Quick Cycle

[EricTheRed]

Well, I decided to try a new route with the cycle for my new 75G FO tank. Here's what I did:
50 lbs of DRY/DEAD rock
40 lbs of DRY/DEAD crushed coral substrate
15lbs of LIVE crushed coral
1 tbsp of MB-7 per day (I wanted to seed the bacteria faster.)
1 raw deli shrimp

So, it cycled in 15 days. I wasn't necessarily expecting a diatom or algae bloom but I was surprised there was no bacterial bloom. The tank looks as good as the day I filled it.

In the past I've used live rock/sand and a few damsels with typical results. I was expecting a long cycle but my assumtion is that the MB-7 really sped it up. Also, I'm pleased at how clean the tank stayed throughout the cycle.

Has anyone else ever gone this route with similar results?

 

[jcarlilesiu]

I used a raw shrimp and it took a couple of weeks, maybe 2.5 - 3. Didn't use the MB-7 stuff though.

What is it.

 

[poidog]

I used the bio-spira for my cycle (no shrimp, there was enough die off on the dry rock) and it sped it up a couple weeks. Didn't get a algae bloom, and just a light dusting of diatoms on the sand... nothing bad.

 

[EricTheRed]

I used a raw shrimp and it took a couple of weeks, maybe 2.5 - 3. Didn't use the MB-7 stuff though.

What is it.

MB-7 is short for MicroBacter7 by Brightwell Aquatics. It's a bacterial additive (probiotic) Some people use it to try and control nitrates. I figured it couldn't hurt since all of my rock and most of my substrate were dry/dead.

 

[EricTheRed]

I used the bio-spira for my cycle (no shrimp, there was enough die off on the dry rock) and it sped it up a couple weeks. Didn't get a algae bloom, and just a light dusting of diatoms on the sand... nothing bad.

That's good to know. I re-tested everything twice and the #'s don't lie. I'm still surprised it only took 15 days.

Guess it's time to QT my first fish I pulled the nasty rotten shrimp (OMG that thing was putrid) and dropped in a few silversides to keep the bacteria alive for the next month.

 

[fastrc]

Kool, I just got my 150 fowlr going and i used rocks from my breeder tanks and some dry rock and took about 6 days.Ive never added any chemistry to cycle tanks but might work good.

 

[Pufferpunk]

I would not use CC in a reef tank.

 

[EricTheRed]

I would not use CC in a reef tank.

By CC, do you mean crushed coral? I decided for certain that this tank will be FO. It claims to increase the surface area for bacteria and allow an increase in bioload of up to 50% when compared to sand. i''ve never used it before so I figured I'd give it a try.

 

[ColaAddict]

Why can't you use Crushed Coral in a reef tank? Do they release too much calcium or something?

 

[Pufferpunk]

Too much detritis gets caught in there. In a FO tank, you'll have to use a gravel siphon on there.