Cycling with ocean live rock?

[Dani_13563]

Hello everyone! I had a question on cycling with partial live rock and sand. If I were to potentially set up my 20g would it be worth it to buy some live rock/live sand? I was thinking of the Tampa Bay “pico package” or the “sand and rox box”. I can’t afford to do a full 20lbs of live rock and sand, so I was hoping a smaller amount would be enough to seed the tank.

Now for the main question: Would it be better to let the tank cycle with just dry rock and CaribSea live sand using bottled bacteria (I was thinking Fritz) then adding the Tampa Bay stuff once it’s cycled, or would it be better to add the sand and rocks (live and dry) all together at once? If I were to do the former would it double cycle and possibly cause more die off? Could I cycle with just live rocks and sand, then add the dry rock later?

Side question #1: what is your favorite way to add ammonia to a cycle? Piece of shrimp? Fish food? Bottled ammonia?

Side question #2: what is your favorite test kit?

Thank you for reading!

 

[TX_REEF]

Go with the live rock and sand up front! Nothing beats real ocean live bio media to start. @LiverockRocks (TBS) is awesome!

As far as ammonia source goes, either method will work fine, but using liquid ammonia allows you to get the levels to precisely what you want to ensure the initial cycle is completed as intended. That being said, with real ocean live rock, your beneficial bacteria will be present immediately.

 

[Dani_13563]

Go with the live rock and sand up front! Nothing beats real ocean live bio media to start. @LiverockRocks (TBS) is awesome!

As far as ammonia source goes, either method will work fine, but using liquid ammonia allows you to get the levels to precisely what you want to ensure the initial cycle is completed as intended. That being said, with real ocean live rock, your beneficial bacteria will be present immediately.

Thank you for the reply! Ok, so live rock and sand in the beginning .
Also, I see you are member of DFWMAS! Does that mean you live in the area? If so, do you have any opinions on The Fish Place in west Fort Worth? Or do you recommend any in the Fort Worth area? Thank you

 

[TX_REEF]

Thank you for the reply! Ok, so live rock and sand in the beginning .
Also, I see you are member of DFWMAS! Does that mean you live in the area? If so, do you have any opinions on The Fish Place in west Fort Worth? Or do you recommend any in the Fort Worth area? Thank you

Unfortunately I’m not too familiar with Fort Worth, but being in Plano I can heartily recommend Aquastudios in the colony, which is my favorite LFS, as well as Dallas North Aquarium and Exotic Aquatics. Let me know if there’s anything I can ever do to help, especially since you’re local!

 

[Dani_13563]

Unfortunately I’m not too familiar with Fort Worth, but being in Plano I can heartily recommend Aquastudios in the colony, which is my favorite LFS, as well as Dallas North Aquarium and Exotic Aquatics. Let me know if there’s anything I can ever do to help, especially since you’re local!

Thank you so much! I’ve heard good things about those places. I’ll definitely check them out one day! And thank you for the offer. I would definitely love more of your advice in the future.

 

[LeesMarines]

As long as it's critter free (nasty critters) I can't ever recommend live rock enough ...the oceans natural bacterial starter and filtration method all in one..love me some live rock haha

 

[Lasse]

You can get some ideas here. The tank shown in the first picture was started 2016 - still running

15 Steps to Starting a Saltwater Aquarium: The Lasse Method

15 Steps to Starting a Saltwater Aquarium: The Lasse Method Display Tank. Photos are all courtesy of Lasse Forsberg. ©2019, All Rights Reserved. INTRODUCTION There are many methods to start a saltwater aquarium--each major aquarium product manufacturer has its own. Common to most, however...

www.reef2reef.com

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Dani_13563]

You can get some ideas here. The tank shown in the first picture was started 2016 - still running

15 Steps to Starting a Saltwater Aquarium: The Lasse Method

15 Steps to Starting a Saltwater Aquarium: The Lasse Method Display Tank. Photos are all courtesy of Lasse Forsberg. ©2019, All Rights Reserved. INTRODUCTION There are many methods to start a saltwater aquarium--each major aquarium product manufacturer has its own. Common to most, however...

www.reef2reef.com

Sincerely Lasse

Thank you for the reply! Your method is really cool! I’ll definitely consider it

 

[Lasse]

Thank you for the reply! Your method is really cool! I’ll definitely consider it

Thank you - I´m aware that today it is a rather controversial method so please read all comments and make your own decisions. But in the past 50 years most freshwater and saltwater starts have been done with variants of this method. Let a single (or few) fish produce the ammonia needed and manage the whole thing slowly,

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Dani_13563]

Thank you - I´m aware that today it is a rather controversial method so please read all comments and make your own decisions. But in the past 50 years most freshwater and saltwater starts have been done with variants of this method. Let a single (or few) fish produce the ammonia needed and manage the whole thing slowly,

Sincerely Lasse

I had not even considered a fish-in cycle at this point, so that would be super fun to try! Maybe I could request a small tiger goby in my TBS live rock purchase. Thanks again!