Red1313

Hmm... Now this is just a thought so don't lynch me.
I know that snails will add to a bio-load and while I was plant browsing yesterday I noticed that there were an awful lot of snails on some of the plants. Could you cycle with snails? I know that they would probably be hard to get rid of after but it was just a thought I had. Anyone know?

sirdarksol

Possible but a bigger problem than it would be worth. In the end, you'd have to introduce ammonia just to feed the snails (the ammonia will break down into nitrate, which will grow algae, which will feed the snails).

Butterfly

I'm not sure they would add enough of a bioload to cycle very fast. and yes you would regret the snail explosion afterwards If you cycle fishless you can let your ammonia get higher and the bacteria build faster with out critters in teh tank.
Carol