Tank Cycling

[Johnnymont9]

My 65 gallon reef tank classroom project is in full swing.... sort of. Went the raw shrimp in the tank route to kick-start the cycling process. Its been about 12 days and the ammonia is still relatively undetectable. My students are enjoying doing the water testing, but I'd like this project to get more quickly off the ground. Advice?

[Drama D]

Dose some ammonia. Dr Tim's sells some ammonia chloride.

[decastro]

Also add a good bacteria like mirobackter7 or dr Tim's one and only

[Johnnymont9]

Thank you. I will give Dr. Tim's a try.

[dizzyjay]

Do you have a nitrate reading? Did the shrimp decay? Curious if it isn’t already cycled; I believe low ammonia w/ visible nitrates would suggest that. You could also have low ammonia with high nitrites which doesn’t mean it’s cycled but is a good sign. +1 on seeding with bacteria.

[davocean]

If you had any established live rock and or sand that would speed up the cycle.
Often I'll add a scoop of established live sand to seed the new.
That's always been the fastest cycle for me, couple weeks usually.

[jessegarcia28]

Fritz Turbostart and established live rock
1 week cycle and your ready for fish/corals ( well not all corals)



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Johnnymont9]

Dizzyjay. The two shrimp that I tied up in cheesecloth are decaying, but not completely. Just checked the parameters:

ammonia = undetectable less than .15ppm
nitrite = .5ppm
nitrate = 25ppm

[Johnnymont9]

I started with live sand from Tropic Eden and dry rock from Marcos. I know this is not the optimal cycling scenario, but I figured I would begin "hitchhiker / pest" free not to mention my classroom budget made dry rock the only way I could go. I'm in no hurry overall (but my students are), just trying to make sure I am on the right path.
[IMG]IMG-0661.JPG[/IMG]