Cycling advice needed

[PteroisVolitan15B]

I've never done the fishless cycle in a saltwater tank. I put two uncooked jumbo shrimp and a filter cartridge from my QT filter that I keep in my 30 gallon so its always ready to go. My question is how long should I leave these in the tank? Also has anyone ever used a Prizm Pro skimmer or think it'd be good on a thirty gallon? Thanks for any help

One more thing if I put a filter sock on my drain pipe will it help with all the bubbles entering my sump?

 

[strout]

See if you can post a pic of how the tank looks.

 

[Lorna]

The shrimp should be left in until you see measurable ammonia. Once the ammonia spikes take out the shrimp wait and watch for the ammonia to convert to nitrite....then wait for both the ammonia and the nitrite to measure zero and when they do for a few days in a row you can consider your tank cycled. Adding the sponge will help speed things up.

The Prizm Pro is barely adequate for a 30g. If you want a skimmer look at the aqua remora with the maxijet 12 upgrade. It is a hob skimmer that is virtually plug & play. I have one on my 29g and it works like a dream. Another option is a CPR BakPakII make sure you get the reef ready model without the biobale and think about modding it with an airstone to boost the foam production.

Yes a filter sock will help reduce the noise and filter some bubbles from the drain to your sump.

 

[PteroisVolitan15B]

Thanks for the advice Lorna.The guy I bought all my LR from has a Prizm Pro he used for a month, and said he paid $180 for it and would take $50 something told me it was junk.

 

[PteroisVolitan15B]

Heres a couple of pics Strout, I still havent cleaned the glass and those powerheads will be coming out and after the cycle Im swapping some of the LR with some in the 30 because it has coraline line on it

 

[strout]

The pics look good, jmo here, and its kinda hard to tell, and I don't know what your plans are for the tank also. You might want to layer the LR alittle more, by that I mean, try to make more ledges in the tank. If you plan on putting zoas and polys in the tank, the more ledge type areas you have, the more places you have to place the zoas and polys. The more vertical the rock, the less area you have to place them. Like I said jmo.