fishless cycling ?s

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greatgman

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Sep 23, 2004
Messages
342
Location
washington pa.
hello all i just filled up my tank with the salt water i just mixed up
now i know you should age the saltwater for 24 hrs or more but i have no fish yet
and wont be able to for 3 weeks (rent etc)

my question is this i just picked up some raw uncooked unprocessed gulf shrimp (3 pcs.)
should i just dump them in or cut them up into smaller pieces before dumping them in?
i dont even have my rock in it yet, should i rockscape them add or add then rockscape
also should i up the temp to help with decomp? :?
 
Are you going to have LR in the tank? If so, you just cycle with the LR, not fish or raw shrimp required.
 
Add some LS 1 LB per Gallon and some LR same ratio as the sand. Don't cure the live rock put it in the tank just as you get it. The dying matter will start the cycle while you have the tank already decorated. The LR and the LS then become part of the filtration system of the tank just like in the ocean. You will start to see PODS and maybe some bristle worms after about 1-2 weeks. After 2 weeks add some hermit crabs like some Blue Legged Hermits they will clean the rock of any dead or decaying matter. They rock will get white in some places this is the crabs cleaning it. After 4-6 weeks you are ready for fish. Be sure to test the water every week and make sure to keep an eye on the water level to make sure too much doesnt evaporate making the SG higher.

Good Luck. (y)
 
Set your temp to where you will be keeping it and throw 'em in. If you will be adding only base rock, it can be aquascaped while it is cycling. Make sure your tank has finished cycling before adding fish. It will likely take longer than 3 weeks, so don't feel rushed to buy fish asap.
 
Ya, get everything up and running as it will be once the cycle is completed. You can choose to skim or not to skim during this period, either way won't effect the cycle. Only do top-offs, no water changes until the cycle is done. Doing changes will only drag the cycle out. Once the cycle is done, do a 20-25% water change, add a small clean up crew and then you can begin slowly stocking. I'd also recomend finding 1 nice piece of LR at your lfs once you've cycled. Find something with a nice color coraline covering and it will spread to all your other rock over time. Cheap way to get a nice rock formation and odds are you'll get at least a few pods and worms to get your population started. I paid about $30 for 3 pieces in my big tank combined with about 150lbs of base. Now everything has coraline on it, tons of feather dusters, pods, worms etc. It just takes a little patience.
 
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