Cycling new reef aquarium

[feeshna]

Yesterday I set up my first saltwater tank. I have about 10lbs of LR from a friend's system, 20lbs of dry coral rock, 3 mangrove propagules (also from a friends tank). About how long until my cycle will be far enough along to start adding some hardy fish?(damsels, salt mollies, etc) I heard from a friend that having LR from an established system will boost the cycle ahead and whatnot, but is this true? Thanks for reading.

 

[Fishman007]

Proceed as a normal cycle. 10:30 (live rock to dry) wont cycle your tank automaticly, also dry rock will have a die off. Just dose pure ammonia like normal until youve got 0,05-10.

 

[feeshna]

Ok, thanks. The cycle has been a fairly confusing topic because every where I look people say different things. One friend of mine had their cycle take a full month, while another had it take a week and a half. Thanks for the suggestion though I will try it.

 

[Fishman007]

Also what size tank is this? and as a side not mollies dont tend to do well in marine systems, IMO there are much nicer fish in the hobby.

 

[feeshna]

It is a 40 gallon. I know I need more LR but for now that's what I have.

 

[Fishman007]

Ok, thanks. The cycle has been a fairly confusing topic because every where I look people say different things. One friend of mine had their cycle take a full month, while another had it take a week and a half. Thanks for the suggestion though I will try it.

Try adding seeded media from your friends tank if they will let you, i added seed media from my 37 to my 20 and dosed 4ppm daily. 2 weeks and i was reading 0 all around only 3 hours after dosing. For a 40g 6ml would equal out to 4ppm of ammonia.

 

[feeshna]

Ok thanks for the advice. I think after a while I'll get the hang of the tank but I'm still getting there. Hopefully this tank will do alright.

 

[Fishman007]

Also welcome to AA! Its always great to have a new salty on the forum