Cycling with shrimp?

[gaubow]

Just re set up my tank and am waiting on my 90lbs. of live rock to come. The tank has been up and running and I want to get the cycle going.

I have read many times about dropping in a piece of freezer shrimp and using the decay to start the cycle. Can I go ahead and do this without the live rock? Are there any drawback? Should I wait to do it until the live rock comes or does that really matter... thanks for your advice.

tim

[Craig Manoukian]

Put the shrimp in a the toe of an old pair of nylons to keep the rotting flesh from your sand bed and it is much easier to get it out of the tank. Yes you can do it before your LR arrives.

Cure your LR seperately from your sand bed so as not to unecessarily pollute the sand bed with detritus. HTH

[wooddood]

well my belief is to get the sandbed seeded so i would wait on the lr and add the shrimp then. just my opinion though. good luck.

lets wait and see what others have to say though.


dave.

[Craig Manoukian]

Dave,

We were saying the same thing, eh?

[gaubow]

Does it matter that the live rock I am getting it supposedly cured? I know that it is never actually cured completely, but it shouldn't cause too much of a spike anyway.

[wooddood]

if it being shipped to you there will be die off on the rock and it will need to be cured again and you will get an ammonia spike to a degree. i have always bought my rock fully cured from the lfs so have never really had to cure any rock. a little more expensive but well worth it to me. good luck.





dave.

[NaH2O]

As you are probably aware, the point of "cycling" a tank is to get a large enough bacterial population in order to process wastes & decaying matter. Getting cured rock simply means it has been processed to the point there is no longer decaying matter. Once that rock hits the air and travels to your home, you will see die off of more material. Enough that it will drive an ammonia spike? Maybe. It would depend on how cured the rock was, how much sponge material is still present, how long it is out of water, etc. By introducing a raw shrimp (rinsed in RO/DI) in a nylon is a great way to start the bacterial growth process. Once your live rock is in the tank, do as Craig indicated - put the raw shrimp in a nylon for ease in removal. What you will probably see is an ammonia spike that does not last very long. Be sure to blow at the rocks with a turkey baster daily to free up any organic material that might be decaying, and free up some detritus. You could get the process started before the rock, and begin to get a bacterial population in the sand, but IMO I would just wait for the rock. Monitor your ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates in the process.

Good Luck - hope this helps.

[Craig Manoukian]

I would just add that you could cure the LR seperately so when you blow the organic matter off the rock with a turkey baster or powerhead, the organic matter will not accumulate in your sand bed.

[gaubow]

All helpful points. Thanks.

[Craig Manoukian]

[acropora]

I agree with Nikki and company above.... However, I do not like to add sand into a tank for at least three months.This way you can easily syphon out detritus during water changes.A piece of rigid tubing attached to standard vinyl hose, works very well for this.There will be a good amount of detritus that will just work its way into the sand bed .This can easily be avoided by waiting.