lando said:No offense taken but...why not use cured LR if it is available and speed up the process? I, by no means, advocate rushing things in this hobby, but if you have the opportunity make things wasier then why not? When I started my 12gal nano I used 25lbs of fully cured LR and some well-setablished LS in my substrate and I experienced no cycle what so ever. In fact, I had corals in tank a week later. Please keep in mind that I filled the filtration compartments in my nanocube with cured LR rubble as well. The point being, using cured bio-media will greatly reduce the cycle time required for the tank.
Will just 2 cups of LS from the LFS, the rest being that bagged LS, be ok for the substrate? And, will 6kg (13lbs) of LR be enough, as well as the small internal filter the tank comes with?
Also, what wattage of powerhead should I get for this 10gallon tank (don't want it like a tornado in there!)?
Good news BTW - found out my LFS sells bottled RO - salted and unsalted. So I'm going to use the unsalted for top-ups, and the salted for waterchanges, as well as the initial tank water. How long will the bottled salted RO last while being stored? And what conditions should it be stored in - dark/room temp.? And I take it 2 hours in a bucket with a powerhead/heater will be ok before a waterchange?