Conway Corals
RS Sponsor
Hey guys!
I run a maintenance business and sponsor RS from time to time . Got a question for some of the more experienced guys out there.
I've setup 4 tanks in the last couple months, 2 with unrinsed old sand from a well established tank that sat in a bucket with water for about 6 months (read nasty), and two with well rinsed and then dried out sand. Both were setup with base rock and around 10% live rock.
The two tanks that were setup with the stinky sand cycled in under a week. I was skeptical and threw in 5 jumbo deli shrimp in a 220 gallon tank and neither the ammonia nor the nitrite budged. Same for a 100 gallon setup the same way. Some really nasty skimmate came out, but other than that and the super cycle, nothing out of the ordinary.
The other two (75 & 95 gallon) took about 4 weeks each, and after an additional shrimp, both saw a spike in ammonia, I missed the nitrite on those though.
What are your thoughts? I know hydrogen sulfide can be a problem, but it seems it was out of the sand and tank, and in the skimmer within a week. Seems this would be a great way to cycle tanks, if I'm not way off base of course.
...you keep fish?
I run a maintenance business and sponsor RS from time to time . Got a question for some of the more experienced guys out there.
I've setup 4 tanks in the last couple months, 2 with unrinsed old sand from a well established tank that sat in a bucket with water for about 6 months (read nasty), and two with well rinsed and then dried out sand. Both were setup with base rock and around 10% live rock.
The two tanks that were setup with the stinky sand cycled in under a week. I was skeptical and threw in 5 jumbo deli shrimp in a 220 gallon tank and neither the ammonia nor the nitrite budged. Same for a 100 gallon setup the same way. Some really nasty skimmate came out, but other than that and the super cycle, nothing out of the ordinary.
The other two (75 & 95 gallon) took about 4 weeks each, and after an additional shrimp, both saw a spike in ammonia, I missed the nitrite on those though.
What are your thoughts? I know hydrogen sulfide can be a problem, but it seems it was out of the sand and tank, and in the skimmer within a week. Seems this would be a great way to cycle tanks, if I'm not way off base of course.
...you keep fish?