake the bottle and see if it bubbles like it might have soap in it. But I have heard people using ace hardware brand so you should be ok. Test kit at the least buy a API brand saltwater master kit usually around $35 at petco and Petsmart just make sure its saltwater

 

[Bosnianblood69]

Ok tanks might just do shrimp how many shrimp should i use?

 

[kwandrsn]

Ok I looked it up and a lot of Pierre use that ammonia so you should be good