twinston

i have a 55 gallon that will be a fish only with liverock. i have my rock almost cured and ready for the tank. now its time to cycle the tank. is there a way to do so without using damels? i really don't want to be stuck with fish i don't really want. i'm not sure my closest dealer will take them back after the cycling period. what other options do i have?

Tumbleweed

If you already have a tank set up, just put the LR in the tank. The LR will help cycle the tank. Another easy way is to take a piece of raw shrimp and put it into the tank for 3-4 days and moniter your ammonina levels. Once the level starts to peak remove the shrimp and your cycle will be started and the LR will help speed up the process.

twinston

thanks for the suggestion. i'll try that.

ray

its about the best way... or if you have a pure sorce of ammonia i believe you can add a bit of that to the water... seems to risky to me though! haha

Tumbleweed

Just make sure you test your water every couple of days "2-3" and just watch what it does. Do not add anything for a while and do no water changes. Wait untill the nitrates start to climb and once you have 0 ammonia 0 nitires and high nitrates do a 25-30% water change and wait 1 -2 days retest to see were your nitrates went to. If they drop below 10ppm you are good to go. Just do a 10% water change every week. If they are above 10ppm do anther 20% water change. Then continue like above